Is a tough German-style fiscal union on the horizon for Europe? We're closer today than a month ago.

Signs that Germany is open to consideration of a "Euro bond" as one means of managing the debt of member states in the EU are beginning to show. Germany has been reluctant to back the creation of these instruments while it has maintained that stricter control over national budgets was a non-negotiable starter for any talk about turning the tap on a system wide bond. A bond is a common financial instrument issued by the state to finance its debt. The EU has not used bonds because it lacked the means to create, manage and guarantee them. If other countries are willing to give up a measure of state sovereignty it now appears Germany is willing to discuss this as a solution for the current economic crisis which threatens to derail the entire European project.

The Wall Street Journal today quotes a German official close to the ongoing discussions.  "The more that other member states get involved with this development and are prepared to give up sovereign rights to get European institutions more involved, the more we will be prepared to play an active role in developing things like a banking union. You can't have one without the other."

There is a lot of behind the scenes talk to bring about a "grand plan" to solve this crisis and prevent it from happening again. Fundamental changes would have to occur in all the treaties that currently govern relationships within the EU.

Germany is driving the efforts to change the rules and transfer more control to a European structure with the centralized power to control budgets and the fiscal affairs of member states. Since this is the strongest economic and political power in Europe it would naturally control any larger entity created - what some have called a new German empire would effectively be created. This would fundamentally change the way Europe, and Germany has seen itself since the end of World War II.

Recently international financier George Soros gave a speech with his take of what the outcome of the current Eurozone crisis would be. Soros is as knowledgeable as anyone on what is happening throughout Europe. He too sees a German led Europe on the horizon.

But the likelihood is that the euro will survive because a breakup would be devastating not only for the periphery but also for Germany…  So Germany is likely to do what is necessary to preserve the euro – but nothing more. That would result in a eurozone dominated by Germany in which the divergence between the creditor and debtor countries would continue to widen and the periphery would turn into permanently depressed areas in need of constant transfer of payments. That would turn the European Union into something very different from what it was when it was a “fantastic object” that fired peoples imagination. It would be a German empire with the periphery as the hinterland.

We here at Beyond Today continue to watch this developing crisis with the additional perspective of Bible prophecy. This current period of crisis will pass. A new European power will emerge, stronger than before and likely it will be ready to take on an even larger role in the world. Europe is too big to "fail".