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"Germany blames the crisis on the countries that have lost competitiveness and run up their debts. Consequently, Germany puts all the burden of adjustment on the debtor countries. This is a highly biased view that ignores the fact that this is not only a sovereign debt crisis but also a currency and banking crisis – and Germany bears a major share of responsibility for those crises.
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Truth be told, Germany has been bailing out the heavily indebted countries as a way of protecting its own banking system.
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Berlin is imposing these arrangements under severe pressure from German public opinion, but the German public has not been told the truth and is therefore confused. The solution to the euro crisis to be put in place at the end of March will set in stone a two-speed Europe. This will generate resentments that will endanger the EU’s political cohesion.
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Two fundamental modifications are required. First, the European Financial Stability Facility must rescue the banking system as well as member states. This will allow the restructuring of sovereign debt without precipitating a banking crisis. The size of the rescue package could remain the same because any amount used for recapitalising or liquidating banks would reduce the amount lent to sovereign states. Bringing the banking system under European supervision rather than leaving it in the hands of national authorities would be a fundamental improvement that would help restore confidence.
Second, to create an even playing field, the risk premium on the borrowing costs of countries that abide by the rules will have to be removed. That could be accomplished by converting the bulk of the sovereign debt into eurobonds; individual countries would then have to issue their own bonds with collective action clauses and pay the risk premium only on the amounts that exceed the Maastricht criteria. The first step could and should be taken immediately at the European summit on Thursday; the second will have to wait. The German public is a long way from accepting it; yet it is needed in order to re-establish a level playing field. This has to be made clear in order to give the deficit countries hope that they can escape from their deficit predicament if they work hard enough at it."
George Soros, How Germany can avoid a two-speed Europe
