Ben Bernanke — Greece and Europe: Is Europe holding up its end of the bargain?

His short answer — No.

I'll end with two concrete proposals. First, negotiations over Greece's evidently unsustainable debt burden should be based on explicit assumptions about European growth. If European growth turns out to be weaker than projected, which in turn would make it tougher for Greece to grow, then Greece should be allowed greater leeway after the fact in meeting its fiscal targets.

Second, it's time for the leaders of the euro zone to address the problem of large and sustained trade imbalances (either surpluses or deficits), which, in a fixed-exchange-rate system like the euro zone, impose significant costs and risks. For example, the Stability and Growth Pact, which imposes rules and penalties with the goal of limiting fiscal deficits, could be extended to reference trade imbalances as well. Simply recognizing officially that creditor as well as debtor countries have an obligation to adjust over time (through fiscal and structural measures, for example) would be an important step in the right direction.

Brookings — Ben Bernanke's Blog
Greece and Europe: Is Europe holding up its end of the bargain?
Ben S. Bernanke | Distinguished Fellow in Residence with the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, and former Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System