Italy chastises Germany for handling of euro crisis

A German finance ministry official caused a stir at a Brussels conference by urging deficit countries to "become ants" rather than profligate "grasshoppers," in response to criticism by Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti that Berlin is too slow in helping troubled euro-countries.

"More money is not the solution. We need to repair the lack of competitiveness in the eurozone, which is only feasible through reforms, investments in innovation and building up a stable legal framework," Thoma...