Paco Serinelli / AP

Firefighters burn a mock coffin bearing the words "RIP Public Services", during a protest against austerity measures in front of the Catalunya Parliament in Barcelona, Spain, on May 29. The European Union moved away from its focus on tough austerity Wednesday when it gave France, Spain and four other member states more time to bring their budget deficits under control to support their economies.

Paco Serinelli / AP

A police officer, left faces firefighters after a smoke bomb was set off during a protest against economy cuts in front of the Catalunya Parliament in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday on May 29,.

Paco Serinelli / AP

Riot police charge at firefighters during a protest against austerity measures in front of the Catalunya Parliament in Barcelona, Spain, on May 29, 2013. The European Union moved away from its focus on tough austerity Wednesday when it gave France, Spain and four other member states more time to bring their budget deficits under control to support their economies.

 From Reuters:

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will further shift the EU's policy focus from austerity to structural reforms to revive growth when it presents economic recommendations for each member state on Wednesday, officials said.

In its annual assessment as guardian of the EU's budget rules, the Commission will say that while fiscal consolidation should continue, its pace can be slower now that a degree of investor confidence in the euro has been restored. Continue reading here.

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Daniel Mihailescu / AFP - Getty Images

A man stretches a giant flag of the European Union in front of Romania's parliament building in Bucharest on May 9, 2013.

A private TV station installed the flag, weighing over 1,750 pounds and measuring 459 feet by 328 feet, to mark Europe Day. The stars were sewn on by hand after the giant flag was laid out at an aerodrome near Bucharest.  

Romania joined the EU as part of its most recent expansion in 2007.

-- Agence France-Presse

Filip Singer / EPA

Protesters rally against an EU bailout deal in front of the Cyprus parliament in Nicosia on March 18.

Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images

Cypriots show their palms reading "No" during a protest against an EU bailout deal outside the parliament in Nicosia on March 18. Cyprus's parliament has postponed until Tuesday a session to vote on the bailout deal that slaps a levy on all Cypriot bank savings, as negotiators scrambled to soften the blow for small deposit holders.

Yiannis Kourtoglou / AFP - Getty Images

A man holds a banner against German Chancellor Angela Merkel's call for Cyprus to follow economic reforms.

By John W. Schoen, NBC News

The explosive backlash to the latest European bailout – this one for tiny Cyprus – will have limited impact on U.S. consumers, businesses and investors.

But the aftershocks are a potent reminder than the ongoing European crisis – relatively dormant in recent months – is far from over.

The latest $13 billion chapter in the Europe’s efforts to reverse the economic free fall of its most heavily indebted members came with a nasty, surprise kicker. Read full story.

Patrick Baz / AFP - Getty Images

Cypriots protest outside the parliament building in Nicosia, on March 18.

Yorgos Karahalis / Reuters

Protesters shout slogans during an anti-bailout rally outside the parliament in Nicosia on March 18.

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Pascal Guyot / AFP - Getty Images

Children play beside the tomb of the Askia on February 15, 2013 in Gao, northern Mali.  The European Union on Friday announced fresh aid worth 20 million euros to help restore law and order in Mali as well as the return of basic state services such as education after months of trouble.

Related story:

• Gunbattle rocks Gao after rebels surprise French, Malians

Andrew Medichini / AP

Italian businessman Marcello di Finizio stands above his banner as he protests on St. Peter's dome at the Vatican on Oct. 3, 2012.

Vatican City — An Italian man clambered onto a ledge on the huge dome of St Peter's Basilica on Tuesday to stage a precarious protest against Prime Minister Mario Monti and the European Union.

Video footage showed the man, identified as Marcello Di Finizio, jumping over railings near the top of the 450-foot high dome on Tuesday afternoon, shocking visitors taking a tour. He then tied a cord to the railings and abseiled to a ledge over a window in the cupola.

Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images

Marcello di Finizio continues his protest on Wednesday. The businessman from Trieste in northern Italy managed to slip past security guards at the Vatican on Tuesday evening.

Tottering on the ledge, Di Finizio unveiled a banner reading: "Help! Enough Monti, Enough Europe! Enough Multinationals!".

Officials said Wednesday that the man, who identified himself as the owner of a beach resort, refused appeals from government ministers offering to meet with him if he would come down.

-- Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Philippe Wojazer / Reuters

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy is surrounded by bodyguards as he walks to a news conference at the European Union summit in Brussels, Belgium, on the morning of Dec. 9, 2011.

Sebastien Pirlet / EPA

Journalists wait for news from the meeting of European heads of state in Brussels early in the morning on Friday.

John Thys / AFP - Getty Images

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for the resumption of talks on Friday morning.

It was a long night for everybody at the European Union summit in Brussels. As we report today, the 27 EU presidents and prime ministers began their talks at 7:30 Thursday evening and continued past 4:30 a.m.

The leaders then emerged to face the cameras, each aiming to spin the outcome in a way that would best please his or her domestic audience. After that, perhaps, a chance to sleep. But not for long -- the talks were due to resume at 9.30 a.m on Friday.

The politicians were not the only ones to pull an all-nighter. As The Economist's Charlemagne columnist writes, "We journalists are probably too bleary-eyed after a sleepless night to understand the full significance of what has just happened." 

The writer is too modest: the Charlemagne article is a good place to start if you would like to know more about the long-term implications of the summit.

Related content: Enjoy looking at pictures of politicians making nice? Indulge yourself with more photos of diplomacy at work on PhotoBlog.

Yves Herman / Reuters

British Prime Minister David Cameron looks at German Chancellor Angela Merkel after summit talks resumed on Friday.

Roberto Salamone / AFP - Getty Images

Immigrants wait to disembark from a boat upon their arrival in the port of the Italian island of Lampedusa early on Feb. 21. The past week has seen a sharp spike in migrants attempting to make it into the EU from Tunisia, with some 5,000 brought to Lampedusa after being intercepted by coastguards.

Roberto Salamone / AFP - Getty Images

Immigrants wait for a bus that will bring them to a temporary accomodation center after their arrival in the port of the Italian island of Lampedusa early on Feb. 21.

A new wave of immigration to the remote Italian island of Lampedusa has followed recent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt that unseated their decades-old regimes, heightening social and economic tensions in the North African countries.

Read more on the story here.

Yves Logghe / AP

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, getures toward German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Dec. 17, 2010. European Union leaders are changing the treaty that underpins the bloc to make room for a huge new rescue system for countries that get into debt trouble in the long term. But they aren't ready to beef up the bailout fund they have in place today.

Georges Gobet / AFP - Getty Images

Georges Gobet / AFP - Getty Images

Georges Gobet / AFP - Getty Images

Yves Logghe / AP

What looks like an intimate conversation between two world leaders at first, but then you see all the press covering their every move.