Region ... Europe
The financial health of the Euro-Zone

German Finance Minister: 'Europe and the euro are healthy' ... We ask Germany's most senior diplomat if the collapse of the eurozone is just a matter of time.

COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

German FM: 'Europe and the euro are healthy' ... We ask Germany's most senior diplomat if the collapse of the eurozone is just a matter of time.

On May 25, 2012, a massacre in Houla, Syria, caused outrage around the world.

German diplomats are among those trying hard to end the conflict. But more than 10,000 people have died in the 15 months of fighting in Syria - and, so far, there has been little progress.

Germany has tried to put pressure on Russia, a key ally of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president.

'We tried to convince our friends and our partners in Russia,' says Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister. 'We think it is necessary to support the Kofi Annan plan.'

But closer to home, Germany is struggling with another pressing problem - the European economic crisis.

In a few days, Greeks will vote in an election that could push their country out of the eurozone.

Many of those voters blame Germany for making their problems worse. They say the strict austerity policies Germany favours may lead to the breakup of the eurozone.

Can Europe survive? Or is its collapse just a matter of time?

We put these questions to Germany’s most senior diplomat, Guido Westerwelle, on this episode of Talk to Al Jazeera.