The OECD: The crisis of the Eurozone - the biggest threat to the economy of the world

• The dismantling of the European Union can no longer be ruled out

The sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone has become the greatest threat to the global economy, and the dismantling of the monetary union can no longer be ruled out, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which revised its estimates about the evolution of the global economy downward.

The OECD expects the global economy to grow 3.4% in 2012, compared to its previous estimate of 4.6%. The estimate for the year 2011 was lowered to 3.8%, from 4.2%.

The Eurozone will only grow 0.2% next year, according to the OECD, which had previously made an estimate of 2% for the region.

"The growth of the global economy is slowing down, the Eurozone is in a slight recession, and the United States are in danger of suffering the same fate", the OECD warned, showing that an even greater slowdown is possible if the Eurozone fails to control the crisis, and American politicians fail to agree on a plan to cut budget expenditures.

the chief economist of the OECD, Pier Carlo Padoan, said: "There is a risk related to the Euro, let's not deny it. But I want to say that it is possible to avoid that risk". In his opinion "we are living in very difficult times, which can be defined as a critical moment. The situation in the Eurozone is deteriorating rapidly, and the contagion is expanding".

Absent decisive measures from the leaders of the Eurozone, only the European Central Bank has the ability to limit the crisis in the monetary union, OECD specialists consider, who mention, however, that in the United States the Fed has fewer tools available, after it has already resorted to printing dollars.