Southern Europe digs in against further austerity, as IMF calls for relief - by Andrés Cala

The players in Europe's economic crisis look increasingly deadlocked, as ailing countries in the south – with support this week from the International Monetary Fund – rebel against further deficit-cutting measures advocated by the wealthier nations to the north.

At the heart of the rebellion is Spain. The conservative government of Mariano Rajoy, which is negotiating an extension to its unreachable deficit targets with the EU, is vocally rejecting European Commission pressure to impose more austerity, from tax increases to public sector cuts.

Rather, Spain wants its partners to do more at the regional level to stimulate growth by easing targets and relaxing austerity rather than simply to be dictated to by northern lenders, led by Germany.

Ultimately, the ability of the EU to balance conflicting forces will determine the pace of Europe’s recovery. But many are aware that conflicting priorities – and intervening politics – mean it's unlikely that much meaningful action will be taken and the waiting

Read more: Southern Europe digs in against further austerity, as IMF calls for relief - CSMonitor.com

Lack of Jobs in Southern Europe Frustrates the Young - by Rachel Donadio

Francesca Esposito, 29 and exquisitely educated, helped win millions of euros in false disability and other lawsuits for her employer, a major Italian state agency. But one day last fall she quit, fed up with how surreal and ultimately sad it is to be young in Italy today.

It galled her that even with her competence and fluency in five languages, it was nearly impossible to land a paying job. Working as an unpaid trainee lawyer was bad enough, she thought, but doing it at Italy’s social security administration seemed too much.

She not only worked for free on behalf of the nation’s elderly, who have generally crowded out the young for jobs, but her efforts there did not even apply to her own pension.
“It was absurd,” said Ms. Esposito, a strong-willed woman with a healthy sense of outrage.

Note EU-Digest Click here for recent EU labor statistics

For the complete NYT article: Lack of Jobs in Southern Europe Frustrates the Young - NYTimes.com