Leaders Warn of Economic 'Iron Curtain'

Provided escape from Communism for East Germans

(NEWSER) - Hungary is celebrating the 20th anniversary today of its “Pan-European Picnic”: the day it opened its border with Austria, providing a pathway for hundreds of East Germans to exit Europe’s communist east. “The Soviet bloc was like an air balloon with over-pressure so it needed only a prick of the needle, and we were holding this needle,” one organizer tells the BBC. More»

Collapse endangers plans for missile defense installation

(NEWSER) - The Czech prime minister announced his resignation last night after his government lost a confidence vote in parliament, reports the New York Times. The ouster of Mirek Topolanek comes at an awkward moment: Not only do the Czechs hold the rotating EU presidency, but Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Prague in less than 2 weeks. The government's collapse may undermine efforts to install a US missile defense system in the Czech Republic. More»

(NEWSER) - Hungary’s Socialist prime minister will step down so that a leader more adept at managing the country’s dire economic straits can take over, Reuters reports. “I hear that I am the obstacle to the cooperation required for changes,” Ferenc Gyurcsany told a meeting of his party. “I am eliminating this obstacle now.” Gyurcsany hopes to ensure a “constructive vote of no confidence,” which would name his successor before he leaves. More»

Hollande backs eurobonds at inconclusive summit

(NEWSER) - New kid on the European block François Hollande made an audacious debut at his first EU summit, but the crisis meeting ended without a clear solution to the eurozone's woes. The French president, backed by most EU leaders, supports issuing "eurobonds" to shore up troubled EU economies, but he met stiff opposition from Germany and a handful of other countries, reports the Wall Street Journal . The euro is now at a two-year low against the dollar, and European officials are stepping up plans for a possible Greek exit from the currency. More»

New EU dynamic expected to cause friction at crisis summit

(NEWSER) - Yet another European Union crisis meeting will be held today, but the dynamic has changed since the days when Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy met ahead of time to fix a strategy. Unlike his predecessor, François Hollande has sided with European leaders calling for growth instead of austerity and supporting sales of "eurobonds" backed by all member states to lower borrowing costs for struggling nations like Italy and Spain, Reuters reports. More»