Nevertheless, the European Union can neither allow Greece to slide into national bankruptcy nor hand it over to the International Monetary Fund, since other euro-zone members – namely, Portugal, Spain, and Italy – would probably be next in line to be attacked by the financial markets. In that case, the euro would be in danger of failing, for the first time seriously imperiling the entire project of European integration.
不过，欧盟既不会坐视希腊划向国家破产的境地，也不会把它托付给国际货币基金组织，因为其他一些欧元区国家 —— 葡萄牙、西班牙和意大利可能成为受金融市场冲击的下一批对象。一旦出现那样的局面，欧元就会面临解体的危险，并有史以来第一次严重威胁到整个欧洲一体化方案。