Cartoon from China Daily

Countries like Croatia have been trying to get EU approval for years now, focusing much of their budgeting and planning on building a stable enough currency to merge with the Euro. Right now, with the economy of Eastern Europe disintegrating, it is more vital than ever for these countries to be propped up by the Euro. But at the same time, the risk for the EU is that much greater.

China Daily carton: Link

ESTONIA: The U.S. economic crisis continues its rampage across the rest of the world. In Estonia, Latvia, and other Eastern European counties the problems are amplified by already shaky economic systems. Despite millions coming in from the EU and government retraining programs, many citizens are without jobs and without hopes.

Adopting the Euro is the top priority for many of these countries. But to do so they must have a more stable system and larger cash reserves. Countries like Russia have also raised tariffs on exported raw materials, making life even harder for Eastern European companies.