On June 4, George Kaminis, the mild-mannered mayor of Athens, visited Greece‘s Minister of Citizen Protection, Nikos Dendias, …
debt crisis
Greece’s Garbage Crisis: A Stinky Metaphor for an Economy in the Dumps
It is like a dark inversion of the tourist images of Greece. Seagulls circle not over the clear blue waters of the Aegean, but a bleak, cratered landscape, swooping down to compete with human scavengers and mangy dogs for spoils …
Spain and Portugal’s Huddled Masses Seek Jobs in Former Colonies
There are few better places that illustrate the impact of the Spanish conquest of Latin America than the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco, Peru. Cathedrals with foundations of perfectly hewn Incan stone sit atop the ruins of what was once the mountain capital of the great Incan empire. Chapels gleam with Andean gold and silver, a testament to the …
French Soccer Clubs Aren’t Safe From François Hollande’s 75% Tax on the Rich
France’s Socialist President François Hollande rolls out a new version of his derailed 75% income tax proposal on top salaries, and finds the French soccer establishment joining the wealthy and business class in protest
The European Slump: France Gives Up Lowering Its Budget Deficit
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
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
Amid the Depardieu Tax Debacle, France’s Budget Minister Accused of Dodging Taxes
France’s controversy-weary President François Hollande sees a Cabinet member accused of tax fraud after the government’s proposed 75% tax on wealthy incomes is struck down
France’s 75% Income Tax on the Rich Overturned as Unconstitutional
Socialist President François Hollande’s promise to create social “justice” by raising taxes on France’s wealthy overturned on constitutional grounds–for now.
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.
A Deeply Divided European Union Faces Its Own Budgetary Cliff
France, Germany and Britain become central antagonists in more general discord over a multiyear E.U. budget — and risk preventing Europe from fulfilling one of its most basic operational tasks
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.