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Europe faces ongoing debt crisis European leaders are at a crossroad: They must pull closer together or risk the euro currency project falling apart.
Greek Prime minister George Papandreou survived a confidence vote in parliament, calming a revolt in his Socialist party with a pledge to seek an interim government that would secure a vital new European debt deal.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
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Oct. 31, 2011
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is seen at the start of a Panhellenic Socialist Movement parliamentary group meeting at the parliament in Athens. The Greek government will hold a referendum on a new EU aid package, calling on voters to say whether they want to adopt it or not, Papandreou said on Monday.
John Kolesidis
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Reuters
Oct. 31, 2011
A European Union flag, left, and Greek national flag fly near the Parthenon temple on Acropolis hill in Athens.
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Bloomberg
Oct. 31, 2011
A pedestrian reads newspaper headlines outside a kiosk in Athens. Europe's plan to solve the region's debt crisis made credit-default swaps covering Greece "ineffective," Moody's Investors Service said.
Angelos Tzortzinis
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Bloomberg
Oct. 27, 2011
Greek Foreign Minister Stavros Lambrinidis, left, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walk to the microphone before making brief remarks to the members of the news media in the Treaty Room at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Clinton and Lambrinidis addressed the ongoing debt crisis in Greece and the continued strong relationship between their two countries before heading into bilateral meetings.
Chip Somodevilla
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Getty Images
Oct. 26, 2011
Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's prime minister, speaks to the media as he departs following a European council summit to solve Europe's debt crisis at the European Council headquarters in Belgium. European leaders reached a deal to stem the debt crisis by persuading bondholders to take 50 percent losses on Greek debt and boosting the firepower of the rescue fund to $1.4 trillion.
Jock Fistick
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Bloomberg
Oct. 27, 2011
People watch the broadcast interview of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a bar of Lyon, eastern France. Sarkozy explained the decisions taken by Europe at a marathon summit to fix its debt crisis.
Jean-Philippe Ksiazek
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AFP/Getty Images
Oct. 26, 2011
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, left, and Poland's Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski, center, participate in a media conference at an E.U. summit in Brussels. A grand plan to resolve Europe's escalating debt crisis was once again in doubt after officials said key parts of the package may not be ready in time for a leaders' summit on Wednesday.
Virginia Mayo
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AP
Oct. 26, 2011
A woman holds a poster reading " financial transaction tax now" in front of German parliament buildings prior to the debate about the European Financial Stability Facility at the parliament in Berlin.
Markus Schreiber
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AP
Oct. 26, 2011
From left, Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Necas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor participate in a round table at the E.U. summit.
Geert Vanden Wijngaert
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AP
Oct. 25, 2011
A protester reads a financial crisis story in the Guardian newspaper at a second demonstration campsite formed on Saturday by supporters of the Occupy London Stock Exchange group in Finsbury Square, London.
Matt Dunham
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AP
Oct. 25, 2011
An employee works on pressed steel vehicle body sections on the production line at the Renault factory in Maubeuge, France. Renault Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said he sees European car demand stable "at best" in 2012 because of the "uncertainty" created by the European sovereign debt crisis.
Fabrice Dimier
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Bloomberg
Oct. 26, 2011
A cook takes a break in a courtyard of the German parliament building Reichstag during the debate about the European Financial Stability Facility.
Markus Schreiber
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AP
Oct. 25, 2011
A woman passes under a sign reading ''25/10 24-hour strike'' at a tram station during a 24-hour strike by tram, metro, bus and trolley workers in Athens. Leaders of the 17-nation euro zone, fearing the financial crisis could spread from debt-shackled countries like Greece to larger economies, failed to clinch a comprehensive debt deal at a weekend summit.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
Oct. 24, 2011
A woman walks past shop windows of a closed shop in Milan. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi summoned his Cabinet for an emergency meeting to discuss growth measures the European Union has demanded so that Italy does not get further dragged into Europe's growing debt crisis. The package should include measures to overhaul Italy's labor markets and its inefficient judicial system, considered a main impediment to foreign investment. The latest Italian package also was expected to contain measures aimed at raising the retirement age to match that Germany, which is raising the retirement to 67 for anyone born after 1964.
