And, while the EFSF is not equipped to confront simultaneous crises in Spain and Italy, it has now been authorized to prevent such crises – or will be once national parliaments ratify the agreement reached on July 21 – by intervening on secondary debt markets to reduce interest-rate spreads on national bonds. In the meantime, the European Central Bank is intervening in the EFSF’s stead, and quite successfully so far: market tensions have eased markedly since the ECB began buying bonds on August 8.