Ireland’s three main political parties back the fiscal compact, with the opposition Fianna Fáil party indicating it will support the government and campaign for a yes vote in May.
Portugal’s biggest union, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers called the strike to fight changes to labor laws making it easier to hire and fire workers and cut holidays and layoff compensation.
Thursday’s figures overshadowed data showing that Ireland's economy grew by 0.7 percent in 2011 as a whole, bringing an end to three years of declines since the financial crisis began in the country.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is credited with having staved off a credit crunch and calming financial markets by making more than half of a trillion euros worth of cheap three-year loans available to hundreds of banks across the EU in December and February.
Greece's finance ministry said 85.5 percent of the country’s private creditors agreed to the bond swap, enabling Athens to invoke collection action clauses and force the holdouts to accept the offer.
All but two of the European Union's 27 leaders have signed a 'fiscal compact' to tighten budget discipline within the bloc, a move they hope will help resolve the region's two-year debt crisis.
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