Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker said Thursday that the financial crisis isn’t over yet, and said he is ‘worried’ about the effects of the poor state of the U.S. economy.

In an interview on French radio station Europe 1, Juncker, who is also chairman of the Eurogroup, said ‘I’m worried. I believe that the financial crisis isn’t over.’

Juncker added that the ‘European economy is doing much better than the American economy.’ Juncker reiterated his view that that the euro is playing a part in protecting Europe’s economy.

‘Europe is withstanding this external shock and it would withstand it less if it didn’t have the common currency. It protects us from external shocks, from the terrible rise in oil prices,’ Juncker said.

‘If the euro didn’t exist…gas prices at the pump would be 20 percent to 30 percent higher,’ Juncker said. As is his habit, Juncker declined to say what level the euro should trade at versus the dollar. Rather he merely expressed the view that ‘exchange rates should better reflect the economic fundamentals’ while criticizing ‘the sharp movements that we’ve seen.’

The euro hit record highs against the dollar in late April of more than $1.60, but has moved sharply lower this week. Thursday morning it was slightly below $1.53.