Europe Urged to Keep Debt Crisis in Check

Officials around the world are now pressing European leaders to take swift action to keep Europe's debt crisis from spreading.

Worries about a possible Greek debt default and deepening Euro-zone debt woes¹ have been on the rise, despite European policy makers²' efforts to calm investors³.

Liu Yan takes a closer look.

 European leaders have been battling to get on top of the debt crisis for more than 18 months.

In July, the leaders strengthened their 440-billion euro bailout fund by allowing it to lend pre-emptively to governments in distress⁴ and buy bonds in the secondary market.

But the decisions have not yet been fully⁵ implemented⁶, undermining confidence in the ability of the euro zone to tackle the problems.

Responding to market worries about the Euro-zone crisis, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso proposed to issue joint⁷ bonds to tackle the crisis.

The so-called Euro-bonds would allow member states to borrow money collectively.

But the idea is openly opposed by German economy minister Phillip Roesler.
 
"Mister Barroso does not speak for the German government. I want to point out that we just had a verdict of the Supreme⁸ Court of Germany which made clear that a limitless liability of Germany is not possible without the approval of the German parliament. In my view that eliminates eurobonds for Germany."

The mixed signals from European leaders have escalated⁹ concerns that the 17-nation euro zone may be unable to unite behind a common approach to tackle the crisis.

US Treasury¹⁰ secretary Timothy Geithner says European governments need to use "overwhelming force" to address the financial woes.

Geithner's push comes as US banks have lined up billions of dollars in financing for European lenders.
 
Meanwhile, World Bank President Robert Zoellick also added his weight to the pressure for Europe to make hard decisions.

"The global economy has entered a new danger zone with little running room as European countries resist difficult truths about the common responsibilities of a common currency."

In China, Premier¹¹ Wen Jiabao has said the world's second largest economy is willing to help debt-burdened Europe by increasing its investment.

But Li Daokui, an adviser¹² of the Monetary¹³ Policy Committee of China's central bank, says it's imperative¹⁴ for Europe to restructure its public finance.

"What we want to see is clear commitment and the pragmatic policy packages to restructure their public finance and welfare systems and restructure their economies. So this (is) number one thing, I think, China and all other countries can communicate to the European countries is that we need to see pragmatic, tangible¹⁵ and the firm commitment to reform."
European leaders have indeed shown their willingness to control their debt problems.

The leaders of Germany and France have assured that Greece is an "integral part of the eurozone" amid speculation¹⁶ of a Greek debt default.

Greece has also said it's committed to meeting all the deficit¹⁷ reductions plans it agreed to in exchange for its two bailouts.

In addition, Italy's parliament approved an austerity package, aiming to reduce Italy's deficit by more than 54 billion euros over three years.

Global finance and development leaders are due to gather in Washington next week and are expected to focus on Europe's debt crisis and the risk of a Greek default.

For CRI, I'm Liu Yan.

1 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

10 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

12 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

13 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

14 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

15 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

16 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

17 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。