Portugal is the third European Union country to accept Guantanamo prisoners from the United States, following on the heels of Ireland and France. Outside the EU, Albania and Bermuda have taken some detainees, and Britain has said it would consider accepting some if they have residency or citizenship connections. Silvio Berlusconi, meanwhile, recently told President Obama that Italy would accept three Guantanamo detainees, though the details haven’t been made public. Spain, too, is also reportedly considering the United States’ request to take four of the prisoners.

In all, 11 Guantanamo detainees have been transferred to foreign countries since Obama’s inauguration, said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd.

Germany and Sweden are among the European Union countries that have so far refused to take any Gitmo inmates, saying they need a good reason to do so.

Given that the United States Congress has passed a law barring the expenditure of any funds to bring Guantanamo detainees to the United States, and that Obama has given no indication that he’ll defy that ban and release any here anyway, the reluctance of some European nations to help us deal with the problem is not surprising.

It doesn’t help that in U.S. federal court, the Department of Justice has been arguing in each of the detainees’ habeas corpus cases that the men are too dangerous to be released and deserve to remain in prison. At the same time, the State Department continues to work through diplomatic channels to try resettle some of them abroad.

Some of the men released abroad have won court determinations that the United States has no right to legally hold them, notwithstanding the Justice Department’s arguments.

Der Spiegel reports on the shock that has rippled through the German-speaking world after Klaus Emmerich, the “Wolf Blitzer of Austria,” said on a TV talk show, “I wouldn’t want the Western world to be directed by a black man.” Emmerich has refused to apologize, arguing that “blacks aren’t as politically civilized” — but he did call Michelle Obama a “very good-looking woman.”

In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi asserted that Obama would have no problem establishing good relations with Russia because Obama is “handsome, young and sun-tanned.” In response to accusations of racism, Berlusconi called his critics “imbeciles without any sense of humor.”

El Pais, Spain’s leading paper, which has obsessively covered the U.S. presidential election for months, leads its “Estados Unidos” page with a long analysis of Michelle Obama’s election-night outfit.

And Le Monde of France calls Obama the first spammer president under the headline, “With Obama, ‘Yes they spam!’”

Take a look at these and other stories from the Old Continent. Bonus points if you’re bi- or trilingual:

Austrian Journalist Slammed for Racist Obama Rant (Der Spiegel International)

Gaffe su Obama, Berlusconi rilancia “Le critiche? Ci sono tanti imbecilli” (On Obama Gaffe, Berlusconi Retorts, “The Criticisms? They Are All Imbecilic”) (La Stampa)

El vestido de cambio (The Dress of Change) (El Pais)

Avec Obama, “Yes they spam!” (With Obama, “Yes they spam!”) (Le Monde)

Obama’s victory: a change the world should believe in (Financial Times)

Where’s Europe’s Obama? (Der Spiegel International)