EU Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso spells it out:
Addressing Euro-MPs on the eve of a summit discussing plans for tight new financial controls on member states, he insisted any measures would be agreed in cooperation with national authorities. But Mr Barroso admitted it was easier now to push EU leaders into deals when the chips were down.
“Once again, we can see that a crisis can accelerate decision-making when it crystallises political will. Solutions that seemed out of reach only a few years or even months ago are now possible,” he said.
H/t Richard North at EU Referendum, who also notes this:
In fact, as we noted in a piece we wrote five years ago it was in 1975 that a Study Group on “Economic and Monetary Union 1980″ observed that crises could be “the occasion of progress, by provoking a crystallisation of latent wills.”
“Great things are almost always done in crises,” it declared, an early exposition of the “beneficial crisis” doctrine. And, all those years later, Barroso is just repeating the mantras.
Meanwhile, over at Pajamas Media, James Bennett sketches out an alternative (and happier) future:
Just past the bank closing time of 4 pm on Friday, passers-by at a number of secluded locations throughout Germany could hear the rumble of diesel engines coming to life, as rows of large unmarked trucks escorted by security vehicles began moving out onto the public highways. Roads were busy coming out from the city centers as holiday-makers were anxious to enjoy one of the last weekends of summery weather. Traffic was light coming into town, so the long convoys had little trouble moving quickly. A few outbound motorists gazed with curiosity at the sight, but most paid little heed…
Read the whole thing.