Luca Bruno
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AP
Oct. 24, 2011
A man feeds pigeons in Milan. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi summoned his Cabinet for an emergency meeting to discuss the debt crisis.
Luca Bruno
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AP
Oct. 24, 2011
Unemployed residents wait in a long line at a state labor office to collect benefit checks in Athens. Waiting times were lengthened by a computer system glitch early Monday. Greece, expecting a fourth year of recession in 2012, is suffering from a rapid rise in unemployment — now at 16.5 percent — and drop in living standards.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
Oct. 23, 2011
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, speaks with, from left to right, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during a roundtable meeting of euro-zone members at an E.U. summit in Brussels. Greece's prime minister is pleading with European leaders in Brussels to act decisively to solve the continent's debt crisis. At a summit Sunday, the leaders are expected to ask banks to accept huge losses on Greek bonds to ease the pressure on the country and to raise billions more in capital to weather those losses.
Geert Vanden Wijngaert
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AP
Oct. 21, 2011
Luxembourg's Prime Minister and head of the euro group Jean-Claude Juncker, left, speaks with from right, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado during a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers in Brussels.
Virginia Mayo
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AP
Oct. 21, 2011
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, right, speaks with Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos during a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers in Brussels.
Virginia Mayo
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AP
Oct. 19, 2011
A protester throws a petrol bomb at riot police during clashes outside the Greek parliament in Athens. Greek anger over new austerity measures and layoffs erupted into violence outside parliament on Wednesday, as demonstrators hurled chunks of marble and gasoline bombs and riot police responded with tear gas and stun grenades that echoed across Athens's main square. Wednesday was the first day of a two-day general strike that unions described as the largest protests in years, with at least 100,000 people marching through central Athens.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Oct. 17, 2011
Portuguese Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar, seen on the monitor screen of a television camera, takes notes during a news conference at the ministry in Lisbon, to explain the government's proposed 2012 budget. Gaspar said the government plans more pay cuts and tax increases in 2012.
Armando Franca
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AP
Oct. 17, 2011
A police officer holds a Greek flag as more than 1,000 Greek police officers, firefighters and coast guard officers, many in uniform, gather for an anti-austerity protest outside the marble Panathenaean stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896, in Athens. Strikes halted ferries to the Greek islands and left rotting trash piling up in Athens for the 16th straight day as unions fought back against more austerity cuts at the start of a crucial week for both Greece and the 17-nation euro zone.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Oct. 17, 2011
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, left, and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso participate in a media conference after a Tripartite Social Summit at the E.U. Council building in Brussels. All eyes will focus on an Oct. 23 E.U. summit, after a G-20 finance chiefs meeting in Paris called for quick and decisive measures to end the euro-zone debt crisis.
Virginia Mayo
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AP
Oct. 16, 2011
People protest against the political and financial crisis as they call to citizens to move to the rally, in Pamplona, northern Spain. The rally, one of many nationwide protests, was held to demonstrate against Spain's economic crisis and alleged political corruption.
Alvaro Barrientos
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AP
Oct. 15, 2011
Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, center, and John Lipsky, first deputy managing director of the IMF, right, arrive for a news conference following the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting, at the French economy and finance ministry in Paris. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner endorsed Europe's emerging plan to beat the sovereign debt crisis as global finance chiefs pushed for a solution.
Chris Ratcliffe
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Bloomberg
Oct. 12, 2011
Mask wearers protest in Rome as Italy's President Giorgio Napolitano meets with Bank of Italy governor and incoming European Central Bank President Mario Draghi for the meeting "Italy and the World Economy, 1861-2011." Draghi called on Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government to act fast to save the country from the debt crisis.
Filippo Monteforte
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AFP/Getty Images
Oct. 12, 2011
A university student holds a banner during a protest outside the finance ministry in Athens. About three hundreds students participated in a rally against a new university reform bill. The reforms are part of deficit-cutting measures required for near-bankrupt Greece to continue receiving rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and other euro-zone countries.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Oct. 12, 2011
Slovak Prime Minister and Chairman of the Democratic and Christian Union Iveta Radicova arrives for a government meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia. Slovakian lawmakers Tuesday rejected the expansion of the euro zone's bailout fund. After 10 hours of debate in parliament, the measure failed to pass by 21 votes. Slovakia remains the only country in the 17-member euro zone that has not approved expanding the bailout fund, which requires unanimous support to go into effect. Slovakia's 1-year-old coalition government fell with the vote because it included a no-confidence measure.
