--- title: Why Europe, Not the U.S., Needs to Handle the Greek Crisis description: Washington is used to taking responsibility for anything that goes wrong in the world. But Europe and Greece need to figure this out canonical: https://time.com/3913237/u-s-european-greece-g7/ author: Ian Bremmer article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-08T19:59:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T08:01:23.122Z article:section: World og:title: Let the Europeans Figure Out Their European Problems og:description: The U.S. should stop trying to meddle in the Greek crisis og:url: https://time.com/3913237/u-s-european-greece-g7/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f6b75c8273f0dd/69885392a988caf14b6b2ecf/obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Obama G7 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Let the Europeans Figure Out Their European Problems twitter:description: The U.S. should stop trying to meddle in the Greek crisis twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f6b75c8273f0dd/69885392a988caf14b6b2ecf/obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Europe and Greece Are Playing Chicken—and Washington Isn't Helping ## Video: Bremmer: What Does America Stand For? [Watch (HLS stream): Bremmer: What Does America Stand For?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LslU7mTn.m3u8) (3:55)  _Published 2015-05-03. As the world's only superpower, Bremmer argues that the United States must look towards the next stage of China's rise_  by [Ian Bremmer](/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Jun 8, 2015 7:59 PM CUT  US President Barack Obama addresses a press conference at Elmau Castle near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, at the end of a G7 summit, on June 8, 2015. US President Barack Obama addresses a press conference at Elmau Castle near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany, at the end of a G7 summit, on June 8, 2015.Mandel Ngan — AFp/Getty IMages  by [Ian Bremmer](/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Jun 8, 2015 7:59 PM CUT With each passing day, it seems the stakes climb higher in Greece’s game of chicken with Europe. What is Washington’s attitude toward all this? The U.S. needs a solid, stable E.U. to coordinate on foreign policy priorities like Russia, ISIS and the rise of China. The U.S. just wants the Greeks and the rest of Europe to work out their differences. So what is Washington’s strategy? It seems to be an incoherent mix of what I call “Indispensable America” (the U.S. must lead), “Moneyball America” (target your strategy shrewdly), and “Independent America” (this problem is not OUR problem). At the G7 press conference in Germany, President Obama was asked whether European governments were being too difficult on Greece. The President responded by nudging the Greeks: “It is going to require Greece being serious about making some important reforms.” Then he prodded everyone else: “If both sides show sufficient flexibility, we can get this problem resolved….but it will need tough decisions from all involved.” These comments reflect American pride that U.S. security guarantees dating back to World War II made the European project possible—as well as the accompanying sense of entitlement that requires the sole superpower to weigh in when things are going wrong almost anywhere in the world. That’s the Indispensable America worldview. Then again, the Administration’s willingness to mainly stay out of this question and let the Germans lead reflects a Moneyball approach: stay out of it publicly but work behind the scenes through Berlin, Europe’s increasingly capable leader. But beyond the U.S. financial contribution to the International Monetary Fund role in this struggle, Washington has offered virtually nothing of real value to narrow the gap between Greece and its creditors. That’s the Independent America approach. Americans can’t bankroll European unity, and ultimately, this story is none of Washington’s business. Individually, each these approaches make some sense. Combining them in an ad-hoc manner doesn’t. What does the President mean when he says: “We can get this problem resolved.” Who is “we?” The U.S. is either involved or it isn’t. There’s no point in applying pressure on all sides if you’re not offering anything to help untie their knot. _Bremmer is a foreign affairs columnist and editor-at-large at TIME. He is the president of Eurasia Group, a political-risk consultancy, and a Global Research Professor at New York University. His most recent book is_ Superpower: Three Choices for America’s Role in the World ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3913237/u-s-european-greece-g7/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3913237/u-s-european-greece-g7/"},"headline":"Europe and Greece Are Playing Chicken—and Washington Isn't Helping","datePublished":"2015-06-08T19:59:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:01:23.122Z","description":"Washington is used to taking responsibility for anything that goes wrong in the world. But Europe and Greece need to figure this out","url":"https://time.com/3913237/u-s-european-greece-g7/","keywords":["europe","Economy","World","Debt","Greece","President Barack Obama","G7"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f6b75c8273f0dd/69885392a988caf14b6b2ecf/obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ian Bremmer","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc6f6b75c8273f0dd/69885392a988caf14b6b2ecf/obama1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Obama G7","caption":"Obama G7","creditText":"Mandel Ngan — AFp/Getty IMages","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/europe/","name":"europe"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3913237/u-s-european-greece-g7/","name":"Europe and Greece Are Playing Chicken—and Washington Isn't Helping"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Bremmer: What Does America Stand For?","description":"As the world's only superpower, Bremmer argues that the United States must look towards the next stage of China's rise","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/LslU7mTn/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-03T22:18:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LslU7mTn.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3913237/u-s-european-greece-g7/","duration":"PT3M55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3913237/u-s-european-greece-g7/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```