Well, the Antonio Fazio question seems definitely to have decided that it doesn’t want to go away. The FT today informs us that the European Commission will take legal action before the end of the year against Italy over the allegations that against Fazio ( governor of the Bank of Italy). This threat is, however, not without its own problems since:

the Commission would be suing the Italian government, which has asked Mr Fazio to step down but cannot remove him. Mr Fazio is appointed for an indefinite term and can be removed only by the central bank’s board. Mr Fazio has denied any wrong-doing. On Thursday, he told Bank of Italy employees: “To serve the state independently . . . is the attitude that has always inspired the actions of the central bank.”

“To be independent, or not to be independent, that is the central bank question”