Petr David Josek
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AP
Oct. 12, 2011
Demonstrators hold posters reading "We won't pay the debt, we want to earn," as they take part in a protest against the Bank of Italy.
Filippo Monteforte
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AFP/Getty Images
Oct. 11, 2011
Riot police officers stand guard outside the Greek Parliament, seen through a Greek flag held by a protester, during a demonstration by civil servants in Athens. Greece's international debt inspectors have completed their review of the government's reforms, saying Tuesday that if their conclusions are adopted by the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund, Athens is likely to receive the next batch of its bailout loans in early November.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Oct. 11, 2011
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, left, talks with former finance minister Yannos Papantoniou during a forum in Athens.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Oct. 11, 2011
People walk past a pile of garbage in Thessaloniki, Greece. A strike by municipal workers has left piles of garbage on many streets, while motorists formed long lines at gas stations after workers at a main refinery went on strike.
Nikolas Giakoumidis
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AP
Oct. 11, 2011
Richard Sulik, center, leader of the Freedom and Solidarity Party and parliamentary speaker of Slovakia, starts a parliament session in Bratislava during which lawmakers were to vote on the European Union bailout fund. Slovakia is the last euro-zone country to vote on the fund. The 17 nations that use the euro must all approve expanding the powers of the bailout fund, which is designed to shore up Europe's defenses against the debt crisis.
Petr David Josek
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AP
Oct. 10, 2011
A man gets in a car in front of a long lines of vehicles in central Athens. A public transport strike has snarled traffic as workers protest government austerity measures.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Oct. 10, 2011
Chief Executive of Dexia Pierre Mariani, left, and Dexia Chairman Jean-Luc Dehaene participate in a media conference at the embattled bank's headquarters, a day after it was announced the firm would be nationalized.
Virginia Mayo
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AP
Oct. 9, 2011
Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president, and Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, hold a news conference at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. Merkel said European leaders will do "everything necessary" to ensure that banks have adequate capital, joining Sarkozy in a bid to persuade investors they can stamp out the debt crisis roiling global markets.
Michele Tantussi
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Bloomberg
Oct. 4, 2011
France and Belgium are fighting to prevent the bank Dexia from going under as investors grew increasingly worried over its ability to survive a renewed credit crunch.
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AP
Oct. 4, 2011
Delegation members talk with European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn, front left, and European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier, front right, during the E.U. finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg. Euro-zone leaders will likely boost the firepower of their bailout fund at a summit later this month, Belgium's finance minister said.
Yves Logghe
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AP
Oct. 3, 2011
High school students scuffle with riot police during a protest in Athens.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
Sept. 30, 2011
A student uses a loudspeaker during a protest in central Athens. Students marched through the city center to protest against a new university reform bill, while dozens of university buildings around the country are still occupied.
Kostas Tsironis
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AP
Sept. 29, 2011
German Chancellor Angela Merkel smiles shortly after casting her ballot along with other Bundestag members in voting on an increase in funding for the European Financial Stability Facility in Berlin. Many analysts see the increase as crucial for safeguarding the future stability of the euro in the face of the current debt crisis in Greece.
Sean Gallup
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Getty Images
Sept, 27, 2011
A woman leaves a bank as riot police guard an entryway during a protest by garbage collectors in Athens against austerity measures.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Sept. 27, 2011
Tax office employees chant slogans against austerity measures during a protest in central Athens. Greece will receive its next batch of bailout loans in time to avoid a disastrous default, its finance minister said.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Sept. 25, 2011
Protesters hold a Greek national flag during a protest in Athens against austerity measures. Police used tear gas to disperse about 3,000 protesters that gathered in front of the Greek Parliament building.
Kostas Tsironis
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AP
Sept. 22, 2011
A man walks by burning piles of garbage after a demonstration in Brussels in which trash collectors protested against austerity measures
Mark D. Carlson
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AP
Sept. 22, 2011
A broker looks on in front of a screen at the stock exchange in Madrid. World stocks skidded lower Thursday, stung by the Federal Reserve's pessimistic assessment of the U.S. economy and the perceived ineffectiveness of measures to kick-start growth.
