Philip Reeves

The political landscape of Europe is changing. The Eurozone debt crisis is fueling opposition to the European Union. The EU has created a huge single market, and has brought decades of stability to a region once ravaged by terrible wars. Yet some Europeans are beginning to wonder if they still want to be part of it. Illustrating the changing mood, Britain's Parliament voted Monday on whether to hold a public referendum on leaving the union.

Belgium has spent 16 months struggling to form a federal government. Observers say that issue is a microcosm of the financial crisis that has hit the eurozone.

For a long time, much of the world saw the eurozone sovereign debt crisis as Europe's problem. Now world leaders, including the United States, realize a eurozone meltdown could have dire consequences for everyone. They are working up a massive rescue plan whose contours are beginning to emerge. Although Britain does not use the euro, that nation's politicians are using their party conventions to issue dire warnings about the euro's fate. And one eminent economist is proposing a novel solution to limit the impact of the European debt crisis.

Financial analysts speculate that Greece will default on some, or all, of its national debt. NPR's Philip Reeves reports on the likely international impact of such a default, particularly if Greece is forced to leave the group of countries using the euro currency.

A sense of imminent crisis is gripping Europe in the face of a possible Greek default on its debt. The head of the European Commission calls it the most serious problem to hit Europe in a generation, while others have warned of "dramatic economic, social and political costs" if Greece was to leave the eurozone.

Britain is set to radically overhaul its financial laws. Officials say it's an attempt to prevent taxpayers from ever having to spend tens of billions of dollars to save banks from collapse.

This week we are looking at the fast-changing region of the Arctic, which is believed to have vast oil and gas reserves — and other mineral riches, too. Mineral companies are looking for them, and the region's people are watching anxiously — wondering what change we'll mean for them.

London saw the worst violence and disorder in decades Monday night. It was the third night of unrest in that city. Trouble is also spreading to other parts of Britain – to Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol. Prime Minister David Cameron has cut short his vacation in Italy to try to deal with the crisis.