Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou tests the strength of his parliamentary majority today as lawmakers vote on a property tax that is key to averting default and the U.S. criticizes European leaders for moving too slowly to stem the debt crisis.

Papandreou will dine with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin as lawmakers in Athens debate the measure, an amendment to a bill to ratify the overhaul of the European Financial Stability Facility. Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has told Greeks they face economic collapse if they don't plug a budget deficit that is exceeding targets.

President Barack Obama underscored the urgency late yesterday when he said European governments are "trying to take responsible actions, but those actions haven't been quite as quick as they need to be." His treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, said Europe has "not very much time" to act.