The current European debt crisis could have been prevented if there had been a fiscal unification in parallel to the monetary union, the 2007 Nobel prize winner in economics Erik Maskin said Saturday.

"I see it (the debt crisis) as a tragedy, because all of this could have been prevented," Maskin said after receiving an honorary doctor's degree from the Technical University of Lisbon.

"If there had been a unified fiscal policy, we would not have seen the problems that we are seeing in Portugal, Greece, Spain or Italy," said the creator of the Mechanism Design Theory.

Speaking of the Portuguese situation, he said there should not be fear of a second bailout.

"We certainly cannot rule out the possibility that there will have to be a second bailout. But personally, if that happens, I wouldn't regard it as a disaster," Maskin said.

"I think that's part of what you have to do to keep a union together, rather than doing on an ad hoc basis, which is what happens every time there is a crisis here. I would prefer to see it institutionalized, that the bailout be automatic," he said.

Asked to comment on the economic situation in the United States, Maskin said, "The U.S. recovery is slow and I think it will continue to be slow, but I think it should continue to move in the right direction."

There have been some positive signs in the last few months, and there is no reason that we shouldn't see more encouraging signs as the time goes on, he said. "But it is taking a frustrating long time," he added.

Maskin believed China has been playing a very positive role in the current crisis situation.

"We should feel very fortunate that China is there. China made what was a very serious crisis into a less serious crisis, because for one thing they were willing to absorb a lot of debt, and for another thing they were willing to continue to trade," he said.