Economy of the European Union

Bulgaria's government is starting talks with the governments of the 19 eurozone countries on joining the eurozone, according to Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov.

Goranov visited Vilnius Thursday on the occasion of the Lithuania's eurozone accession and the abolition of the local currency, the Lithuanian litas (LTL).

Turkey's economy will grow some 4 percent in 2015 and inflation will fall "comfortably" to a Central Bank forecast of 6.1 percent, Finance Minister Mehmet ?im?ek said Jan. 15, pledging continued fiscal discipline ahead of a June election.

By John Geddie

Investor concern that a new government may push Greece toward another default appears to have eased over the past week, as a sharp inversion in its borrowing costs diminishes.

The Swiss National Bank unexpectedly scrapped its cap on the franc on Thursday, sending the safe-haven currency crashing through the 1.20 per euro limit it set more than three years ago.

Turkey, where the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has been active for only five years, has become the largest individual recipient of EBRD financing. Investments rose to 1.4 billion euros in 2014 from 920 million euros in the previous year, the EBRD said by a written statement on late Jan. 14.

 Primary surplus misses target by 3 billion euros as taxpayers stopped paying their dues in December

By Sotiris Nikas

A European Central Bank bond-buying plan floated in 2012 would not break EU law subject to certain conditions, a top adviser to the European Union's highest court said on Wednesday.

Greece remains relatively unlikely to leave the eurozone, ratings agency Moody's said on Wednesday, despite the prospect of an anti-bailout leftist party winning a snap election on Jan. 25.

Turkey is rapidly approaching an economic bottleneck because it has not done what it needed to do, especially in the last few years. Recently publicized industry production data has revealed that the 2014 growth rate will not reach 3 percent; it will be a little above 2.5 percent.

By Stathis Kousounis

The danger of a Greek departure from the eurozone and the ensuing crisis that would erupt in the country?s economy have generated major fears among Greek tourism professionals ahead of a largely unpredictable season, according to the president of the Association of Hellenic Tourism Enterprises (SETE), Andreas Andreadis.