The Last Chance for a Strong Euro

The euro is experiencing the deepest crisis of its short history. Governments in Europe swiftly agreed to a massive rescue package, but it won't be enough to save the common currency. If the monetary union is to survive, member states will have to abandon their egos and greatly increase political integration.

Speculative attacks, special summits, bailouts, meetings, emergency purchases -- it would be difficult to surpass the drama of recent days. They will, no doubt, go down in history.

It's a watershed moment that will push Europe in a new direction. And the stakes couldn't be higher. This could be the founding act of a European federal state created out of necessity, as French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has suggested. But it could also mark the beginning of the fall of the currency union with financially strong countries -- like Germany and the Netherlands -- wary of too much centralism.