Europe’s nightmare coming true?

Leading with the headline "Greece's disarray turns into a nightmare for Europe," the 22 April edition of Les Echos reports that two items of bad news "have thrown cold water on hopes for a rapid resolution of the financial crisis in the country." First came a Eurostat announcement that Greek public debt amounted to 14% of GDP in 2009, and not 12.7% as was previously believed. Then the Moody's downgrade on Greek sovereign debt. In the ensuing panic on financial markets, the cost of ensuring Greek debt against default has hit a new high and the euro has fallen to a one-year low of 1.33 dollars. "Europe now runs the risk of drowning in the waters of the Styx along with Greece," remarks Les Echos. In the meantime, Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitungnotes that Greek consumers, who have grown weary of attacks on the country in the German press have cut back on purchases of products made in Germany. German exports to Greece fell by 19.4% in 2009.