European Union

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Panicked Cyprus Stalls, Braces for Bank Run

Country considers levy of up to 15%

(Newser) - Things are getting crazy in Cyprus, which has again postponed a vote that could levy a tax on bank depositors to fund the nation's bailout, the BBC reports, this time until tomorrow. Its effects, however, are already rippling through Europe, where stock markets and the euro have plummeted, and...

Behind Microsoft's $732M Fine: Snitch Named Google

EU competition watchdog levies heavy penalty to 'punish and deter'

(Newser) - Microsoft got thumped with a $732 million fine issued by the EU antitrust enforcer yesterday for violating the terms of a 2009 deal—thanks to Google and Opera, reports the Financial Times . Microsoft had then promised to offer consumers a choice of Internet browser instead of making Explorer Windows' automatic...

EU Considering 'Repressive Action' Against Google

France says the company hasn't responded adequately to privacy concerns

(Newser) - Google may be about to face a serious privacy challenge on the other side of the pond. France's privacy watchdog said yesterday that it and several other EU regulators want to coordinate a "repressive action" against Google, the Wall Street Journal reports. The regulators allege that Google has...

Horsemeat Scandal Gets Worse
 Horsemeat Scandal Gets Worse 

Horsemeat Scandal Gets Worse

Meat tainted by vet drug 'bute' could be in French food supply

(Newser) - Europe's horsemeat scandal continues to worsen in both size and scope. For one, the meat of three horses tainted with "bute"—the veterinary drug phenylbutazone—possibly entered the human food chain in France, reports the AP . The British government said today that eight horse carcasses processed in...

US, EU Start Shopping for Massive Free Trade Deal

Hope to start talks by June, but big issues could loom

(Newser) - The United States has 20 free trade pacts ranging from big neighbors to tiny allies, but today Washington set its sights on a far grander prize: the entire European Union, reports Reuters . The two powers announced that they hoped to start talks on a free trade deal by the end...

Nokia's $1.35B Job: Pioneer World's Strongest Material

Get ready for 'graphene revolution'

(Newser) - Computing's next big thing could be on its way. Nokia has received a $1.35 billion grant from the EU to develop graphene , the strongest material the world has ever seen. At one atom thick, it's 300 times stronger than steel, Tom's Hardware notes. Nokia says it...

Cameron: Brits Will Vote on EU Exit

But he'll have to win reelection in 2015 first

(Newser) - British PM David Cameron made an impassioned case today for his country to stick with the European Union, but said it's time for Britons "to have their say" on the matter, reports the New York Times . He promised an "in-or-out" referendum as early as 2017—provided, of...

Eurozone Industrial Output Down for 3rd Month

Points to continuing recession in 4th quarter

(Newser) - Industrial output across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro fell in November for the third straight month, official figures showed today, in a further sign that the region likely remained mired in recession for the fourth quarter of 2012. The 0.3% monthly decline reported by Eurostat,...

EU Unemployment Hits All-Time High

Greece, Spain hit especially hard

(Newser) - Eurozone unemployment hit 11.8% in November, leaving a record 18.8 million out of work, according to data released today by the EU's official statistics agency. The figure, the highest recorded since the currency union formed in 1999, is only a touch higher than October, but a full...

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 

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 

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...

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