Obama to grapple with waning influence at G20

President Barack Obama faces the delicate task of pushing European leaders to solve their debt crisis without appearing to lecture them at a summit of world economic powers this week.

Obama heads to France later on Wednesday to urge Europe to fix the long-running crisis that could send the already-weak U.S. economy into another recession.

The White House, which says Europe can solve the crisis on its own, is worried the Greek decision to hold a referendum over its 130 billion euro ($178 billion) bailout will unravel EU efforts to contain its sovereign debt crisis.

Obama is likely to be candid about his concerns when he meets French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Cannes.

But the president will need to tread carefully, given the United States is struggling to fix its own fiscal problems and has limited means to intervene in Europe even if it wanted to.

"We'll see if the president decides to grab this mantle and really drive the G20 discussion," said Heather Conley at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"European leaders and particularly European finance ministers have not been fully appreciative of U.S. advice and counsel on how to deal with the European crisis because of U.S. domestic challenges," she said.

William Galston, a former Clinton administration official, said the White House would be careful after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner irked some European ministers when he offered economic advice to Europe in mid-September.

"I think that (Obama) should make it clear that the United States is there to help and to cooperate ... How do we have the standing to lecture someone else?," said Galston, now a scholar at the Brookings Institution.

Reuters