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German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said on Thursday (11 October) he did not expect Italy to need aid to deal with its debt pile. Any intervention by the European Central Bank would require Italy to formally apply for a rescue programme, sources said. 

The European Fiscal Board complained on Wednesday (10 October) that member states had failed to use strong economic growth to reduce their public debt, and called for a major change of EU fiscal rules to ensure better enforcement by the European Commission.

The leaders of Italy's ruling parties said on Tuesday (9 October) they would permit no change to the government's 2019 budget plan, despite financial market pressure and criticism from the country's central bank and the parliamentary fiscal watchdog.

The European Commission will take the unprecedented step of rejecting a national budget later this month if the Italian government does not improve its announced deficit figures, EU officials told EURACTIV.

Eurozone finance ministers and the European Commission called on the Italian government on Monday (1 October) to respect the EU’s fiscal rules, saying the “non-compliant” budgetary plan announced by the third largest eurozone economy could destabilise the region.

In the ten years that have passed since the fall of Lehman Brothers, Europe has improved its banking regulation but the financial system remains vulnerable. Europe commemorates the tenth anniversary with a solid growth. But experts consulted by EURACTIV.com warn that …

Italy's new anti-establishment government sent contradictory signals to financial markets on Sunday (2 September) amid increasing concern Rome could breach EU spending limits as it comes under pressure to fulfil its anti-austerity electoral promises.

Discrepancies between Italy and the EU over its expenditure, the trade dispute with the US and political quagmires such as the Brexit talks and the migration challenge cloud EU prospects ahead of the tenth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Greece will formally turn the page on its debt saga this week, but the eurozone remains vulnerable to further crises, with economists particularly worried about the situation in Italy.

The European Commission cut expected EU growth for this year by 0.2% compared to its forecast less than three months ago, as output was weaker than expected during the first semester and external risks, especially the trade war, are on the rise.

The European Commission has rejected the European Court of Auditors’ recommendation to strengthen surveillance of EU member states with high levels of public debt.

The European Commission adopted a set of measures on Wednesday (11 July) to closely monitor Greece's fiscal policy after it concludes an eight-year-long bailout programme on 20 August, closing one of the darkest chapter's in the single currency's short history.

A senior EU official said on Tuesday (10 July) that an agreement on a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS) to protect savers across the bloc would be “very hard” given Berlin’s opposition.

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi urged eurozone member states to complete the banking union with a European Deposit Insurance Scheme, noting the “substantial” reduction of risks in the banks’ balance sheets and the benefits of risk-sharing.

Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz prioritised the protection of the external borders during his country's EU Presidency stint, in order to safeguard the Schengen area, as a recent deal between Germany’s conservative parties could lead to a resurrection of the bloc's internal borders.

Despite previous promises to achieve results on eurozone reforms in June, EU leaders postponed until December an agreement on the backstop to wind down failing banks and did not include any date for starting discussions on a European deposit guarantee scheme.

Eurogroup head Mário Centeno warned Monday (25 June) of differing opinions towards a plan by France and Germany to establish a eurozone budget, ahead of a key EU summit to discuss the matter.

In the early hours of Friday (22 June), the Eurogroup reached an “historic” deal on a debt relief for Greece, solving the last political hurdle to conclude its rescue programme after more than eight years.

Spain's new Socialist government said on Thursday (21 June) it had “no reasons” to believe that it would miss its deficit target, despite a planned increase to pensioners’ benefits  being questioned by the EU institutions.

Germany turns out to be a major beneficiary of Greece’s debt crisis as it earned a total of €2.9 billion between 2010 and 2017. This emerges from a response of the Federal ministry of finance in Berlin to a parliamentary request from the Greens (Bündnis90/Die Grünen) in the German Bundestag obtained by EURACTIV.

Germany's finance minister on Wednesday (20 June) defended a euro zone reform blueprint agreed with France against criticism by Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives that it could undermine monetary stability.

Eurozone ministers will on Thursday (21 June) try to resolve their differences over the terms of Greece's departure from its massive bailout programme with splits over the degree of debt relief needed by cash-strapped Athens.

A meeting between Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron was meant to foster a breakthrough on possible eurozone reforms. But the declaration brokered on Tuesday (19 June) is full of language that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. EURACTIV Germany reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday (19 June) won German Chancellor Angela Merkel's backing for reforms that are aimed at bolstering the eurozone against crises, including a vaunted budget for the bloc.