Europe Debt Crisis, Austerity | featured news

Protesters are expected to march through London on Saturday to voice their opposition to austerity measures imposed by the UK government, union leaders said.

Greece is inching towards an agreement with its international debt inspectors as they struggle to hammer out the details of (EURO)13.5 billion ($17.5 billion) in austerity measures for the next two years, a package essential for Greece to receive the next installment of its vital bailout funds.

Tens of thousands of Spaniards and Portuguese rallied in the streets of their countries' capitals Saturday to protest enduring deep economic pain from austerity cuts.

To every Portuguese, the town of Grandola is a cradle of the 1974 revolution that ended decades of dictatorship, but nowadays it is hard to find even a spark of revolt here against the worst economic hardship in the country's recent history.

President Obama and leaders of the world’s other leading economies Saturday embraced a policy of growth over austerity in Europe as they met on the cloistered grounds of Camp David to talk about fending off a spread of the Eurozone crisis.

Some two decades ago, when Europe’s leaders worked out the details of their grand vision to connect the European Union with a single currency, virtually every economist on this side of the Atlantic — and most of those on the other — figured out that the euro would be fatally flawed.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Sunday defended his government's harsh austerity measures aimed at correcting Spain's grim economic forecast, one day after tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets in protest of his handling of the country's worst crisis in decades.

The anti-austerity backlash - as seen at the polls in France and Greece - is already shaping a new debate in Europe... Europe's leaders will address a conundrum that divides economists: can you have austerity and growth at the same time?

There has been a great deal of austerity-bashing -- that is to say Germany-bashing -- this French election season. Buoyed by his success in the first round, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande declared last Thursday: "It is not for Germany to decide for the rest of Europe." Vowing to reset Europe on a growth path, he said, "we're not just any country, we can change the situation."

Greece has successfully pushed through a deal to lower its debt burden and avoid defaulting on its outstanding bonds in the near future.