Last Saturday home care workers protested massively in the Hague. More than 6000 home care workers joined one of the biggest demonstration in the Netherlands. Rutte's cabinet plans to reduce the government's home care budget by 1,1 billion euros. Such a plan will lead to 100.000 lay offs in the social sector.         ...

Portugal's constitutional court has rejected four out of nine contested austerity measures in this year's budget in a ruling that deals a blow to government finances but is unlikely to derail reforms two years after the country's bailout. The measures rejected by the court should deprive the country of at least 900 million euros ($1.17 billion) in net revenues and savings, according to preliminary estimates ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VPCzfitXNOQ ...

The Netherlands, Berlin's most important ally in pushing for greater budgetary discipline in Europe, has fallen into an economic crisis itself. The once exemplary economy is suffering from huge debts and a burst real estate bubble, which has stalled growth and endangered jobs. Graphic detailing the economic downturn in the Netherlands. By Christoph Schult and Anne Seith   Michel Scheepens is familiar w ...

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press DRAPETSONA, Greece -- In rain and shrieking wind, the ferry strains at its ropes, the gangplank creaking and scraping against the pier. A sailor on night watch duty huddles over a portable heater at the entrance to the cavernous hull. For seven months, often under harsh winter conditions, Giorgos Polilogidis has waited for one thing: a paycheck. A seasoned veteran of the ...

Repost from  FT Alphaville Raise your hand if you didn’t first hear about the way in which the Dutch government took over ailing SNS Reaal on February 1st and think ‘oh, really now?’ along with an arched eyebrow. The mechanics of the takeover are interesting indeed, but given that two of the four largest Dutch banks have been nationalised, we have a bigger picture question: How much warning was there that S ...

TheRealNews Costas Lapavitsas: Cyprus should let the private banks fail and create a public bank that focuses on strengthening the real economy.     Latest News on Cyprus: Cyprus PM threats for resignation and Referendum [GR] http://thepaper.gr/%CE%B8%CF%81%CE%AF%CE%BB%CE%B5%CF%81-%CE%B3%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CE%B3%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%AC-%CE%BD%CE%B5%CF%8D%CF%81%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%BF-%CE%BA%CF%85%CF%80%CF%81%CE%B9 ...

After Osborne’s disastrous budget yesterday, 63 economists have pledged their support for the People’s Assembly with a letter to the Guardian. George Osborne‘s latest budget confirms that austerity policies are set to continue for years to come (Budget 2013, 20 March). This is a call from economists and academics to all those millions of people in Britain who face an impoverished and uncertain year as their ...

The crisis in Greece is posing serious threats to democracy and human rights (Report, 15 March). We are particularly concerned about the rise of fascism and racism. The government continues to tolerate the violence and hate speech of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn. Golden Dawn MPs attack democracy and display symbols of the military junta of 1967-1974; the party recruits supporters unopposed by the authorit ...

The Cypriot parliament has thrown out a controversial plan to skim €5.8bn from savers' bank accounts, in a move that risks plunging the eurozone into a fresh crisis and heightens expectations that the cash-strapped nation will seek a funding lifeline from Russia. Cyprus has just 24 hours to find a solution to its funding gap before its banks are due to reopen following the dramatic no vote on Tuesday night, ...