Washington, Oct 26 (IANS): The financial crisis in Europe presents the most serious risk to global recovery, but the European nations have the resources to cope with it, a senior US Treasury official said.

"It is clear that the Europeans have the resources and capacity to deal with the challenges they face," US Assistant Treasury Secretary Charles Collyns said in a testimony before the House of Representatives, reported Xinhua.

"At the country level, over the last 18 months, much of the region has embarked on accelerated fiscal consolidation, growth-oriented structural reform, and banking sector repair," said Collyns, adding that the completion of the reforms will require continued and determined efforts to push forward ongoing efforts combined with continued financial support over a sustained period of time.

European leaders made progress over the weekend towards putting in place a comprehensive framework for tackling the crisis and will meet again Wednesday to reach agreement on this framework, Collyns noted, adding that the agreement needs to be carried out "quickly and firmly".

Europe accounts for more than 20 percent of US goods exports and more than 35 percent of US service exports, and Europe is the most significant "foreign source" of investment and jobs in the US, with the total stock of European foreign direct investment (FDI) standing at $1.6 trillion and accounting for 70 percent of all FDI in the US.

He said that US President Barack Obama has continued to press European leaders about their plans to resolve the crisis, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner remains closely engaged with his European counterparts.