Europe

Two of the Senate's top trade lawmakers outlined their priorities for a free-trade agreement between the United States and the European Union ahead of the expected start of talks. 

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) sent a letter on Tuesday to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging him to press for greater access for U.S. agricultural and service exports, improved intellectual property protection, regulatory compliance and a mechanism for dispute settlement in any U.S.-EU trade deal. 

A trade deal "negotiated and implemented with the highest standards, would have a multiplier effect and would be certain to generate much needed economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic,” the Finance leaders wrote.  

“There is no doubt that a U.S.-EU FTA is an enticing opportunity. While there is much promise in the U.S.-European Union relationship, there are remaining barriers to free and fair trade that are long-standing and difficult to overcome.” 

Sen. Roy Blunt said a meeting with the Russian ambassador about the law banning U.S. adoptions wasn't "overly encouraging."

Vice President Biden will travel to Europe early next month for meetings with top foreign leaders, further signal that the vice president will play a more central role in President Obama's second term.

Biden's trip will kick off in Germany, where he plans to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, and give a policy speech at the Munich Security Conference. Biden appeared before that group four years ago, at the beginning of Obama's first term.

He and second lady Jill Biden will then travel to Paris, where he will meet with President François Hollande and members of the French government. Biden will then cross the Channel, for meetings in London  with Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and other members of the British Cabinet.

Obama informed Congress that the U.S. provided "limited" support for an unsuccessful French mission in Somalia to free a hostage.

The State Department's top official for European affairs has taken the unusual step of publicly warning Great Britain against leaving the European Union, The New York Times reports.

“We have a growing relationship with the E.U. as an institution, which has an increasing voice in the world, and we want to see a strong British voice in that E.U.,” Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon told reporters in London on Wednesday. “That is in the American interest. We welcome an outward-looking E.U. with Britain in it.

The Senate passed a resolution Friday before leaving for the Christmas holiday that would encourage European countries to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. 

S. Res. 613, urges the European Union to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, impose sanctions and tells President Obama to provide information about Hezbollah to the European allies of the United States.

The retiring senator is floating legislation that would ensure the approval of natural gas sales to NATO allies

An effort by artists and academics is in response to the ongoing controversy over the death of a 31-year-old woman.

Your morning global affairs speed-read

European Parliament President Martin Schulz arrives in Washington today for a three-day visit aimed at shoring up support for a free trade agreement between the United States and the 27-member European Union. Schulz, on his first official visit to the United States, is slated to meet with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) today before meeting with Vice-President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) later in the week. Immediately following Schulz's visit, a delegation of 30 members of the European Parliament will be in town to discuss transatlantic trade and job creation.

U.N. climate change talks convene today in Doha, Qatar. [The New York Times]

Former presidential candidate Rick Santorum visits Capitol Hill this afternoon to slam the U.N. convention on people with disabilities alongside Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Michael Farris of the Home School Legal Defense Association.

EU finance ministers try to hammer out a $57 billion bail-out for Greece. [Associated Press]

A magazine leveled the charges Tuesday in an investigative piece that garnered considerable attention in France.