“Despite major policy actions, financial markets in parts of the region remain under acute stress, raising questions about the viability of the monetary union itself.”-IMF statement

18 July 2012, the International Monetary Fund has declared the European Union (EU) economy as “critical”.

The IMF is also pushing for the creation of a single banking union for the EU.  Germany is so far opposed to such an idea.

IMF officials say one of the reasons for the critical economic situation in the EU, is that people are pulling their money out of banks.  Example: Some wealthy Greeks pulled their money out of Greek banks and put it into banks of other European countries that were more financially sound.  By creating a single EU banking system it would prevent that.

Despite being “critical” the economy of the EU is still bigger than that of the United States, and directly affects U.S. business, which is why so many U.S. investors are glued to news from Europe.