And the stability of the euro zone is therefore an important factor of stability for the whole of the global economy.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama and Chancellor Merkel Press Conference

He also wants to increase the size of the European Stability Mechanism, the zone's permanent bailout fund which will be up and running later this year.

BBC: The Greek cloud

In Berlin, the German Bundestag is expected to approve extending the size and scope of a euro zone bailout fund with the marble-mouth sounding name of the European Financial Stability Facility.

FORBES: Skies Go Gray In Hairy Day For Stocks, No Grecian Formula In Europe

The stability-and-growth pact approved by the members of the euro zone looks for budget balance by 2004.

ECONOMIST: The German economy: Holding steady, just, maybe—and maybe not | The

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been struggling to maintain her coalition in parliament while she attempts to gain approval for the new powers of the European Financial Stability Facility to provide liquidity to ailing euro zone nations.

FORBES: German Leaders Debate Next Move, As Greece Inches Closer To Default

VAT, in order to ensure that Portugal does not flout the deficit ceiling of 3% imposed by the euro-zone's stability pact.

ECONOMIST: Politics this week | The

Ratings downgrades could push up borrowing costs and cast doubt on the viability of the European Financial Stability Facility, a vital element in the euro zone's crisis-fighting defenses.

WSJ: 2012: Taking a Look on Bright Side

It needs to make savings as early as next year if it is to carry out its promised tax cuts of euro3 billion without breaking the deficit limit decreed by the euro zone's stability and growth pact.

ECONOMIST: Austria's government

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the euro zone's bail-out fund, must carry out simultaneous injections of capital into the region's banks as soon as it can.

ECONOMIST: Echoes of 2008