West meets east

Charles Grant of the CER, suggests that France and Germany may decide to pursue deeper fiscal integration in the eurozone via a new treaty that would include current members and aspiring "pre-ins". "Although Europe is facing this new division between the euro countries and the non-euro countries, which is important, a large number of the central European countries should be on the integration side of that division ... But those countries will have to accept the Germanic view of the world in terms of fiscal discipline and austerity."... But Grant suggests the fact that the current crisis seems increasingly likely to result in a "two-tier" union might in fact make it easier for new countries, eventually, to be admitted to the outer group.