Greece crisis: Eurozone rules out talks until after referendum

Eurozone finance ministers have ruled out any further talks on a fresh bailout for Greece until the country holds its referendum on Sunday.

EU charges Gazprom with market abuse

The Commission said its preliminary view was that the Russian energy giant was breaking EU anti-trust rules. It added Gazprom may have limited its customers' ability to resell gas, potentially allowing it to charge unfair prices in some EU member states.

Greece debt crisis: Eurozone backs reform plans

Eurozone finance ministers have approved reform proposals submitted by Greece in order to obtain a four-month extension of its bailout.

U.S. Stocks Rise to Records, Euro Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to records, while the euro advanced with European equity futures after finance ministers reached agreement to extend bailout funds to Greece.

Crunch talks on new Greek bailout under way

The German and Greek finance ministers are holding talks with IMF and Eurogroup chiefs ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Friday.

Schaeuble raps German firms for avoiding taxes via Luxembourg: Focus

(Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble sharply criticized leading German companies for reducing taxes by creating subsidiaries in Luxembourg, where tax rates are lower, according to Focus news magazine.

George Osborne criticised for claims over EU £1.7bn bill as UK to pay full amount

George Osborne won more time to settle an outstanding and highly contested £1.7bn EU budget bill and went on to make a disputed claim that he had halved the money owed by factoring in Britain’s budget rebates in Europe.

Renzi's Italian budget is not so tax-cutting after all

(Reuters) - Two days after Matteo Renzi presented Italy's 2015 budget it is emerging that the prime minister's claims of unprecedented tax cuts to revive a stagnant economy are not exactly as he described.

U.S. and European Sanctions Take Aim at Putin’s Economic Efforts

WASHINGTON — The United States and the European Union dealt a blow on Friday to Russian efforts to develop future oil sources in the Arctic and elsewhere, broadening and deepening the range of sanctions imposed on Moscow in retaliation for its intervention in Ukraine despite the potential cost to Western firms like Exxon Mobil and BP.

Europe braced for any gas crisis as Russia sanctions escalate

Europe has enough spare capacity in liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet a large part of the region’s needs if Russia retaliates against the latest EU sanctions by restricting gas supplies.

EU call for views on U.S. trade deal draws huge response

(Reuters) - The European Commission's call for views on a contentious part of a planned EU-U.S. free trade deal has drawn almost 150,000 responses that will take months to process, a senior EU official said on Friday.

Bulgaria halts work on gas pipeline after US talks

Bulgaria is to halt work on its Russian-backed South Stream gas pipeline following criticism from the EU and US. Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski announced that he had "ordered all work to be stopped".

Portugal to Emulate Ireland in Exit From Bailout Program

Portugal will follow Ireland in exiting its three-year bailout program without seeking a precautionary credit line, after bond yields in peripheral Europe dropped to pre-crisis levels.

Italy must wait to see if reform efforts affect budget goals: minister

(Reuters) - Italy will have to wait to judge whether planned structural reforms will affect its ability to meet strict European Union budget limits, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said on Monday.

EU lawmakers seek to block U.S. financial spying

(Reuters) - The European Parliament called on Wednesday for U.S. access to a global financial database in Belgium to be suspended due to concerns that the United States is snooping on the European Union, not just combating terrorism.

Work on financial transaction tax to go on, EU executive says

(Reuters) - The European Commission rebuffed on Saturday an EU legal opinion that questioned the legality of a planned financial transaction tax and said work on the levy in 11 European Union countries would go on.

Merkel ally fuels Greek aid row before election

(Reuters) - Germany's commissioner to the European Commission said on Saturday he expects a new bailout for Greece to amount to a little more than 10 billion euros, fuelling a debate that could hurt Chancellor Angela Merkel in next month's election.

RBS sell-off may not happen for another five years, says Vince Cable

A sell off the taxpayer's 81% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland may not take place for another five years, according to business secretary Vince Cable.

Central Bank agrees 47.5% Bank of Cyprus haircut with creditors

NICOSIA: Cyprus's central bank agreed a 47.5 percent haircut with international creditors on Monday on deposits exceeding 100,000 euros in the Bank of Cyprus in an attempt to recapitalise it.

Spain broke EU rules with scheme to support shipyards

State support for Spain's ship building industry will have to be repaid following a ruling by the European Commission.