Holger Schmieding

Angela Merkel's conservatives were heaving a sigh of relief on June 7 after a convincing win in the last regional vote before a general election that also exposed the weaknesses of the Green party, their main rival at the national level.

Foreign economists say Greece needs to use the cash it will get from the European Commission's Recovery Fund to strengthen the healthcare and education systems, implement investments and growth policies, cut taxes, support entrepreneurship and contain the rebound of unemployment.

The boss of Russian energy giant Gazprom will meet Greece?s prime minister in Athens on Tuesday, after reports that the two parties are set to sign a pipeline deal in which Russia would make billions in an advance payment to cash-strapped Greece.

By Simon Kennedy

Mario Draghi?s July 2012 pledge to do ?whatever it takes? to keep the euro intact has kept speculators at bay for almost three years. Bond yields fell from Dublin to Athens, giving governments room to cut budgets and start revamping their economies.

By Nikos Chrysoloras & Antonis Galanopoulos

Greek stocks and bonds slumped after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras opted to bring forward the process of choosing a new head of state, risking parliamentary elections in Europe’s most indebted state as early as January.

By Ian Wishart

Voters across the European Union give their verdict today on policy makers’ handling of the euro- area debt crisis in elections to the European Parliament that may shape the future of the 28-nation bloc.