The euro, the European Union’s boldest and most ambitious project, is under threat. Divisions among Europe’s leaders, and their inability to stabilise the euro, have damaged the EU’s reputation on other continents. The good news is that the EU now has an emerging leader. Chancellor Angela Merkel is setting the agenda. The bad news is that some German policies may do more harm than good. Thus Germany’s insistence that the future “crisis resolution mechanism” should make bond-holders take a loss has scared investors, pushed up Ireland’s and Portugal’s cost of borrowing and made their bail-out more likely.
欧元——欧盟(EU)最大胆、最雄心勃勃的计划，如今正面临威胁。欧洲领导人之间的意见分歧，他们在稳定欧元方面表现出的无能为力，已经损害了欧盟在其它大陆的声誉。好消息是，欧盟现在有一位正在崭露头角的领导者——德国总理安格拉•默克尔(Angela Merkel)正在拟定议程。坏消息是，德国的一些政策可能弊大于利。结果，德国对未来“危机解决机制”应要求债券持有者承担损失的坚持吓坏了投资者，推高了爱尔兰和葡萄牙的借贷成本，加大了两国纾困的可能性。