Economic and Monetary Union

In mid-2000, Greece had just become the 12th member of the Economic and Monetary Union. For a long time, several European bankers were counting the opportunities and capital gains that could be hidden in the Greek banking system.

Ljubljana – Slovenians are quite happy with their life in general but only one out of three is happy with the way democracy works in their country, a Eurobarometer survey conducted across the EU has shown.

As many as 89% of the Slovenians included in the survey are happy with their life, which is above the EU average of 83%.

Next week marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) on 2 February 2012.

The ESM is a child of the euro crisis, it was directly connected to the biggest debt crisis that Greece went through after the war and it reminds the Greeks of the most difficult moments of the last decade.

The Minister of Finance, Mr. Christos Staikouras, is going to Brussels today, in order to participate in the Eurogroup meeting and a day later in the Ecofin meeting.

At tomorrow 's Eurogroup, Eurozone Finance Ministers will discuss the Eurozone' s fiscal course and prospects, focusing on next year.

The Minister of Public Finance, Eugen Teodorovici, said it is absolutely necessary the new European Commission to take into account the interests of all member states, and not only of some of them that are believed to be stronger and more influent. "I hope that the new team of the European Commission will truly approach every matter in the spirit of cohesion.

President Klaus Iohannis participated on Thursday and Friday in the meeting of the European Council in Brussels, context in which he presented the results of the Romanian Presidency at the EU Council and reconfirmed Romania's firm support for the Eastern Partnership.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker looked back on six milestones that "shaped the euro and European Union as we know it," making particular reference to Greece and the Greek crisis. 

Romania loses on the competitiveness front and we are also concerned with the country's current account deficit which might affect the convergence efforts, European Commission's Vice President in charge of Euro and Social Dialogue, Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union Valdis Dombrovskis told a conference on Thursday.

Minister-delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba met on Wednesday with Secretary of State for European Affairs with Portugal's Foreign Affairs Ministry Ana Paula Zacarias. The discussions of the two officials focused on the working programme of Romania's Presidency at the EU Council and the ongoing developments at European level in relation with the current agenda.

AGERPRES special correspondent Tudor Martalogu reports: Romania takes over the half-yearly Presidency of the Council of the European Union at an important moment for Europe, marked by multiple challenges, but we are realistic and ambitious in our approach, with common effort and political will being necessary from both the Council and the European Parliament, Minister of Public Finance Eugen Or