BERLIN—It is German Question Time once more in Europe. Only Germany, the continent’s most powerful economy, and still miraculously going strong, can lead the way to a recovery. That much is admitted from Lisbon to Tallinn, and even in Berlin. The problem is that the Germans, less than two weeks before an historic EU summit [...]

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BRUSSELS – Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski came to Berlin and, in the presence of the German foreign policy establishment, asked – indeed, demanded – Germany to play the leading role in solving Europe’s crisis. Sikorski analyzed the elements of the crisis and arrived at the stark conclusion that only two scenarios for its continuation [...]

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BRUSSELS – Radoslaw Sikorski’s Berlin speech shattered any illusion in London that British Prime Minister David Cameron could rally the 10 eurozone “outs” to British positions at the European Union summit on December 9. Sikorski’s federalist vision, commitment to Poland’s joining the euro, and invitation to the United Kingdom to join the eurozone, or at [...]

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WARSAW – In Berlin this week, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called for a greater federalization of Europe, emphasizing that, notwithstanding the economic dimension of the crisis, the core of the EU’s problem is one of leadership.  The enduring significance of Sikorski’s message lies less in the specifics of his proposed reforms and more in the [...]

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WASHINGTON—The European Commission’s economic proposals to be unveiled on Wednesday will include a call for the Eurozone nations to pool their representation at the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) into a single seat. Designed to boost the currency bloc’s clout at a time when emerging markets are seeking greater powers in the world [...]

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WASHINGTON—The Greek bombshell decision to hold a referendum on the last week’s celebrated eurozone bailout package will ensure that the G20 Summit starting on Thursday in Cannes will be hijacked by Europe’s troubles. A source of turbulence in the world economy, Europe’s problems are the world’s problems and should be on the G20 agenda. But [...]

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BRUSSELS — Any banking system relies on its depositors retaining their faith in the soundness of their banks. Investors have traditionally regarded government bonds as a relatively low interest, but safe place to park their funds. And voters have trusted their governments to deal competently with complex financial questions. What happens when these components of [...]

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Washington – In yet another sign of the eurozone members’ inability to stem their regional financial crisis, last week Standard and Poor’s downgraded Spain’s credit rating to AA-. This move has raised new fears about the ability of beleaguered European nations to pay their sovereign debts. And it has revived calls for expanding the International [...]

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BRUSSELS – In late August, Christine Lagarde, the newly appointed managing director of the International Monetary Fund, called for “urgent recapitalization” of European banks in order to cut “the chains of contagion” emanating from the euro crisis. The same day, Jean-Claude Trichet, governor of the European Central Bank, swiftly dismissed concerns about a liquidity problem [...]

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WASHINGTON — The financial crisis in Europe has merged with contemporary communications capability to produce an extraordinary quantity of commentary on the future of the euro and, by extension, the future of Europe. Most of the commentary focuses on what means will best prevent the worst economic consequences of the crisis, what measures would best [...]

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