No grand plan, no big bazooka, not so much as a pea-shooter. Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy were already downplaying expectations that this weekend's summit would deliver the comprehensive solution for the eurozone crisis that was originally promised. Now the German Chancellor and French President say they won't finalise their plans until a second summit next week. Expectations should be held firmly in check.

It's hardly surprising eurozone leaders are struggling. This weekend's summit was being built around a three-prong approach: find a lasting solution to Greece's debt problems; recapitalise eurozone banks to withstand sovereign defaults; and maximise the firepower of the eurozone's €440bn bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. But progress on all three fronts inevitably began to unravel. The political, constitutional and economic barriers to success are enormous.