captioned by the national captioning institute >> this is the "journal." monti debuts at the top table. >> there has been a surprising rise in german business confidence. >> and another arrest in germany's neo-nazi killings case.

>> it seems hardly a day goes by without another emergency crisis meeting on the situation in the euro zone. others, it was the big three. the leaders of germany, france, and italy's new chief all emphasizing their commitment to sharing -- to saving the shared european currency. germany and france have decided the e a's treaties need to be changed. changed. >> the german chancellor is sticking to her guns. she is opposed to pulling the debts of the zero countries. the leaders of europe's three biggest economies presented a unified front. supporting her vision of giving the eu greater powers to control national budgets and times of crisis. the three leaders have agreed on changes in the eu treaties.

>> it is about overcoming step- by-step design flaws in the euro zone debt to rise from the fact that we do not have the political union. that is why my position has not changed at all since yesterday. >> italy's new prime minister promised to pursue a strict austerity cause. nicolas sarkozy, appeared to distance himself from earlier french demands for the european central bank to continue buying up sovereign debt. >> we all stated our confidence in the ecb and its leaders. we must refrain from making demands, whether positive or negative. >> leaders must convince the rest of the euro zone to accept stricter in debt policies. >> no agreement on the condition

of the euro bonds. what does the future hold for the euro? we put that question to our brussels correspondent. >> it is hard to see. we have that many of those meetings. the focus on the attention is early december, when there is another summit of the 27 euro leaders. to get their act together and to square things with brussels, it has not worked. it cannot work overnight. it is difficult to see where we go from here. something has to give. this meeting today in strasbourg did not resolve that. mario monti did not prove that he is going to be effective in that role. there is a lot to play it between that and the next crucial summit in early december.

>> thank you. deserters and syria have reported 18 members of the country's security forces in two separate attacks. the freeze syrian army, which is based in turkey, -- the free syrian army is based in turkey. the leak had already given syria one deadline to halt the violence against anti-regime protesters. no syrian delegates attended. egypt's ruling military council has asked the prime minister to form a new government. activists demanded the army dismissed the previous cabinet. dozens of people were killed and the clashes and the council has apologized for their deaths and promised an investigation. >> the violence may have stopped, but the protests continue. on thursday, atreus settled on

cairo, but the demonstrators were out in force demanding the military handover power. many protesters have lost all trust and the country's military rulers. we were expecting everything to be implemented by now. we will have no answers to our demands. it has been almost a year since people called for change and were killed. there is nothing to show for it. >> despite the unrest, the military leadership has said parliamentary elections will begin on monday, as scheduled. >> it is egypt possible that the elections are held and the judges and security are ready and in place. the egyptian people should also be ready and going to the polls. that is the for step in building a democratic country. >> many egyptians are

questioning whether these elections will give them the leadership that is fair and transparent. campaigning has already ground to a halt and egypt's new democratic beginning looks to be hanging in the balance. >> a triple bomb blast in southern iraq has killed 19 people. two bombs exploded in quick succession at a busy markets. a third bomb detonated shortly after emergency workers reached the site. german authorities have arrested a man they believe this is a big group of neo-nazis who committed a string of murders of for a decade. the suspect was brought before federal prosecutors. he is believed to have supported the far right terrorist group. germany's elite anti-terrorist police arrested the man in a small town not far from berlin. the suspect allegedly made a recently discovered video.

the cell claims responsibility. >> this case has been marked by a distinct lack of the detective work. >> the police said last week that they were hunting for their suspected far right terrorist and with this arrest, they have three people that are in custody. there are persistent reports in the media that the investigation is not moving forward quickly and effectively enough. people are saying that germany's federal structure is had bring a speedy investigation. these different authority's are not working together in the effective way that they promised they would. we have learned that the police are not even able to say how many suspected car right to arrest their hunting.

there is some way to go before public confidence is restored. >> we of also gotten some politicians calling for action to rein in the far right. what could that look like? >> the interior minister has announced a number of measures already. he is setting up a commission of experts to give recommendations. they are setting up a central register, a law enforcement center focusing on the problems. there is this renew debate about banning the far right mpd party. that is something that has been tried before, but failed. the court said the line between the far right extremists and those investigating them have become blurred. because the authorities are still saying they need informants, they need to rely on that information, it is likely we will see a band.

