Against the tide: Two crises in one

Germany’s commitment to the EU project will guarantee bailouts for weaker eurozone members. But it’s a different story for hard-pressed central and eastern European states and their banks.

We now have two supranational European crises on our hands. Both are the ugly offspring of the global credit crisis.

The eurozone crisis springs from the fact that the sheer cost of financial sector bailouts for some smaller eurozone governments will make it impossible for them to finance and service their public sector deficits and debt. That will lead to such countries as Ireland and Greece defaulting.

The eastern European crisis results from the excesses of the credit explosion in the household and corporate sectors of many countries in central and eastern Europe, including many that are EU members.

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