France’s ruling leftists concede they won’t meet 3% budget-deficit-reduction targets amid 2012 fourth-quarter growth numbers from across Europe indicating things getting worse, rather than better
Germany
‘A Sense of Duty’: Germany Reacts to Pope Benedict XVI’s Resignation
The mayor of Marktl am Inn, the tiny village in Upper Bavaria where Pope Benedict XVI was born, is surprised to hear his village’s favorite son will be stepping down, but says it won’t be bad for business. “I saw him last …
The E.U. Budget: Champions of Austerity Win a Big Battle–for the Most Part
Sleep-deprived EU leaders adopt a vastly reduced 2014-2020 budget that leading European parliamentarians vow to send back.
Why the Europeans Don’t Really Want an E.U. Budget Deal
Three months after failing to reach agreements on whether to slash or bolster the E.U. budget, leaders gather in Brussels to find their positions still far apart
50 Years After Landmark Treaty, Can France and Germany Save Europe?
Ceremonies marking the 1963 Franco-German partnership pale in comparison to U.S. presidential inaugurations, but they mark an alliance credited with driving the E.U. — and the euro — toward greater stability and prosperity
Germany Seeks to Ban a Far-Right Party
The NDP has been a target before but this time, its opponents believe they have a good shot at declaring the organization illegal
Is the E.U. Nearing a Landmark Banking Deal?
European Union finance ministers announced unexpected advances towards a banking union designed to prevent the excesses that transformed Europe’s sovereign debt problem into the fearsome euro crisis.
It’s Official: Eurozone Enters Second Recession In Three Years
Despite positive growth in France and Germany, official figures show the 17-nation euro bloc sinking into its second recession since 2009—with experts warning the worst is yet to come.
France ‘Biggest Problem’ in Euro Crisis, Say German Officials
France smarts at German comments despairing French economic response to the euro crisis, and media reports contending Berlin is preparing a To-Do reform list for sluggish leaders in Paris.
A Kinder, Gentler Merkel Comes Calling in Athens
The German Chancellor hasn’t given up on her austerity push, but she isn’t about to show Greece the E.U. door
Munich’s Oktoberfest – Inside the World’s Biggest Beer Festival
Millions of beer drinkers descend on the Bavarian capital for the 179th Octoberfest, which runs from Sept. 22 until Oct. 7, 2012. Germany’s famous fair is the world’s largest, attracting more than six million people annually from …
Amid His U.N. Visit, François Hollande Is Haunted by French Economic Woes
Escalating economic and employment woes, as well as serious rifts within his leftist majority and Cabinet, cast a dark shadow over French President François Hollande’s moment in the international sun as he addressed the U.N.
In Autumn’s Challenges, a Series of Existential Crises for the Euro
The fate of the euro will be repeatedly tested in coming weeks, as the European Central Bank, markets, legal experts and politicians all weigh in from opposing sides in the struggle to preserve the tormented common currency