many people said it would be counterproductive. it would drive extremist underground. that has been the problem in this case. >> thank you very much. police have used water cannon to break up an anti-nuclear rally in northeastern germany. there have been squabbles between police and activist near the german-french border. a train carrying nuclear waste to the storage facility is waiting to resume its journey. french authorities stopped near the border in an effort to avoid blockades by demonstrators. the environmentalists say the method of transportation is unsafe and the storage facility is unsuitable for nuclear waste. business confidence looking pretty positive. >> economist have been forecasting glen and doom. -- gloom and doom. german business confidence has risen in november for the first

time in five months. >> the german executives are optimistic about the future, despite the euro zone debt crisis. busted them are not expecting a recession in the near future. -- most of them are not expecting a recession in the near future. executives are upbeat about the prospects once again. the index is rising and analyst from the incident believe the debt crisis is still not having a major impact on the german economy. in some sectors, sales are rising. the experts remain cautious. >> our current observations are a sign for the german economy, but it's too early to say the worst is over. >> each month, at the institute

surveys up to 7000 executives. the index is considered one of the leading economic indicators about the development of the german economy. >> the latest index gave a boost to the bureau and shares also traded higher for much of the thursday session. -- david those to the bureau and shares also traded higher for most of the thursday session. >> very strong beginning, but another week ending. this is very good news. the main concern remains how to end the euro crisis. after the chancellor's repeated refusal to eurobonds, the yield for italian bonds surged. the crisis is far from over. >> the blue chip dax finished

out -- at [no audio] the euro is trading at the value of $1.33. the european commission is to take germany to court again over its failure to scrap a law which protects volkswagen from takeover bids. the commission says germany has failed to comply with the 2007 court ruling which found the so- called vw illegal. the european court of justice has been asked to impose a sign of 46.5 million euros. >> it is the second time the commission has gone to court over a -- over volkswagen. brussels started negotiation with germany after the last ruling, but at birds to reach an amicable agreement have not succeeded.

germany ended the talks this year and the commission says it has to act. >> the commission has decided this morning to bring the so- called a volkswagen case back to the court of justice. >> brussels is focusing on a 20% stake in volkswagen owned by the regional government. it gives its effective veto rights, for example, in deciding the location of production facilities. the commission sets that infringes on competition rules. it could prevent the free flow of capital. officials in lower saxony up. unworried by the developments. they say they made amendments to the vw law after it was declared illegal in 2007. they say it had no distorting effect on competition. >> the state of lower saxony is a stable shareholder. it does not prevented qatar from

investing. >> if a fine is imposed, the german government would have to pay it, not books that in. >> -- not a volkswagen. >> fitch has downgraded portuguese bonds due job status. -- to junk status. the downgrade coincided with a 24-hour strike by portugal's public-sector workers against austerity measures. airports were particularly hard hit thursday with almost all passenger flights canceled. garbage remained uncollected as trucks were parked. not picking up any garbage. >> that is true. it has been a while since we've reported on the drought in somalia. the situation has eased

somewhat. hundreds of thousands are dependent on food aid. the united nations set up refugee camps to help people that have been forced out of their homes. he said desperately needs donations. -- unicef desperately needs notations -- donations. >> hundreds have made the journey. their arrival marks the end of the journey over weeks. once here, they receive food and shelter. >> we came here after god had taken all of our livestock. we could not find food, but we came here, they gave us food. we get a bit of help here, but not everything. this is our situation. >> unicef has launched a christmas fund-raising campaign to provide food and shelter for people in east africa. >> people are still in need and there are still hundreds of thousands of children who are

suffering. they will die without help. >> she is helping coordinate the unicef aid program in east africa. four months ago, the united nations declared famine in the somali regions. now the situation is critical. >> at least one-third of the children in these regions are suffering from malnutrition. for children under 5 are dying every day from a population of 10,000. datasets hopes -- unicef hopes an influx of donations will help alleviate the suffering. >> it is thanksgiving day in the united states and president obama has performed a seasonal rite of pardoning two-tiered days. -- two turkeys.

the two birds will spend the rest of their lives on a farm in virginia without fear of ending up on a dinner plate. you are watching that "journal." >> 24,000 people a day, 18,000 of them children.

