Providing the Prime Minister and the Government of Spain with information, analysis, studies or proposals that allow for the prevention and avoidance of any danger, threat or aggression against the independence or territorial integrity of Spain, its national interests and the stability of its institutions and the rule of law.

Der Spiegel reports that, as part of that mission, the agency is now investigating whether what it terms the “Anglo-Saxon media” (or English-language press) is conspiring to undermine the Spanish economy as part of its reporting on the potential downstream results of a Greek default. Although Spain isn’t facing the same debt crisis as Greece, it does have 19 percent unemployment, an over-reliance on construction for GDP growth and, reportedly, a mass of government debts not unlike Greece.

Citing unnamed sources, El Pais said the National Intelligence Center (CNI) was investigating “whether investors’ attacks and the aggressiveness of some Anglo-Saxon media are driven by market forces and challenges facing the Spanish economy, or whether there is something more behind this campaign.”

The Financial Times and The Economist are considered particularly critical of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s economic policies, and last week, Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco all but specifically accused those publications of fomenting concern about Spain’s financial stability to allow others to profit. But last year, when John McCain called Zapatero someone who would “want to harm the United States,” no such investigations were started. Perhaps rather than investigating McCain, the Spanish decided to learn a lesson from his running mate and accuse the media of causing all their problems.

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)