Photo Gallery Saving the Euro
The countries of the euro zone are hopelessly divided over the question of how to save the currency in the long term. Bailouts for individual countries like Ireland and Greece can only be a temporary solution.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble chats with his French counterpart Christine Lagarde: An internal paper drawn up by the German government has revealed Berlin's plans for forcing private-sector investors to take their share of losses in future crises.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (seen here with French President Nicolas Sarkozy) sees herself as the defender of a culture of stability of the sort that Germany has maintained since the days of the deutschmark.
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced on Sunday that the Irish government had officially asked the EU and IMF for help.