800 million living on the edge of starvation. we need to stop the dying and start a living. we need to stop the hunger and start the hoping. the world food program, feeding the hungry. >> welcome back. the euro zone debt crisis has entered new and dangerous territory with investors hesitating to buy up german government bonds and trading its agency suggesting for instead is threatening the country's aaa status. nicolas sarkozy and angela merkel met for another emergency conference on thursday. this time, together with the new italian prime minister. there was no breakthrough on major issues. for many people in europe, the

thought of giving more power to brussels is deeply unpopular and raises new questions about the eu and its institutions. could the debt crisis turn into a crisis of democracy? >> behind-the-scenes, he is a german member of that european parliament. he is a major player in its conservative block and has the ear of the german chancellor. he gets with colleagues from across the continent. >> is this european democracy at work? >> this is democracy at work full stop. democracy means finding compromises. >> the compromise is that current account are those struck by nicolas sarkozy and angela merkel. >> the chancellor and i are both absolutely determined to find ambitious and unsustainable

answers to all the issues that confront us. >> the duo is dominant right now as europe struggles to get on top of the debt crisis. some complain that they have emerged as an unofficial eu executive, is sensitive suspect -- a subject for smaller member states. >> small countries do have an important role to play within the eu. the germans and the french should lead the way. they must include the others in the decisionmaking process. europe cannot survive if it is led by some governing council. >> of frustration over a democratic deficit to is nothing new. we meet the first president of post-communist with the way new. he stood up against the soviet union to leave this small country to independence and democracy.

>> what is europe? >> it is large and different, with a great variety. in ancient rome, [unintelligible] >> id should be a thing of the past. more than 700 lawmakers are charged with representing the interest of all europeans. legislating here is a drawn-out process and when it comes to the euro, strasbourg has no say anyway. would bailout of weaker states becoming the norm. the 17th year as some nations have to approve measures unanimously. all to predict a 17 euro zonations have to approve measures unanimously. decisions like these can come at

a high price for those who backed them. in october, the slovenian prime minister resigned. slovakia itself does not even face a major debt problem. >> the new covenant -- cabinet was sworn in by orthodox priest. in these troubled times, divine assistance cannot hurt. the crisis also brought down italy's longest serving prime minister. berlusconi handed a bell to list -- to monti.

he is hardly a man of the people. his departure still bypassed the democratic process. back of the european parliament, the conservative says he believes the commission president should be directly elected, adding to its legitimacy. >> europe means a face people can connect on a deeper level. >> nicolas sarkozy and angela merkel have rejected the policy. there is not much room for more it european democracy. >> one of the countries that really gets a seats at a high level of euro zone talks is portugal. it is the poorest country in western europe. it has been getting even poorer since being sucked into the

sovereign debt crisis. austerity is the watchword and cuts are feeding unemployment and eating into earnings and savings. people are angry and the crisis government to fall. workers are going out on a against the new administration. portugal is no longer being governed by or for its own people. the dishes. the 27-year-old marine biologist takes care of the household. his wife is the family's sole breadwinner. it is unusual in portugal. he has been unemployed for a year and serves the internet for jobs. given portugal's economic problems, he has had no luck. >> i write java applications all day. i hardly gets any responses. -- i write java applications all day.

>> the unemployment rate in portugal has soared to more than 12%. it is the result of harsh austerity measures. big wage cuts and tax hikes have hit people your hard. the unions had urged citizens to join a general strike. they're calling for a radical change in policies. >> if we become even poorer, we will not be able to pay our debts. we need economic growth. the people need money to keep the economy afloat. >> they have a household budget of around 2000 euros each month. half of it goes towards rent. he is frugal with their shopping. he asks for discounted oranges. a cheap bottle of wine for dinner. that is about it. he says prices have risen steadily since portugal adopted the euro in 1999.

>> everything has become much more expensive. i have done the math. some things cost three times as much as they did before the euro. >> many portuguese feel helpless. they say berlin and paris control their destiny, not lisbon. >> the portuguese feel as if there are part of a tragic game they cannot control. they are upon for the bigger european powers. -- they are a pawn for the bigger european powers. >> he has decided to pick up his wife from work. she is worried about the future. she says many are disillusioned. >> the european dream that we all dream is slowly turning into a nightmare. it makes me nervous. the future does not look too good, politicians have already

announced further austerity measures. they could become tougher still. >> that has been our "in depth." stay tuned.