Summary
BERLIN - Europe is facing its most severe challenge since 1945. If the Greek crisis morphs into an Italian crisis, the entire structure of post-World War II Europe could unravel. Finally, European leaders seem to recognize that their strategy of kicking the can down the road has not worked. The result will not be a dramatic solution - that is not how Europe works - but, more likely, a series of steps that together will be more comprehensive than anything done before. Still, they will not address Europe's core problem: a lack of growth.
It is an irony of history that the crisis has placed Germany firmly at the helm of Europe's affairs. France conceived, planned and pushed for the continent to have a single currency, largely to dilute the influence of Germany, its central bank and its currency. But economic realities have proved stronger than organizational structures. Germany is by far Europe's biggest economy and is in sound fiscal health. This makes it the only country that can write checks or issue guarantees that markets take seriously.See the full content of this document
Extract
Slow Growth Casts Shadow Over Europe's Economy
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been criticized in many quarters for not endorsing a big-bang solution - something like euro- bonds, which would, in effect, extend a German...
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