“EU” on The Daily Caller

Greece’s economic problems are massive, with protests against the government being held almost daily. Now Prime Minister George Papandreou apparently feels he has no other option: SPIEGEL ONLINE has obtained information from German government sources knowledgeable of the situation in Athens indicating that Papandreou’s government is considering abandoning the euro and reintroducing its own currency. (more)

A few days ago, Portugal officially requested a $116 billion bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. This makes Portugal the third European nation to seek such a bailout in the past year (Greece got $157 billion; Ireland $122 billion). What most people don’t realize is that the U.S. is the largest contributor to the IMF. Therefore, U.S. taxpayers are paying for Portugal’s bailout, which — like the earlier bailouts of Greece and Ireland — was caused by too much government spending and borrowing. (more)

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal asked for a bailout Wednesday to relieve its crushing debt, joining Greece and Ireland by becoming the third eurozone nation to seek outside help amid a bruising financial crisis.  (more)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s justice commissioner asked publicly listed companies to appoint more women to corporate boards and threatened them with imposed quotas if they don’t. (more)

If a government falls and practically nobody hears it, does it make a sound? (more)

BERLIN (AP) — Revolutions hurtling through the Middle East have inspired millions of Europeans, who recall the awe they felt when communist regimes crumbled across the former Soviet bloc. But along with excitement come questions, fears and doubts — as the flames of revolt shoot up on the continent’s very doorstep. (more)

Russia will not support future sanctions against Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in London on Tuesday. (more)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top competition regulator on Wednesday blocked the merger between Greek airlines Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines SA, saying a combined carrier could monopolize Greek air travel. (more)

In tonight’s State of the Union speech, President Obama called for massive new “investments” in renewable energy. By that he means that he wants to transfer billions of dollars to the renewable energy industry via subsidies, while also accomplishing his previously expressed goal of making “electricity prices necessarily skyrocket.” (more)

A student calendar for the 2011-2012 school year, published by the European Union, has conspicuously omitted Christian holidays, while retaining Jewish and Muslim holidays, reports the Catholic News Agency. (more)

Public transport unions have staged a further strike in Greece as the country’s parliament prepares to vote on the 2011 budget. (more)

(Reuters) – Winning a fourth presidential term in a vote marred by the harsh suppression of opposition protests may have been the easy part for Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko. (more)

The Strasbourg judges condemned Roman Catholic Ireland for having laws that made it effectively impossible for a woman to get a lawful abortion, even if her life was threatened. (more)

Although this week’s “ministerial” meetings have yet to play out at the Cancun talks seeking a possible successor to the Kyoto Protocol expiring at the end of 2012, several things are already clear. The most important are these: (more)

The most accurate foreign-exchange strategists say the euro’s worst annual performance since 2005 will extend into next year as the region’s sovereign-debt crisis saps economic growth. (more)

ROME (AP) — An Italian fishing boat on Monday discovered the remains of two American balloonists missing over the Adriatic Sea since Sept. 29, a port official said. (more)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is warning that his country will find it necessary to build up its nuclear forces, if the United State’s doesn’t ratify a new arms reduction treaty. (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland’s international bailout boosted its bank stocks Monday but outraged many hard-pressed taxpayers, who questioned why the government’s pension reserves must be ravaged as part of a deal that burdens the whole country with the mistakes of a rich elite. (more)

LONDON (AP) — Leaders of conservative Anglicans on Wednesday rejected a proposed covenant to hold their global communion together just as the Church of England gave preliminary approval to the plan. (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — Debt-crippled Ireland formally applied Sunday for a massive EU-IMF loan to stem the flight of capital from its banks, joining Greece in a step unthinkable only a few years ago when Ireland was a booming Celtic Tiger and the economic envy of Europe. (more)