BRUSSELS — Any banking system relies on its depositors retaining their faith in the soundness of their banks. Investors have traditionally regarded government bonds as a relatively low interest, but safe place to park their funds. And voters have trusted their governments to deal competently with complex financial questions. What happens when these components of [...]

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BUCHAREST — In an article published on Tuesday in the Russian newspaper Izvestia, Russia’s prime minister and presidential hopeful Vladimir Putin announced his major foreign policy goal: the creation of a “Eurasian Union.” This Union, he announced, would gradually encompass the countries of the former Soviet Union, but also stay open for other countries to [...]

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WASHINGTON—Beltway insiders always love a scandal, and the bankruptcy of solar power cell manufacturer Solyndra Inc. makes for a good one. Solyndra received over $500 million in loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy under a scheme to provide financing to promising companies in the renewable energy sector, before going bankrupt last month. President [...]

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WASHINGTON — If the euro fails, the blame will not be on Greece, but on Germany. Europe’s economic powerhouse is now seen as the only force that can prevent a continental meltdown that would result in defaults, disintegration, and decline. As the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, prepares for Thursday’s crucial vote on more guarantees for the [...]

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BRUSSELS—The United States, European Union, United Nations, and NATO may soon be confronted with a new reality in the eastern Mediterranean, one characterized by heightened tensions, possible naval incidents, and the risk of escalation. Competition over what are likely to be enormous oil and gas reserves is a major reason for this new dynamic, but [...]

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WASHINGTON — Despite last-minute maneuvering on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, the tortuous Israel-Palestinian peace process is set to reach another critical juncture on Friday when the Palestinians submit a bid to seek full UN membership. Although polls indicate widespread support in the international community for a two-state [...]

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WASHINGTON — A specter is haunting Europe — the specter of default in the eurozone. At the core of the problem is Greece — one of the smallest yet most heavily indebted economies in Europe. The country desperately needs a next aid payment of $11 billion to avoid running out of cash within weeks, but [...]

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WASHINGTON — Americans are facing two simultaneous and conflicting challenges. Like Europe, the United States is struggling under an unsustainable debt. At the same time, Americans are feeling the pain from crushing unemployment and a stagnating economy. Short-term action to solve either one of these problems merely exacerbates the other, and the extreme partisan battling [...]

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WASHINGTON—Despite economic worries and domestic political preoccupations, perceptions in the United States and Europe of each other appear to be in better shape now than they were during the presidency of George W. Bush. Americans and Europeans have generally favorable opinions of one another and majorities on both continents believe they share enough common values [...]

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On July 9, 2011 the world’s newest state was born—the Republic of South Sudan—when it formally seceded from the Sudan at a ceremony attended by 30 heads of state. What happens to the fledgling Republic matters to the region and to the United States and Europe–not as a humanitarian victim but as a potential strategic [...]

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