"An insider of the European Commission since the late 1980s, Marco Buti is a unique guide through the two crises of the 21st century.” Giuliano Amato, former Prime Minister of Italy “Marco Buti and I have not always agreed on issues of economic policy. But I cannot think of somebody more qualified to tell us about the travails of Europe since the Great Financial Crisis. He was there all along.” Olivier Blanchard, Senior Fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics “This collection of VoXEU contributions shows how history is made. Marco Buti, a man inside the vortex of the making of European monetary history, produced and published a steady stream of reflections, analysis and reform proposals on VoxEU." Beatrice Weder Di Mauro, President of the Centre for Economic Policy Research The book brings together his real time input to the economic and policy debate, traces the intellectual journey leading to the design and implementation under duress of difficult policies and controversial reforms. What emerges is a new compass that helps understand the policy strategy the EU has adopted to fight the economic fallout of the pandemic.