German Chancellor Wants Euro Protected From Crises Beyond Greece

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the Bundestag in Berlin on March 25.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested ahead of an EU summit that Germany may be ready to make a deal to help Greece out of its debt crisis.

But Merkel said after her arrival in Brussels that Germany would call for International Monetary Fund (IMF) and bilateral European Union aid to be granted to Greece "only as a last resort."

Merkel also suggested that euro zone rules should be changed allowing countries that fail to meet the single currency's criteria to be kicked out "so that the stability of the euro zone is not damaged.

"If any member country of the euro zone became insolvent then it would mean serious risks for everyone in Europe, including Germany as Europe's largest economy," Merkel said.

The euro has fallen to its lowest level in 10 months against the U.S. dollar amid concerns about the Greek economy and emerging debt problems in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Ireland.

The euro currency fell lower today after China's President Hu Jintao warned that problem goes deeper than Greece's debt crisis -- and appears to be a euro zone structural crisis.