All roads lead to Frankfurt: the results of an enigmatic summit

The 8-9 December European Council was not the 'major breakthrough' many had hoped for in the run-up to this crunch meeting of EU leaders: it is not likely to go down in history as the meeting which turned the tide, and the EU is destined to remain in 'crisis mode' for some time to come.

This analysis by Janis A. Emmanouilidis concludes that the summit sent very mixed signals to policymakers, experts, citizens and investors, but one thing is clear: the most important question asked ahead of the summit – will the EU be able to contain the euro crisis? – will not be answered in Brussels or in any other EU capital, but in Frankfurt, by the European Central Bank.