To elucidate some of the major issues about the European Union, I sometimes find it useful to look at the performance of individual states. Two weeks ago, I discussed the French economy , whose woes have cast a pall over the Euro 2016 football championships. For reasons which should soon become clear, today I turn my attention to Italy. Although the relevant numbers aren’t as large, in many ways the economic failure of Italy is more striking than Greece’s economic implosion – and definitely more dangerous. Italy is the eighth largest economy in the world and has a major presence in important industrial sectors. When a country like this gets into trouble, the consequences are pretty big.