"The two attachments reveal what the EU commission wants to see implemented in Italy over the next few days. A bit ambitious and, as often happens, the devil is in the detail, but I doubt any new executive can move away significantly from what is outlined and required in that document. IMF and EU are looking into Italy's accounts to monitor the implementation of the reforms, so I think there is transparency out there on what needs to be done, and I think that's a positive. Who will do that remains to be discovered, and that's the negative."

David Fuller's view Thanks so much for this astute summary, the letter from Olli Rehn of the European Commission and the "Request for Clarifications", which reads more like a demand to me, and rightly so.

This is a big step towards fiscal union, in my opinion.