European Union news stories on Newser

Greek Euro Exit May Cost $1T

Kevin Spak — Thu, 17 May 2012 07:44:49 CDT

Europe has hundreds of billions of reasons to try to keep Greece from unceremoniously ditching the eurozone. If Greece leaves, the rest of Europe would face catastrophic losses, Reuters reports. Greece would default on the roughly $250 billion in debt held by the ECB, IMF, and other eurozone nations, and...

EU Strikes Somali Pirates

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 15 May 2012 07:10:11 CDT

The European Union launched its first raid on mainland Somali pirate bases overnight, destroying five of their boats using warships and helicopters. The naval attack was the first under an expanded Operation Atalanta, which gave the EU power to attack both land and sea targets. Last night’s attack focused on...

Greek Coalition Talks Drag Into 9th Day

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:16:33 CDT

Marathon efforts to break Greece's post-electoral paralysis are lurching into a ninth day amid the country's worst crisis in decades, with fractious party leaders summoned to a yet another emergency meeting tomorrow that could see the reins of government surrendered to non-politicians. The hectic haggling in Athens cast a deep...

Eurozone Considers Stiffing Greece on Bailout

Kevin Spak — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:00:00 CDT

Eurozone officials are considering holding back a $6.7 billion bailout payment to Greece—a payment it dearly needs to pay the $4.3 billion in bonds coming due next week, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The chatter comes in response to Greece's recent elections, which swept the country's...

S. Korea Stores Yank US Beef Over Mad Cow

Kevin Spak — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:37:05 CDT

Two of South Korea's biggest grocery chains have temporarily halted the sale of US beef in response to the latest mad cow scare . "Not that there were any quality issues in the meat," a spokesman for the country's third-largest chain tells the AP , "but because consumers were worried." Like many...

Dutch Government Falls in Austerity Crisis

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:44:21 CDT

The Dutch government, one of the most vocal critics of European countries failing to rein in their budgets, quit today after failing to agree on a plan to bring its own deficit in line with EU rules. Prime Minister Mark Rutte tendered the resignation of his entire Cabinet to Queen...

Could Iran Be Brought to Its Knees by ... Insurance?

Kevin Spak — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:56:32 CDT

Could the decisive blow in the West's struggle with Iran involve insurance salesmen? An upcoming European ban on providing maritime insurance for Iran's oil tankers may be the most vexing sanction Tehran has ever faced, experts tell Reuters . That's because 90% of the world's tanker insurance is based in the...

EU Bans Assad's Wife From Travel, Shopping

John Johnson — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 06:24:15 CDT

It may not mean much to the forces fighting Syria's government, but it's something: The EU decided today to impose sanctions on first lady Asma Assad, Reuters reports. That means she is no longer welcome for travel and her beloved shopping sprees, adds AFP . She and about a dozen other...

US, EU Launch New Google Privacy Probes

Matt Cantor — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 07:32:00 CDT

Last month, it emerged that Google was skirting privacy settings on Apple's Safari browser; now federal, state, and European Union officials are investigating the since-halted practice, which centers on the installation of tracking files. Google faces a $16,000 fine per violation per day—which could add up to quite...