Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (C) talks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to an European Union summit at the European Council headquarters on October 29, 2009 in Brussels. Europe's leaders grapple on Thursday with deadlock on how to fight global warming and the legacy of recession, all the while jockeying for control of arguably the biggest appointment in Brussels' history. Getty Images logo Getty Images 1 month ago

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (C) talks to German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to an European Union summit at the European Council headquarters on October 29, 2009 in Brussels. Europe's leaders grapple on Thursday with deadlock on how to fight global warming and the legacy of recession, all the while jockeying for control of arguably the biggest appointment in Brussels' history.

More Photos of

Explore Photos of Related Topics

  1. Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero leaves an EU summit in Brussels, Friday Oct. 30, 2009. The European Union is seeking to maintain a united stand on climate change Friday by giving leeway to poorer member states to pay less into global climate aid fund.
  2. Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero leaves an EU summit in Brussels, Friday Oct. 30, 2009. The European Union is seeking to maintain a united stand on climate change Friday by giving leeway to poorer member states to pay less into global climate aid fund.
  3. Finland's Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen arrives at the EU council headquarters for the second day of the European Union Leaders Summit in Brussels October 30, 2009.
  4. Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite (R) arrives at the EU council headquarters for the second day of the European Union Leaders Summit in Brussels October 30, 2009.
  5. Hungary's Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai arrives at the EU council headquarters for the second day of the European Union Leaders Summit in Brussels October 30, 2009.
  6. Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann arrives at the EU council headquarters for the second day of the European Union Leaders Summit in Brussels October 30, 2009.
  7. German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at an European Union summit at the European Council headquarters on November 19, 2009 in Brussels. European leaders were urged not to miss a 'historic occasion' as they gather to choose a first-ever European Union president to represent the 27-nation bloc on the world stage.
  8. German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a session of the lower house of parliament (Bundestag) in Berlin on November 12, 2009.
  9. German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech during the Armistice Day ceremony marking 91 years since the end of World War I, on November 11, 2009 in Paris. German leaders have attended Armistice Day events in France before -- most notably when chancellor Helmut Kohl took president Francois Mitterrand's hand in Verdun, the scene of one of the fiercest battles of the 1914-18 war. But Merkel's visit will be the first time a German leader has attended the Paris ceremonies marking the surrender of Germany after four years of trench warfare that left millions dead.
  10. German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech during the Armistice Day ceremony marking 91 years since the end of World War I, on November 11, 2009 in Paris. German leaders have attended Armistice Day events in France before -- most notably when chancellor Helmut Kohl took president Francois Mitterrand's hand in Verdun, the scene of one of the fiercest battles of the 1914-18 war. But Merkel's visit will be the first time a German leader has attended the Paris ceremonies marking the surrender of Germany after four years of trench warfare that left millions dead.
  11. German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech during the Armistice Day ceremony marking 91 years since the end of World War I, on November 11, 2009 in Paris. German leaders have attended Armistice Day events in France before -- most notably when chancellor Helmut Kohl took president Francois Mitterrand's hand in Verdun, the scene of one of the fiercest battles of the 1914-18 war. But Merkel's visit will be the first time a German leader has attended the Paris ceremonies marking the surrender of Germany after four years of trench warfare that left millions dead.
  12. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) waves aboard a car as she leaves the Armistice Day ceremony marking 91 years since the end of World War I, on November 11, 2009 in Paris. German leaders have attended Armistice Day events in France before -- most notably when chancellor Helmut Kohl took president Francois Mitterrand's hand in Verdun, the scene of one of the fiercest battles of the 1914-18 war. But Merkel's visit will be the first time a German leader has attended the Paris ceremonies marking the surrender of Germany after four years of trench warfare that left millions dead.
  13. Netherlands' Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende (L) signs the guest book as Bert Koenders, the Minister for Development Corporation, looks on after meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations headquarters in New York September 21, 2009.
  14. Netherlands' Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende (L) shakes hands with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations headquarters in New York September 21, 2009.
  15. Netrherlands' Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende lays a wreath at the Polish Monument in Driel, the Netherlands September 19, 2009. The event was held in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of Operation Market Garden during World War Two.
  16. Netrherlands' Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende lays a wreath at the Polish Monument in Driel, the Netherlands September 19, 2009. The event was held in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of Operation Market Garden during World War Two.

