The German chancellor wanted to consult with you, a leading expert on the EU. For years, Germany advocated both the single currency and the EU’s enlargement to include more CEE countries. At the same time, Germany insisted, via the SGP, that countries in the euro area must tame their public fi nances and could not be bailed out. Now CEE countries and Greece are in desperate need of bailouts. But the German economy has also suffered a major recession itself and has already been running a budget defi cit. How would you advise the chancellor: to bail out or not to bail out EU members such as CEE countries and Greece?