THE TELEGRAPH: Germany and France are examining ways of creating a "two-tier" euro system to separate stronger northern European countries from weaker southern states.
A European official has told The Daily Telegraph the dramatic option was being examined at cabinet level.
Senior politicians believe their economies need to be better protected as they could not cope with another crisis on a par [with] the one in Greece.
The creation of a "super-euro" zone would initially include France, Germany, Holland, Austria, Denmark and Finland.
The likes of Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and even Ireland would be left in a larger rump mostly Mediterranean grouping.
The official said French and German officials had first spent months examining how to exclude poor-performing states from the euro but decided it was not feasible.
A two-tier monetary system in the 16-member euro zone is being examined as a "plan B".
"The philosophy is the stronger countries might need to move away from countries they can't afford to bail-out," said the official. "As a way of containing the damage, they may have to do something dramatic, though obviously in the short term implementation is difficult.
"It's an act of desperation. They are not talking about ideal solutions but the lesser of evils. Helping Greece could be done relatively cheaply but Spain they can't afford to let fail or bail-out.
"And putting more pressure on the people of France and Germany to save other countries is politically unfeasible." >>> Alex Spillius in Washington and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Saturday, June 19, 2010
