EU Must Reform or Face A Frexit, Says Emmanuel Macron

The European Union must reform or face Frexit, Emmanuel Macron, the frontrunner in France's presidential election, has warned.

Italian PM Renzi vows to resign after referendum defeat

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation hours after learning he had suffered a crushing defeat in a referendum on constitutional reform.

French parliament officially adopts controversial labour law

France’s parliament on Thursday finally adopted a deeply divisive labour law after the government used a special measure to force it through parliament without a vote.

Greek parliament ratifies third bailout agreement

The Greek Parliament on Friday ratified the country's third bailout deal since 2010 to secure vital international financing to remain afloat and stay in the euro zone.

EU gives France until 2017 to fix budget deficit

The EU on Wednesday gave France until 2017 to bring its budget deficit back into line with Brussels’ rules, meaning the eurozone's second biggest economy will avoid a fine for now.

China accuses Britain of interference over Hong Kong

BEIJING: China on Wednesday accused London of interfering in its internal affairs after British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg met two leading Hong Kong pro-democracy activists urging greater freedoms from Beijing.
China "lodged solemn protests" with Britain over Tuesday's meetings with Martin Lee, founder of Hong Kong's opposition Democratic Party, and Anson Chan, the former number two in the city's government, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
"What Britain has done is interference in China's internal affairs. China strongly opposes it," said Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
"Hong Kong's affairs fall within China's internal affairs. China firmly opposes any interference in Hong Kong affairs by any country under whatever pretext," said Hong.

China slashes Chris Patten's comments on Hong Kong political reform

China has reiterated its firm objection to outside forces' interference into the internal affairs of Hong Kong, according to the Office of the Commissioner of China's Foreign Ministry of China in Hong Kong.

Asked to comment on former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten's recent remarks on the political reform in Hong Kong, a spokesperson of the commissioner's office said over the weekend that Hong Kong has entered the critical stage of its political reform, it is worth noting that some people are making unfounded comments on Hong Kong's political reform for other purposes in disregard of the facts.

US Congress Votes to Aid Ukraine, Penalize Russia. - The same day that the IMF pledged to provide Ukraine with up to $18 billion in loans

The U.S. Congress has sent a strong message to Russia for its annexation of Crimea by passing measures that give aid to Ukraine and penalize Moscow.

Lawmakers in the House and the Senate overwhelmingly approved separate measures on Thursday.

Both bills include $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine and penalize Russia for its actions in Crimea.

Lawmakers in both chambers will have to resolve differences on other provisions before sending a final bill to President Barack Obama.

Schulz: deal offers hope to Ukraine, violence must stop

European Parliament President Martin Schulz made the following statement on an agreement to end the crisis in Ukraine:
"The deal between the government and the opposition in Ukraine offers hope that the country has avoided the worst: escalation of violence and more deaths. I welcome the agreement although the road to rebuilding trust and stability will not be easy.

Währungsunion: Die Rezepte der Kanzlerin zeigen Wirkung in Europa. Spanien versteht, Portugal bleibt eisern, Griechenland ist auf dem mühsamen Weg in die Normalität

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Die Euro-Zone ist dank der viel geschmähten Konsolidierung auf dem mühsamen Rückweg in die Normalität. Nun liegt es an den Regierungen der einzelnen Länder, sich nicht wieder gehen zu lassen....

 Von Florian Eder

Noch verstellt die Not des Heers der Arbeitslosen den Blick auf den Fortschritt, und in Athen ist man nicht so weit, wie das die Geldgeber gerne hätten. Aber die Drohungen haben ihre Wucht verloren. Denn zumindest so viel ist erreicht: Die Währungsunion steht nicht mehr vor dem Bruch.