A prominent official has caused an outcry with a new book in which he predicts Germany's demise. He blames the growing Muslim minority unwilling to integrate and "stupid" immigration poilicies. 

Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache has spoken out against the construction of additional minarets in Austria. "We say yes to houses of prayers, but no to minarets and muezzins," he said.

Defense Minister zu Guttenberg proposed to cut by one-third to 163,500 the number of Bundeswehr soldiers over the next few years and suspend the draft in the short term.

Former allies of late right-wing spearhead Jörg Haider have launched an unprecedented attack on Austrian media over their coverage of alleged secret bank accounts.

Ole von Beust, the governing mayor of the Hamburg, will leave office as of August 25. With the widely expected move, Angela Merkel's government lost another powerful ally.

The legislature in Germany's most populous state elected Social Democrat Hannelore Kraft to lead a new minority government on Wednesday, in coalition with the Greens.

Polish President-elect Bronisław Komorowski greeted his first international visitor since the election, German President Christian Wulff, Tuesday morning.

A man who listens to the name David McAllister, right, has been elected Prime Minister of Lower Saxony. The half-Scot succeeds Christian Wulff, Germany's new President.

Germany elected a new president, Christian Wulff, 51, on Wednesday. The federal assembly voted 625-494 in Berlin to appoint Wulff, who was previously a state premier, to the post. 

But it took three rounds of voting to get Wulff elected, a humiliation for Chancellor Angela Merkel and her fragile coalition with the Free Democrats.
(Photo: Wulff with wife Bettina and oldest daughter Annelena.)

Belgium’s general election appears to have brought the country closer to a split after the separatist Flemish party of Bart de Wever emerged the strongest force in parliament.

Chancellor Angela Merkel called on members of her center-right coalition to end their public squabbling in order to win back voter trust. Most Germans believe the coalition will not last.

Christian Wulff, the state Premier of Lower Saxony, was nominated as the next German president. He would succeeed Horst Köhler, who resigned unexpectedly.

As elsewhere in Europe, Austria's big parties, that have ruled the country for decades, face voter rejection. Both Socialists and Conservatives suffered losses in Sunday's Burgenland elections. Photo: Emblem of Burgenland

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Germans they must spend more to help Europe's biggest spenders dig themselves out from under a mountain of debt that has pushed Greece to the brink of bankcuptcy.

The Christian Democratic (CDU) state parliamentary group of Hessia has unanimously chosen Interior Minister Volker Bouffier to succeed Roland Koch, who abruptly resigned his post on Monday to become a businessman. 

France and Germany have signalled to take a hardline with Greece in exchange for financial support. Greeks blame their Prime Minister George Papandreou (photo).

Austrian President Heinz Fischer has won a second six-year term in a landslide election. The veteran Social Democrat politician gained almost 79% of votes cast for the largely ceremonial post.