Germany, France and the eurozone’s 14 other countries early Monday morning delivered the “shock and awe” message to financial markets that had eluded them ever since the Greek debt crisis exploded last October. In an initiative that far exceeded any measure announced by European governments over the past seven months, eurozone finance ministers committed their nations to a €500bn ($644bn, £436bn) emergency facility to protect the euro area from potential disaster. With the aid of a further €220bn from the International Monetary Fund, the total rescue package hit a massive €720bn. Vincent Boland analyses the impact of the bail-out.