Philip Reeves

At the E.U. summit in Brussels, Britain was the only nation to rule out treaty changes aimed at saving eurozone countries from default and saving the euro. A look at what's behind Britain's latest show of euro skepticism — and what it means for the Tory Prime Minister David Cameron, who, ironically, is in a coalition with the pro-Europe Liberal Democratic party.

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Now, the Occupy protests have focused on economic issues, which are also motivating a massive strike in Britain today. It is being described as the largest national strike in a generation. It is estimated that as many as 2 million public sector workers may be taking part, the latest in a wave of protests over austerity measures.

NPR's Philip Reeves is covering that story in London. And Philip, where are you?

Britain opted out of the euro, but it's by no means protected from the eurozone troubles. Declining demand on the continent means fewer British exports. The picture is particularly bleak in places like Hull — a dreary port city with the highest rate of youth unemployment in Britain.

An Occupy London protest aimed at highlighting social injustice, the greed of bankers, and the incompetence of politicians has ended up causing unexpected havoc within the Church of England. Two senior clerics from St. Paul's Cathedral have resigned in a row over how to respond to the protesters, who have a camp outside the landmark church. Internal divisions arose when the cathedral authorities began legal moves to evict the campers — proceedings that they've now dropped.

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The European Union created a huge single market and stability for a continent that was ravaged by terrible wars during the 20th century. Now, in the 21st century, the European debt crisis has some eurozone members pushing to get out of the club. This all came to a head in Britain yesterday, where Parliament voted on whether to hold a public referendum on leaving the union.

The parliament in Malta passed a controversial measure to expand Europe's bailout fund late on Monday. But to many young people in the tiny Mediterranean island nation, the question was never really in doubt. Despite all its economic problems, they see their future in the eurozone.

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.

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DAVID GREENE, host: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, host: And I'm Steve Inskeep. Pressure is growing on European leaders to do something they've made it really, really plain they hate to do.

GREENE: For all the billions they've committed to propping up the Greek economy, it may still not be enough, and Greece's trouble has led to questions about Italy and even France.