Canada's Finance Minister said on Monday Europe was following the right path to manage the debt crisis plaguing a group of countries and said there were no signs that the crisis was spreading beyond Greece, Spain and Portugal.
On Monday, the euro slumped to a four-year low and stocks fell in Asia as investors worried that European austerity measures would stifle a recovery and crimp Asian exports to the West.
"The strategy that is being followed by the European countries I think is the right way to go, and is necessary that some of the European countries, as you know, take some significant steps in terms of fiscal consolidation," Jim Flaherty told reporters during a visit to New Delhi.
Asked if the debt crisis was spreading beyond the three countries, Flaherty said, "not yet, not that I have seen. We have to obviously be cautious and vigilant."
On Friday, the Group of Seven finance ministers discussed Greek's debt woes and the gloomy financial markets during a conference call, less than a week after Europe unveiled a nearly $1-trillion U.S. rescue package to contain the crisis.
