Europe, Austerity | featured news

Spain education sector hit by strike against cuts

Thousands of students and teachers staged a strike across Spain on Thursday to protest government austerity measures and a planned new education reforms.

 

Workers protest to get EU leaders to end austerity

Austerity Protest

Thousands of workers protested in Brussels on Thursday to demand that EU leaders gathering for a summit bring an end to austerity measures and instead focus on boosting growth and reducing unemployment.

 

Spain's King Unpopular: Approval Of Juan Carlos At New Low After Austerity, Corruption Scandal

Juan Carlos

When King Juan Carlos appeared at a recent basketball game in front of thousands of subjects, he was greeted by persistent heckling and whistling. It was an unprecedented spectacle in a nearly four-decade reign over which the monarch has basked in the nation's love and respect.

 

Greece hit by general strike against austerity

Greek Austerity Protest

Tens of thousands of anti-austerity demonstrators took to the streets of Athens on Wednesday as unions staged a general strike to protest government spending cuts and tax hikes, which some predict will push unemployment to an alarming 30 percent. Police said up to 40,000 people were participating in two separate marches in central Athens that were so far peaceful.

 

Greece says it met deficit-cutting targets in 2012

The Greek government says its painful austerity drive is paying off, with the budget deficit reduced to 6.6 percent of annual output in 2012 from 9.4 percent a year earlier. A finance ministry statement Monday said that, not counting the cost of servicing Greece's debt mountain, the government posted a modest budget surplus of €434 million ($588 million) last year.

 

Violence amid austerity protests in Europe

Europe Protest

Pockets of violence broke out as public demonstrations and strikes over rising unemployment and austerity measures took place in many parts of Europe Wednesday. Spanish and Portuguese workers staged a coordinated general strike across the Iberian Peninsula, shutting transport, grounding flights and closing schools to protest against spending cuts and tax hikes.

 

Greeks vote for more economic pain

Greece

Over the course of five days, the Greek government -- led by the understated conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras -- overcame two high hurdles in a dash to qualify for the austerity program set out by the so-called troika, made up of the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.

 

Merkel lauds crisis-hit Portugal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel praises Portugal's resolve in tackling its debt crisis, but faces angry anti-austerity protesters in Lisbon.

 

No final decision on Greece next week, slower austerity assumed

Euro Zone

Euro zone finance ministers are unlikely to release a new tranche of loans to Greece on Monday as there is no agreement yet on how to make its debt sustainable but Athens is set to get two more years to cut debt, officials said.

 

Big fat Greek strike: MPs and govt say no escaping austerity

Anti-Austerity Protest in Greece

Debt-ridden Greece enters yet another week of anti-austerity protests. The country risks coming to a standstill as the parliament votes on a fresh austerity package of cost cuts and tax hikes for a new cash injection from its international creditors. A 24-hour strike starting Monday is expected to unite hospital doctors, journalists, Metro, taxi and train drivers and other transport workers, reports RT's Peter Oliver from Athens.

 

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