IMF insists on ‘clear vision’ as EU chiefs stumble through fog

EUROPE had another week teetering on the edge of the abyss, its leaders tied to one another in single file as they inched their way forward along the top of the cliff in dense fog.

But they survived another seven days and the relief was palpable. The 27 EU leaders were relaxed, almost light-hearted, as they left the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels earlier than expected at the end of their two-day summit on Friday.

They did indeed make progress on some of the interim crises thrown up over the past few weeks. They gave the Greek opposition leader a roasting over his decision to oppose the EU/IMF reforms in favour of his growing popularity in the polls at home where the government is not expected to last past this summer.