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This article discusses Greece's desperate financial situation and the agreement by the members of the European Union to provide funds to help it with its deficit. After many negotiations and a plan that satisfied Germany, the funding and the interest rate were approved. The plan will help Greece over the next 12 months, but it will need much more funding over the ensuing years before it can straighten out its finances.

The article considers politics and government in Germany. The political damage done to Prime Minister Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party by the financial crisis in the euro area monetary union is discussed. There is opposition among voters and particularly within the CDU to Germany's large financial commitment to the bailout of Greece and other euro area countries facing the possibility of default on public debts.

The article presents a brief history of a European debt crisis. Although some European nations including Greece have lived beyond their means, the author maintains that the core cause of the crisis was a high levels of sovereign indebtedness when the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 struck. The key role of Germany in addressing the crisis is commented upon.

The article looks at the dept of Greece, focusing on how the refusal of the European Central Bank (ECB) to consider restructuring the debt could cause a financial crisis similar to that of 2008-2009. The author discusses how the ECB is arguing with Germany over Greece's appeal for further loans. An alternate plan is reviewed in which European Union member countries must help finance Greece until its debt burden is sustainable.