Paul White
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AP
Sept. 22, 2011
Protesters from a communist-backed union chant slogans in an anti-austerity protest in central Athens, with several thousand people outside the Greek Parliament. Greece will suspend more civil servants than originally planned and impose new pension cuts as part of more austerity measures, the government said Wednesday, as it tried to persuade international creditors to continue bailout payments needed to avoid a chaotic default.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
Sept. 20, 2011
Public sector trade union members burn emergency tax notices outside the Greek finance ministry in Athens during a protest against government's plans to suspend public servants on reduced pay.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
Sept. 20, 2011
High school students take part in a demonstration in Athens. The rally was organized to protest against shortages of school books and other supplies in the financially troubled country.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
Sept. 19, 2011
A man sitting in a wheelchair shouts slogans outside the finance ministry during a protest in Athens. Greeks with disabilities are calling on the government end cuts for disability programs that were enacted as part of a new austerity initiative.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
Sept, 17, 2011
Protesters place a placard on the door of Greece's Central Bank during an anti-austerity protest in Athens.
Kosta Tsironis
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AP
Sept. 14, 2011
Police clashed with anti-austerity protesters near the Italian Parliament building in downtown Rome. The confrontations came as the Chamber of Deputies was holding a final vote on an austerity package aimed to get the country's massive deficit under control.
Angelo Carconi
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AP
Sept. 14, 2011
Italian lawmakers attend a voting session in Parliament on the government's austerity package.
Gregorio Borgia
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AP
Sept. 13, 2011
Protesters shout slogans as they hold a coffin outside the Greek Parliament during a demonstration in Athens. About 5,000 taxi drivers gathered to voice discontent over the government's plans to open up their licensed profession to more competition. The reforms were demanded by Greece's rescue creditors.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
Sept. 11, 2001
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, right, flanked by his finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, appears at a news conference in Thessaloniki. Greece's cash-strapped government said that day that it would impose a new property tax, on top of existing austerity measures, to contain this year's revenue shortfall.
Dimitri Messinis
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AP
Sept. 10, 2011
Protesting taxi drivers confront riot police during a demonstration in Thessaloniki. Thousands of Greeks showed up for a series of protests in the country's second-largest city.
Nikolas Giakoumidis
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AP
Sept. 7, 2011
An employee at the Athens Metro stands at the shuttered entrance of the subway at Syntagma Square during a four-hour work stoppage. Pressured by international leaders, Greece is planning to suspend public servants with reduced pay in an effort to slash state spending.
Kosta Tsironis
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AP
Sept. 6, 2011
Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Stop to social butchery, diktat of the European Union" as they gather next to the Colosseum in Rome. A strike by Italy's largest labor union against an austerity package shut down air, land and sea transport, stalled manufacturing and curtailed government services throughout the country.
Pier Paolo Cito
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AP
Sept. 6, 2011
Demonstrators assemble in front of Milan's gothic cathedral. In the weeks before the demonstration, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rolled out a sweeping plan that accelerated austerity measures and aimed to balance Italy's budget by 2013.
Luca Bruno
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AP
Sept. 2, 2011
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, second from the left, addresses the media during a news conference on the state of the Greek economy. Greece was the first euro-zone economy to unravel and became the recipient of a $160 billion lifeline from the E.U. and IMF in May 2010. The bailout required the Mediterranean country to slash social programs and public payrolls, among other measures.
Kosta Tsironis
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AP
Sept. 2, 2011
Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Spain's Finance Minister Elena Salgado talk during an extraordinary session at the Spanish Parliament in Madrid. Spanish lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment that will force the government to keep future deficits very low, a fast-track change designed to reassure investors fretting over the country's debt load.
Daniel Ochoa de Olza
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AP
Sept. 1, 2011
Protesters assembled in Madrid to oppose a proposed constitutional amendment that would force Spain's government to rein in its deficit. The amendment passed shortly afterward, despite the protests.
Daniel Ochoa de Olza
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AP
Aug. 29, 2011
Greece's second and third largest lenders, Eurobank and Alpha Bank, announced plans to merge in order to better withstand the country's acute financial crisis. The move created Greece's biggest bank and was welcomed by the country's government.
