French president said the gravest crisis Europe has faced since the second world war ` ` is not over '' German president told German parliament ` ` next year will no doubt be more difficult than 2011 '' The president of Italy 's third - largest economy urged Italians to make sacrifices . Italy , the world 's third-largest bond market , is seen by many investors as the barometer for the eurozone debt crisis and faces a crucial opening to the year with auctions of more than â‚¬100bn in the first quarter alone . Spiraling economic costs forced political changes in Portugal and Spain , and threatened the euro .
French president said the gravest crisis Europe has faced since the second world war ` ` is not over '' German president told German parliament ` ` next year will no doubt be more difficult than 2011 '' The president of Italy 's third - largest economy urged Italians to make sacrifices . Spiraling economic costs forced political changes in Portugal and Spain , and threatened the euro .