As the European debt crisis continues, Germany has signaled it is prepared to accept a deal that would give aid to indebted countries in exchange for more centralized control over government spending in Europe. The plan would likely involve pooling much of Europe’s bad debt and paying it off over the next roughly 25 years. In exchange for financial support, Germany has called for individual states to yield sovereignty to a central fiscal authority, a plan that could meet with resistance in other European countries. The finance chiefs of the Group of Seven industrialized countries are holding an emergency session today on the eurozone debt crisis. At the White House, Press Secretary Jay Carney said Europe will face continued pressure to take drastic steps.

Jay Carney: “Europeans have the capacity to take action to resolve this, and that they have already taken actions that are significant, but serious risks remain, and there is no question that markets remain skeptical that the measures taken thus far are sufficient to secure the recovery in Europe and remove the risk that the crisis will deepen. So we obviously believe that more steps need to be taken.”