Kostas Tsironis
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AP
Aug. 28, 2011
A group of protesters marches past Madrid's City Hall during a demonstration against government economic reforms. Their banner reads, "The people also count, no to this constitutional reform." Spain's debt problems are particularly concerning to analysts and economists because the country's economy is so large. It would be much more difficult to bail out Spain than it was to help the relatively smaller economies of Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Paul White
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AP
Aug. 8, 2011
A trader keeps an eye on monitors at a bank in Milan. European Central Bank leaders have decided to fight the continent's debt crisis by buying Spanish and Italian bonds in an effort to push down the soaring interest rates threatening those countries with financial disaster.
Antonio Calanni
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AP
Aug. 5, 2011
Stock traders work at the German stock exchange in Frankfurt. Stock markets across Europe took major dives in August as concern grew over the sagging U.S. economy and Europe's inability to devise a solution to its debt crisis.
Martin Oeser
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AP
Aug. 1, 2011
A striking taxi driver stands in front of a riot police officer during a protest at the Heraklion airport on the Greek island of Crete. Taxi owners are angry over business licensing reforms demanded as part of the country's international bailout package.
Image Photo Services
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AP
Aug. 1, 2011
Taxi drivers run from tear gas during clashes at the Heraklion airport.
Image Photo Services
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AP
July 26, 2011
Protesting taxi drivers wave a Greek flag and chant slogans during a demonstration outside the Greek Parliament in central Athens.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
July 23, 2011
Thousands of demonstrators angry about their country's economic crisis gather at Puerta del Sol, the main square in Madrid.
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AP
July 21, 2011
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet speaks during a media conference after an E.U. summit in Brussels. Euro zone leaders, including Trichet, are now debating the creation of a joint eurobond that would be backed by all 17 nations that are members of the euro currency union. However, many countries, including Germany, oppose that measure.
Thierry Charlier
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AP
July 21, 2011
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, is seen after a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou, center, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, prior to the summit on the European financial crisis in Brussels.
Steffen Kugler
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AP
July 20, 2011
Striking taxi drivers chant anti-government slogans outside the transport ministry in Athens as part of a protest against new licensing laws. Talks between the government and unions collapsed during the heart of Greece's vital tourism season.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
July 13, 2011
A homeless man sits with his dog in downtown Milan beside a sign that reads, "Abbiamo fame," or "We are hungry."
Luca Bruno
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AP
July 7, 2011
A woman walks past graffiti that translates to "IMF = Eternal Love" on a building in downtown Porto, Portugal. Portugal's financial plight has deepened as borrowing rates jumped higher and stocks slumped after its bonds were downgraded to junk status. The country's hopes of slowly emerging from its debt crisis were knocked by ratings agency Moody's, which downgraded Portugal's debt four notches and said the country will likely follow Greece in needing a second rescue package.
Paulo Duarte
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AP
June 29, 2011
A protester walks in front of a burning vehicle in Athens's Syntagma Square. Riots broke out across Greece in late June after the government approved more austerity measures in an effort to avert default and reassure global stock markets.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
June 29, 2011
Protesters observe the clash between riot police and other demonstrators in central Athens. Their faces are coated with a liquid antacid that is meant to treat heartburn but which they say helps protect against the effects of tear gas.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
June 29, 2011
Riot police run toward protesters as they move into Syntagma Square.
Petros Karadjias
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AP
June 29, 2011
A protester runs away from riot police in Athens.
Petros Giannakouris
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AP
June 29, 2011
A riot policeman kicks a drum-playing protester during the clash.
Petros Karadjias
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AP
June 29, 2011
A protester is arrested during riots in Athens's main square.
Thanassis Stavrakis
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AP
June 5, 2011
Protesters gesture during a peaceful rally outside the Greek Parliament in Athens. The demonstrators object to fiscal austerity measures that the government has put in place.
Dimitri Messinis
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AP
April 15, 2011
Ajai Chopra, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund's Europe department, took questions at a news conference on the recovery program for Ireland. In November, the IMF joined with the European Union to give Ireland a $90 billion rescue package meant to shore up that country's deeply troubled banking sector.
Peter Morrison
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AP
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