Fighting back

Speaking in Washington on Friday German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle condemned US criticism of Germany's response to its ongoing debt crisis.

Westerwelle told an audience at the Brookings Institution think-tank that Americans have unfairly "caricatured" Europe and accused Berlin of failing to act decisively to restore market confidence.

"We are either criticized for being too cautious... or for being too dominant in dictating our own policies to others. We take both views seriously and we believe both are beside the point," Westerwelle said.

He also hit back at the image of Europe conveyed by Republican presidential candidates. In recent weeks front-runner Mitt Romney has accused US President Barack Obama of moving the US towards European-style socialism.

"When I look at the American debate over the past weeks I see mostly a caricature of Europe ... a continent mired in gloom and self-absorption," he said.

"Europe is a strong and vibrant continent and I firmly believe that we will emerge stronger from this crisis," he added, referencing data showing Europe's competitiveness in world trade.

Fiscal reforms

However the German minister warned that deep-rooted fiscal reforms rather than endless bailout packages remain critical to Europe's rescuing of indebted eurozone economies.

"The debt economy itself has reached its limits," he told the Brookings Institution. Rescue packages "are buying us time in which to address the root causes - no less, but also no more," he added.

As the eurozone's leading economy and principle creditor for any further bailouts, Germany has urged heavily indebted eurozone nations such as Greece, Italy, Ireland and Spain to quickly introduce structural reforms to supplement existing austerity measures.

Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (AFP, Reuters, dpa, dapd)
Editor: Andrew Bowen