EU referendum: Merkel will work with Cameron on EU – but will Tories let him?

Next on David Cameron’s agenda is Europe. And Europe is ready and waiting. Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, knows the phoney war of recent years is over.

George Osborne backs down over EU cap on bankers’ bonuses

George Osborne has conceded defeat in his attempt to overturn the EU cap on bonuses after a senior legal advisor at the European court of justice rejected his arguments.

Greece eyes fresh aid, but wary of more austerity

Stuck in its debt crisis but confident of progress made after two major bailouts, recession-mired Greece is unsure of what an inevitable third package will look like.

EU bars Hungary's 2013 aid funds, may reconsider in June

BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST (Reuters) - EU finance ministers suspended on Tuesday Hungary's access to half a billion euros in aid from next year for failing to keep its budget in check, but told Budapest it could escape the sanctions if it takes remedial fiscal action by June.

Battle over EU financial firewall threatens to derail Greek bailout

At a G20 summit in Mexico in two days the EU will plead for increased IMF contributions by non-euro countries to help shore up a eurozone "financial firewall" seen as vital to protecting Spain and Italy from Greek debt contagion.

ECB considers losses on Greek bonds held by national banks

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank is weighing up whether to allow the Greek bonds held in national euro zone central banks' investment portfolios to be subjected to the same writedowns private investors are set to take, central bank sources told Reuters.

How might Greece leave the euro?

Greece's latest woes have raised something that was previously unthinkable - the possibility of the Greek people rejecting the euro.

European banks need $150B in new capital

Europe's big banks will be forced to find €108bn ($150bn) of fresh capital over the next six to nine months under a deal to strengthen the banking system agreed by European Union finance ministers.

Redwood: The origins of the euro crisis

The euro crisis is following a predictable path. The bills have increased greatly, and are being passed around in the hope the problems will go away.

Unfortunately the countries in trouble are spending too much and earning too little. That has to be tackled, as there will be limits to the patience and the amount of money the EU and the IMF can throw at this problem.

Euro crisis: “the EU is setting itself up for failure”

In a lengthy article posted at Crooked Timber, John Quiggin and Henry Farrell argue that

By concentrating on its economic problems but ignoring their political consequences, the EU is setting itself up for failure. The case for austerity does not make sense. And if the EU fails to deal with the political fallout of its own institutional weaknesses, it is going to collapse. No political body can force voters to repeatedly shoulder the costs of adjustment on their own and expect to remain legitimate. During the gold standard, nation-states tried this and failed—and they had considerably more authority than the EU has today. Hard Keynesianism offers a means to combine fiscal discipline with flexibility in order to cushion the political costs of adjustment in times of economic stress. EU leaders must institute it in a hurry.

Euro woes give EU's Lisbon Treaty baptism of fire

For many of the EU's citizens, facing job insecurity and public service cuts, the Lisbon Treaty's first birthday this week is hardly cause for celebration.

The treaty's troubled infancy is blighted by deep fissures in the 27-nation EU and a determination already to change the text - however unpalatable that is after eight gruelling years of negotiations.

Irish minister urges EU not to panic over Irish debts

The Irish minister for European affairs has urged EU finance ministers not to 'panic' as speculation continues over its mounting debts.