AFP Archives

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini arrives in Cuba today (23 March) in a bid to spur sensitive talks aimed at normalizing ties with the Communist island state.

The leaders of debt-wracked Greece and economic powerhouse Germany meet in Berlin Monday (23 March) after weeks of bad blood over Athens' debt woes, and bitter WWII memories.

Representatives of about a dozen far-right groups from across Europe gathered in Russia yesterday (22 March) for a pro-Kremlin conference, as concern swirls over Moscow's alleged attempts to court extremists on the continent.

Violent clashes between anti-austerity protesters and German police left dozens injured and a trail of destruction in Germany's financial capital as the European Central Bank opened its new headquarters Wednesday.

The Greek parliament yesterday (18 March) overwhelmingly adopted a "humanitarian crisis" bill to help its poorest people, ignoring apparent pressure from the European Union to halt the legislation. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is meeting today with EU leaders in Brussels, to ask for more financial support.

Russia signed a wide-ranging alliance with Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia on Wednesday (18 March), which will further cement its control over the territory, despite fierce condemnation from the West.

The European Commission intensified efforts to fight rampant tax avoidance by multinationals on Wednesday (18 March), in its first major effort to counter the LuxLeaks scandal that embarrassed President Jean-Claude Juncker just days after he took office.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras unveiled Tuesday (17 March) a surprise trip to Russia, but also sought talks with European leaders to break a deadlock over reforms that has revived default fears.

The United States has urged countries to think twice before signing up to a new China-led Asian development bank that Washington sees as a rival to the World Bank, after Germany, France and Italy followed Britain in saying they would join.

Greece has responded sharply to apparent pressure from the EU not to pass today (18 March) a "humanitarian crisis" law that would provide free electricity and food stamps for the poorest households.

About a thousand people still contract tuberculosis daily in Europe and Central Asia, despite an overall decline of the disease, a report by the Europe Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) revealed Tuesday (17 March).

Britain will become the first Member State to introduce plain packaging on cigarette packets after members of the House of Lords rubber-stamped a new law on Monday (17 March).

EU foreign ministers gave the green light Monday (16 March) for the bloc to prepare a possible security mission in Libya once the country's warring factions agree a national unity government.

When the European Central Bank officially inaugurates its new headquarters in Frankfurt on Wednesday (18 March), as many as 10,000 people from around Europe are expected to show up to join an anti-austerity demonstration.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday (15 March) urged closer high-tech cooperation with China as she opened a major IT business fair with the Asian giant as official partner country.

Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski rallied support yesterday (15 March), amid growing pressure over opposition accusations that his government organised widespread wiretapping, and rejected demands for early elections.

European Council President Donald Tusk warned yesterday (15 March) that British Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to amend the bloc's treaties to secure a new deal for Britain in Europe were virtually "mission impossible".

EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker complained Friday (13 March) about a lack of progress in talks on Greece's bailout, but insisted there was no chance of a failure that could drive the country out of the eurozone.

Iceland yesterday (12 March) announced it was dropping its bid to join the European Union, in line with pledges made by its Eurosceptic government after its election two years ago.

German industry federation BDI has been forced to slash its estimate of the economic benefits for Europe of a proposed US-EU free trade pact by a factor of 10, it conceded Wednesday (11 March).

In a rare piece of good news for Greek leaders, the European Stability Mechanism (ECM) confirmed Tuesday (10 March) that it has been forced to throw the cash-strapped country a half-billion-euro lifeline.

European finance ministers on Tuesday (10 March) approved a controversial two-year extension for France to get its deficit within the bloc's limits, despite accusations that bigger member states are treated more leniently than smaller ones.

An enormous blunder did not prevent Germany from creating a major opening yesterday (9 March), when its foreign minister said that Berlin was open to talks on allowing Romania and Bulgaria into the borderless Schengen zone, which has been a delicate subject among European countries.

The European Parliament announced Monday (9 March) that it had alerted anti-fraud investigators to possible financial irregularities committed by France's far-right National Front (FN) party over salaries paid to EU parliamentary assistants.