White House Says Europe Crisis May Harm U.S. Economic Recovery

President Barack Obama is keeping a close eye on Europe’s debt crisis and its potential to harm the U.S. economic recovery, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said today.

“It has affected our economic recovery,” Gibbs told reporters at a White House press briefing, noting the impact Greece’s budgetary collapse “had on our recovery last spring.” He said the European Union needs to address the budget woes plaguing Ireland, Greece, Spain and Portugal because “they’re going to affect more than just the continent.”