Angela Merkel made it very clear yesterday that at this time she will not make any decisions that could ease pressures on Spain. No eurobonds, no ECB debt buying, no speeding along banking and fiscal reform. "There are no miracle solutions, and what's easiest is not always what's best," said the German chancellor, defending a position she has built throughout the crisis. Her position, which impedes taking necessary if risky measures to prevent a slow and agonizing collapse of the euro zone. Nations located in the north and center of the euro zone can?t afford the self-deception that the rising flood will only drown the passengers in third class. And the IMF warns that solving the problem requires increased collaboration among member states.
Most European citizens believe that it is necessary to do away with nationalistic prejudices, those well-known old demons that the EU founders tried to exorcize, and admit that belonging to club euro means everyone has obligations to fulfill. And when all nations are required to meet debt and deficit goals on paper, transfers from one state to another are inevitable.
We Europeans have deep experience with these kinds of transfers, and we ought to use them. West Germany paid for the reunification with East Germany and received support from other European nations. Italy's well-developed northern region helped develop the south. And Spain's regional government model has methods for alleviated regional imbalances.
Merkel should come up with an answer that ends the deadlock, because all the alarms are sounding in peripheral Europe. She should overcome resistance from her own party and allies of the German state in order to prevent an imminent collapse.
