November 25, 2011
The leaders of the euro zone's three largest economies agreed on Thursday to pursue closer political and economic integration as the European Central Bank considered measures to shore up the region's banks and keep the protracted debt crisis from freezing new lending.
The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, this week presented proposals that would give Brussels increased powers to monitor the budgets of member states. The commission also pushed for the creation of euro-zone bonds that would aim to pool the debt of euro-zone countries.
The push to renegotiate EU treaties adds yet another layer of complexity and tension to a crisis that has already stretched the euro zone's leadership to a breaking point.
The crisis has toppled seven euro-zone governments in less than a year, including those in Spain, Italy and Portugal.
Proposals for treaty changes that would subject countries to stricter oversight of their budgets and spending signal the bloc's leaders—in particular German Chancellor Angela Merkel—continue to favor long-term solutions that do little to satisfy calls for urgent action to solve the deepening crisis.
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