Recent Photos From The Wire

  1. Arabtec logos are seen on buildings under construction in the Marina area of Dubai in this picture taken November 28, 2009. Arabtec, the largest construction firm in the Middle East, is likely to suffer on doubts about contract payments from Nakheel when UAE markets reopen on Monday in the first post-holiday trading after Dubai shocked global markets last week by seeking a debt standstill for two flagship firms. Picture taken November 28, 2009.
  2. Elvin Santos (C), presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, gestures as he cast his vote at a polling station in Tegucigalpa November 29, 2009. Honduras chooses a new president on Sunday but neither ousted President Manuel Zelaya nor arch-rival and de facto leader Roberto Micheletti are running in the election, which could give a new president the chance to take Honduras beyond the political gridlock that has divided the Central American nation and cut off international aid.
  3. Singer Shakira of Colombia is welcomed by Chilean President Michele Bachelet before a meeting in Lisbon November 29, 2009. Shakira and Michele Bachelet are in Lisbon to attend the XIX Ibero American Summit.
  4. Elvin Santos (C), presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, gestures after casting his vote at a polling station in Tegucigalpa November 29, 2009. Honduras chooses a new president on Sunday but neither ousted President Manuel Zelaya nor arch-rival and de facto leader Roberto Micheletti are running in the election, which could give a new president the chance to take Honduras beyond the political gridlock that has divided the Central American nation and cut off international aid.
  5. LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 29: Stefan Reinartz of Leverkusen runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on November 29, 2009 in Leverkusen, Germany.
  6. LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 29: Manager Horst Heldt of Stuttgart looks thoughtful during the Bundesliga match between Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on November 29, 2009 in Leverkusen, Germany.
  7. NEW ORLEANS - NOVEMBER 29: Worshippers attend services at New Israel Baptist Church in the Lower Ninth Ward November 29, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The church was flooded with 13 feet of water during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but has since rebuilt.
  8. NEW ORLEANS - NOVEMBER 29: Worshippers attend services at New Israel Baptist Church in the Lower Ninth Ward November 29, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The church was flooded with 13 feet of water during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but has since rebuilt.
  9. NEW ORLEANS - NOVEMBER 29: Worshippers exit services at New Israel Baptist Church in the Lower Ninth Ward November 29, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The church was flooded with 13 feet of water during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but has since rebuilt.
  10. LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 29: Cesc Fábregas of Arsenal challenges Joe Cole of Chelsea during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on November 29, 2009 in London, England.
  11. View of the Christmas market set at the Old Town Square for the beginning of the Christmas season in Prague, Czech Republic, on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009.
  12. Exterior view of the illuminated minaret of the Mahmud Mosque in Zurich, Switzerland, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. Swiss voters approved a move to ban the construction of minarets in a Sunday vote on a right-wing initiative that labeled the mosque towers as symbols of militant Islam, projections by a widely respected polling institute showed.
  13. Denmark's Alex Rasmussen, left, followed by Belgium's Iljo Keisse during the team race discipline at the 69th edition of the '6 days of Ghent' indoor cycling event in Ghent, Belgium, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009.
  14. Exterior view of the illuminated minaret of the Mahmud Mosque in Zurich, Switzerland, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. Swiss voters approved a move to ban the construction of minarets in a Sunday vote on a right-wing initiative that labeled the mosque towers as symbols of militant Islam, projections by a widely respected polling institute showed.
  15. Exterior view of the illuminated minaret of the Mahmud Mosque in Zurich, Switzerland, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. Swiss voters approved a move to ban the construction of minarets in a Sunday vote on a right-wing initiative that labeled the mosque towers as symbols of militant Islam, projections by a widely respected polling institute showed.
  16. Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, right, with the trophy after he beat Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro, left, to win the final of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Sunday Nov. 29, 2009.