Luxembourg

The European Union's top economy official says Greece has met all outstanding conditions required to receive more rescue loans to bolster its debt-strapped economy.

EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Monday that Greece has completed the so-called "milestones" needed for the disbursement of an additional 2.8 billion euros ($3.1 billion).

The EuroGroup Ministers are convening in Luxembourg, Monday to discuss whether the first review of the Greek bailout program, signed in August 2015 with the country’s creditors -the European Stability Mechanism and the EU member-states, will be completed. The EuroWorking Group (EWG) met earlier to decide on if Greece had implemented the 15 prior actions, in accordance to the compliance report.

An image showing the new Bulgarian envoy to Luxembourg Maya Dobreva standing next to Henri, Grand Duke of the country, has left the public divided over the ambassador's choice of clothing.

Dobreva, who is also Bulgaria's ambassador to Belgium, was recently accredited to the grand duchy.

Eurozone finance ministers were meeting in Luxembourg on Monday to decide whether Athens has made enough progress in implementing reforms to allow the release of the next tranche of bailout funding, worth 2.8 billion euros.

The government faces a challenging week, beginning on Monday when eurozone officials are to decide whether to unlock 2.8 billion euros in loans to Athens and culminating with SYRIZA's four-day party conference starting on Thursday.

A group of 10 European Union countries, including Greece, that support a common financial transactions tax (FTT) will meet on Monday in Luxembourg to discuss the issue but no breakthrough is expected yet, two EU officials said on Friday.

Greece is likely to meet by next week the conditions for the release of a 2.8-billion-euro loan from the eurozone, concluding a first phase of an aid and reform plan agreed with international lenders, senior eurozone officials said on Friday.

Europe needs a new model of economic development that will be “fairer, more social and more participatory”, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said during a keynote speech at an event organized by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg on Wednesday.

Bulgaria compares to most other EU member states which have not accepted a big enough share of the 160 000 migrants from Italy and Greece, EU data released on Wednesday shows.

Bulgaria has so far taken in only six people, all from Greece, the same figure that was reported by the State Agency for Refugees early in August.

In Thursday’s Euro Working Group Greece will present 3 less prior actions from the 15 that were agreed last summer.