European Union countries are meeting in Brussels to discuss a joint strategy for negotiations with the UK over Brexit. Twenty-seven countries will be present, but the UK will not take part. The EU will insist that progress must be made in talks on separating the UK from the EU, before any discussions can begin about future trade relations. Official talks between London and the EU will not begin until after the UK general election on 8 June.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Friday that if Britain voted to leave the European Union, it wouldn't have access to the single market like non-members Norway and Switzerland do.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi brushed off German criticism of his ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday and vowed to use all the tools at his disposal for “as long as needed.” He said the ECB's policy was working, which helped boost the Euro.
The global economy faces a financial bubble from central banks pumping cash into economies, Germany's finance minister has warned. The comments come after the European Central Bank (ECB) said it would extend its stimulus program if needed.
France, Germany and Italy on Tuesday announced plans to join the Chinese-led development bank AIIB, drawing concern in Washington which views the institution with skepticism. The three European countries want ”to become founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)”, they said in a statement.
Euro-zone finance ministers have agreed on a long-awaited pact on how to deal with failing banks in the region. It aims to create a 55bn euro fund - financed by the banking industry, over the next 10 years. The fund would be backed by a new agency, which will decide on how to deal with failing banks.
Germany's finance minister has warned Cyprus that its crisis-stricken banks may never be able to reopen if it rejects the terms of a bailout. Wolfgang Schaeuble said major Cypriot banks were insolvent if there are no emergency funds.
The IMF on Thursday backed giving debt-burdened Greece and Spain more time to reduce their budget deficits, cautioning that cutting too far, too fast would do more harm than good.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble rejected on Monday a European Commission plan to give the European Central Bank sweeping powers to monitor all Euro zone banks, saying it should instead focus only on systemically important institutions.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his counterpart from Madrid said Spain’s borrowing costs don’t reflect the strength of its economy as they pledged to work toward deeper integration to fight the debt crisis.