Financing European Expenditures with the Issuance of Union Bonds

Since the onset of the financial crisis, which is widely traced back to the dramatic situation of American banks culminating in the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008, signifi cant changes have emerged in the management of economic policy at the European Union level. Initially, the European response to this crisis was weak and delayed, leading to a situation that seriously threatened the stability of the euro. This crisis was ultimately resolved — without fiscal interventions — by the fi rm stance taken by Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB). On July 26, 2012, at the Global Investment Conference in London, Draghi declared that “within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough.”[...]