European Union

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Pope: It's Time to Fix the Wealth Gap

Also calls for end to Syria violence in New Year's address

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI used his New Year's speech today to urge world leaders to address the growing wealth gap between rich and poor, the AP reports. And he got quite technical in his calling for that. As reported by Bloomberg :
  • "If the differential index between financial rates represents
...

EU Accepts Peace Prize Amid Protest

Former winners, local demonstrators slam award

(Newser) - The European Union officially received the Nobel Peace Prize today in an Oslo ceremony attended by some 20 EU leaders, including Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, and UK deputy PM Nick Clegg. The prize committee applauded the EU's efforts toward peace in Europe after World War II, and called leaders...

Greece to Buy Back Bonds at Big Discounts

Country hopes plan will cut $26B from debt

(Newser) - Greece will spend up to $13 billion in a heavily-discounted bond buyback program that it hopes will help stabilize its debts, officials said today. Private holders of Greek bonds, such as banks and pension funds, have until Friday to register their interest in participating in the buyback program. It will...

Protesting EU Farmers Spray Cops With ... Milk?

They're protesting low milk prices

(Newser) - Thousands of enraged dairy farmers converged on the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday, and sprayed the building, and the cops who showed up to contain them, with their stock in trade: milk. The protesters arrived on tractors, blocked traffic along many of the city's main streets, then pulled out...

EU: New Greek Deal Will Work
 EU: New Greek Deal Will Work 
Nov 27, 2012 3:39 AM CST

EU: New Greek Deal Will Work

Markets rise after fresh deal to keep country afloat

(Newser) - European Union finance ministers and the IMF have hammered out yet another deal on Greek debt and they say this one is going to work. The euro and Asian markets rose after the announcement of the latest deal on the three-year-old crisis, which will cut the rates on bailout loans,...

EU Budget Talks Collapse Without Deal

But officials cite 'constructive' discussions

(Newser) - A European Union summit charged with agreeing on a long-term budget for the 27-nation bloc has broken up without a deal. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who presides over the summits, said that the national leaders had told him and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to continue working...

Eurozone Falls Back Into Recession

GDP falls for the second quarter in a row

(Newser) - The eurozone officially has a double-dip recession on its hands. The 17-nation euro bloc fell into that second dip in the third quarter, with GDP falling 0.1%, the European Union's statistics office announced today. Since that marks its second straight quarter of decline—it was down 0.2%...

Mass Strikes Sweep Europe
 Mass Strikes Sweep Europe 
Nov 14, 2012 7:42 AM CST

Mass Strikes Sweep Europe

700 flights grounded, minor scuffles break out in Spain

(Newser) - Anti-austerity protests in Europe have usually been relatively localized affairs, confined to one country or another—until now. Labor leaders in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece all called for strikes and demonstrations today, the New York Times reports, and people in France, Belgium, and elsewhere took to the streets as...

Greek Parliament OKs Austerity Budget

But Europe still hasn't settled on aid package

(Newser) - Following the tight passage of an austerity package last week, Greece's parliament has approved a 2013 austerity budget. The budget, part of a plan to receive further foreign financing, passed by a margin of 167 to 128, the New York Times reports. It cuts salaries, pensions, and benefits by...

Austerity Ekes Out Victory in Greece

Eurozone decision follows huge protests

(Newser) - In a 153 to 128 vote, Greek's three-party coalition government barely passed some $22 billion worth of new austerity measures in an effort to remain in the eurozone. Eighteen MPs voted "present" on the plan, with another abstaining. The vote on the measures, which include pension cuts and...

Greeks Launch 48-Hour Strike Over New Cuts

Parliament votes tomorrow on bailout-linked austerity measures

(Newser) - Greeks today launched a 48-hour general strike in protest of new spending cuts, with an estimated 2 million people—from lawyers to hospital employees—taking part. The union-organized strike has shut down banks, schools, and public transportation as Parliament prepares vote on the cuts tomorrow. It must support the austerity...

IMF to Italy, Spain: Get Help from Eurozone

But Rome says no ahead of EU summit

(Newser) - With a two-day EU summit beginning in Brussels tomorrow, the International Monetary Fund is calling on Italy and Spain to apply for eurozone assistance, hoping to cut losses in Europe's debt crisis. The eurozone is on the verge of establishing an environment that would ensure both countries can continue...

New 'Flame' Virus Found; EU Boosts Iran Sanctions

'Mini-flame' could steal data, control systems: experts

(Newser) - Cyber-security experts have spotted a small but precise "mini-virus" riding on the heels of Flame, the espionage tool designed by Israel and the US to undermine Iran's nuclear facilities , reports YNet News . Dubbed "mini-Flame," the new virus appears "designed to steal data and control infected...

Did the Nobel &#39;Jump the Shark&#39; With EU Prize?

 Did the Nobel 
 'Jump the Shark' 
 With EU Prize?
Reaction Roundup
Oct 12, 2012 9:46 AM CDT

Did the Nobel 'Jump the Shark' With EU Prize?

Reactions range from approval to derision

(Newser) - The Nobel committee has made some strange choices over the years, but awarding its peace prize to the European Union "may be the most bizarre decision in the history of the award," writes Dashiell Bennett at the Atlantic . So naturally, it's got people talking. Here's what...

Nobel Peace Prize Goes to ... European Union

It's another surprise pick

(Newser) - As it struggles with internal divisions and an ongoing debt crisis, the European Union has been given a surprise morale boost by the Nobel Committee—plus a $1.2 million prize a few of its members could certainly use. The committee awarded the 2012 peace prize to the 27-member bloc,...

S&amp;P Downgrades Spanish Debt
 S&P Downgrades 
 Spanish Debt 
Oct 11, 2012 8:15 AM CDT

S&P Downgrades Spanish Debt

Nears junk status amid bailout debate

(Newser) - The Spanish government's dilemma over whether to request a European bailout has become more acute following a downgrade of the cash-strapped country's credit rating. Standard & Poor's late yesterday cut its rating on Spain's debt by two notches to BBB-, just a step above junk status,...

Russia: Al-Qaeda Behind Europe's Forest Fires

And they may soon try it in the US, too

(Newser) - The forest fires that have been raging through the EU lately aren't random catastrophes—they're terrorist attacks. That's what Russian security service chief Alexander Bortnikov told a meeting of security and law enforcement chiefs earlier this week, RIA Novosti reports. The fires, he said, are "one...

Eurozone Unemployment Hits Record 11.4%

June, July, and August all at depressing level

(Newser) - Europe had a very cruel summer: Unemployment in the eurozone a record high of 11.4% in June, July, and August, the European Union's statistics office announced today. "An end to the horror is not in sight," says one economist. "Unemployment rates are still increasing and...

Greece Reaches 'Basic Agreement' on Austerity

Decision follows yesterday's giant protests

(Newser) - The heads of the three parties in Greece's governing coalition have reached a "basic agreement" on an austerity package for 2013-2014, the country's finance minister says. The cuts are essential if Greece is to continue receiving funds from international emergency loans. The meeting between Prime Minister Antonis...

Strapped Europe's New Idea: Tax the Vatican

Church's long-held government breaks might be in danger

(Newser) - As Europe continues to seek a way out of its financial straits, some countries are eyeing the wealth of the Catholic Church. Italy's prime minister wants a tax on church properties. British city councils have cut funds for transportation to religious schools, while Ireland considers similar moves. And a...

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