OTHERS SAY

Europe teeters

— If Europe had a euro for every economic summit meeting its leaders hold, the continent wouldn’t have a financial crisis. It would be awash in cash.

The grave risk of debt default by the weakest nations in Europe has put a drag on growth there and in the U.S. The European Central Bank, which not long ago expected to see signs of recovery by the fourth quarter of 2012, now anticipates more months of misery and the prospect that more nations will slip into recession. The crisis still has the potential to touch off a 2008-style financial meltdown there.

In recent days, the feeling of being stuck without an answer has radiated from the capitals of Europe.

To get unstuck, the EU needs a breakthrough. Investors are calling for “the big bazooka”: a way to fix what ails Europe-and the euro, the common currency for 17 of the European Union’s 27 members-in one shot.

That won’t happen. There is no quick fix.

Europe needs German Chancellor Angela Merkel to hold firm in the face of vitriolic screams that Germany is strangling its weaker neighbors by refusing to allow them to repeat the same old mistakes.

The anti-German rhetoric has gotten ugly, but Merkel has wisely resisted pressure from the down-and-out countries of southern Europe to write off their debts without surrendering more power over their budgets and banking systems to a central authority.

She is key to brokering a deal that puts Europe on a track for stability and, eventually, renewed prosperity.

We suspect the breakthrough will come in a succession of shots rather than just one. Europe needs to establish a framework for managing its debt and becoming more competitive over time.

In the words of a certain Chicago mayor, you never want a serious crisis to go to waste. Europe is in danger, but it also has an opportunity to answer with a stronger union.

Editorial, Pages 19 on 06/30/2012

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