Since the onset of the financial crisis, the European Central Bank’s balance sheet has doubled in size—from €1.5 trillion in June 2008 to €3.1 trillion in August 2012. That’s impressive, but much less so than what most of the other major central banks have done, often in a much shorter time span. So the idea that the ECB is about to make use of further unconventional tools should be no cause for concern. In fact, for the eurozone to stand a fighting chance of survival, the ECB will have to pull out all the stops, going at least as far as the Fed and the Bank of England. That will mean boosting its balance sheet by another €1.5 trillion or so to a total of roughly €4.5 trillion. What should be a cause of concern is that the break with the past the central bank is about to make will prove to be less bold than required.