Clinton: US needs Europe 'operating at full speed'

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton talks to media at a press conference at the Swedish government offices Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, June 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Erik Martensson) SWEDEN OUT

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton talks to media at a press conference at the Swedish government offices Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, June 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Erik Martensson) SWEDEN OUT

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, centre, talks with a reporter alongside Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, left, and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt as they leave a joint press conference following meetings at Rosenbad , Stockholm, Sunday, June 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, left, greets US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as she arrives for meetings at Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden, Sunday, June 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Erik Martensson) SWEDEN OUT

STOCKHOLM (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham says the United States needs Europe "to be strong and operating at full speed once again" in order for America to completely recover from its own economic downturn.

She says the U.S. supports the need for changes among the 17 countries that share the euro as their currency, in order to make Europe more competitive and deal with issues various countries haven't addressed.

Clinton said at a news conference in Stockholm that the tough decisions are up to the Europeans themselves.

Belt-tightening has been the approach for coping with a debt crisis that has raised the possibility of the breakup of the single currency. But some leaders are now calling for measures to increase growth and employment to offset the impact of austerity policies.

Associated Press

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