Europe’s leaders have confronted the economic crisis with much rhetorical fanfare, but have too often retreated into parochialism once things became sticky. Jacques de Larosière’s rallying cry for stronger European financial regulation deserves a welcome. His proposals are ambitious, hard-nosed and politically plausible. They should now be turned into action.

The single European market has allowed the free movement of people, goods, and capital. This is a remarkable achievement which must be defended, even as the crisis reveals its imperfections. More particularly, the single market makes Europe more interdependent – but too often it lacks the mechanisms to manage this.