Eurozone finance ministers to meet this Monday on Greek bailout
For reasons ranging from progress on Europe's debt crisis to a slowly improving housing market to slightly less gridlock in Congress, the economy and the job market appear better able to withstand setbacks than they were in 2011.
Eurozone finance ministers will meet on Monday in Brussels to give their final approval to the second Greek bailout and discuss tightening measures to prevent a repetition of the crisis.
The ministers are expected to sign off on the 130 billion euro ($171 billion) rescue programme after Greece's private creditors approved wiping off some 100 billion euros from Athens' debt.
Their chief, Jean-Claude Juncker, said last week after the success of the debt restructuring offer was announced, that "the necessary conditions are in place" for the bailout to go forward.
Eurozone ministers, in a conference call on Friday, already approved releasing part of the 130 billion euros that is helping finance the debt swap.
However the ministers have much time for celebration as they are expected to turn their attention to troubling spending gaps in a number of other 16 countries besides Greece that share the euro.
In particular they are expected to focus on Spain, whose Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy stunned his European partners at the beginning of the month by saying that it would only be able to cut its public deficit this year to 5.8 percent of annual output, instead of the planned 4.4 per cent.
"The European Commission wants to know the reasons behind this budget slippage. This issue should be discussed by the Eurogroup even though it isn't on the formal agenda of their meeting," said a diplomatic source.
"This situation isn't unique to Spain," added the diplomat, noting the Netherlands, whose deficit is forecast to rise to 4.5 per cent of GDP next year according to government forecasts, above the 3.0 per cent European limit.
The budgetary slippage comes as 25 of the 27 EU nations adopted a fiscal pact that tightened rules on public spending and sanctions against violators.
Ministers are also likely to discuss boosting the bloc's crisis funds from 500 billion euros to 750 billion euro.
"We're certainly going to discuss" it, a European government source said, "but it is uncertain there will be a decision on it."
The ESM, or European Stability Mechanism, is a 500 billion euro permanent bailout pot due to come into force in July and eventually replace the temporary EFSF fund, which has some 250 billion euros left after lending to Ireland, Portugal and now Greece.
Leaders originally agreed that the combined funds would not exceed half a trillion euros, but there is growing pressure to throw the two into a single pot, creating a potential firewall of 750 billion euros.
However, Germany, Europe's top economy and political heavyweight, is steadfastly against such a move, although Chancellor Angela Merkel has reportedly softened her opposition.
Another option under consideration, according to the source, is to let the EFSF continue functioning in parallel with the ESM.