Greece may not bring down EU as a whole but it definitely make a dent in the value of Euro and can cause deflation across the Europe and world as well. If Greece is not bailed out, the value of EURO will take a beating and will no longer serve as a better alternative reserve currency and this will make imports into EU costly, decreased consumption of goods, less spending and finally deflation which will lead to depression and this might trigger a chain reaction and serve as a contagion affecting whole world economy.
Its important to bail out Greece and other EU countries which are on the edge but EU must make sure that these bailed out countries will take stringent measures to bring back debt-to-GDP ratios and fiscal deficits in control and finally cutting off of bloated pension plans, welfare programs etc.. otherwise there is no point of bailout and better to reset these economies by letting them to default and take economic pain for a few years.
Don't believe all the noise, and there's a tonne of it right now. They don't know what they are talking about. The euro survives and thrives regardless of how the European debt crisis is ultimately resolved, and no countries will leave the euro. In fact, there are countries trying to get in, and none that will leave short of a coup, revolution or state failure, which isn't even a consideration right now. And even if that happens, the euro will still survive and thrive while the country that leaves will suffer greatly, the local hyperinflation that will ensue being the least of their problems.
Spend some quality time with the Eurosystem's balance of payments and marvel at how remarkably balanced Europe is with the rest of the world. Then compare that with the US (AND UK) balance of payments. As just a quick example, in April 2010 (one month) the Eurozone imported only €4.1 billion more goods than it exported. The US, on the other hand, imported $58 billion more goods than it exported, and April was the lowest month yet last year for the US. Of course that's just goods. For services, the US exported $14.5 billion more services than it imported. How much of that do you think was "Wall Street financial services"? Europe also exported more services than it imported, but only €2.8 billion.
So for goods and services combined, the Eurosystem ran a trade deficit of €1.3 billion in April, while the US ran only a $43.5 billion deficit (down from its previous normal $50 billion, but back up in May). Looking back at 2010 (just to get a full year's picture) the US ran a $500 billion goods and services deficit for the year. The Eurosystem (even with those lazy PIIGS) actually ran a trade surplus for the year, exporting more goods and services than it took in! So how can that be? As a currency representing a community of more than 300 million people, the euro is quite healthy compared to the dollar!
Of course there is a huge imbalance inside Europe between the states running a large surplus and those running a large deficit. But with a shared currency the adjustment pressure for such an imbalance is foisted elsewhere, not on the currency. It lands squarely on the politicians, who couldn't be a more deserving bunch of Aholes. For the dollar, the structural deficit and debt of the US places a massive devaluation pressure directly on the dollar. But for Europe the currency is balanced with no (or very little) adjustment pressure.
The economic flow of goods and services within Europe will of course have to contract as the imbalance retreats. If the euro weakens on the global currency stage Europe will start running an overall trade surplus again, like China, which will soften the blow of a contracting internal economy. If the euro strengthens, things like cheaper oil will help soften the contraction. Internally the politicians have their hands full. No doubt! Externally, the euro is just fine. To the euro the politics of the PIIGS and Germany are little more than a sideshow.
And notice I didn't even mention gold yet. Anything that would appear to seriously threatens the euro, like an outright sovereign debt default, would explode the price of gold which would simultaneously rescue the euro balance sheet and kill the dollar.
