Economy

Fiscal Council: Austerity measures necessary in 2018 as well

BELGRADE - The Fiscal Council released on Wednesday that the three-year plan adopted by the Serbian government is good in principle, adding that nevertheless the austerity measures will be needed in 2018 as well, given that the current plan will not ensure reduction of the public debt by the end of 2017, and this was the measures' objective.

Bulgaria Allocates Further BGN 15 M for Energy Effectiveness Projects

The Bulgarian government decided at its meeting on Wednesday to allocate further BGN 15 M for additional co-financing of energy effectiveness projects.

This concerns projects, which have already been started and have applied for funding before the launch of the large-scale programme worth BGN 1 B, which was announced last week.

Greece needs debt haircut, Varoufakis tells Stern magazine

Greece's finance minister said Greece would not be able to service its debt in the short-term so would need a haircut, or debt restructuring, he told Germany's Stern magazine.

"If a debt can no longer be paid off then that leads to a haircut," Yanis Varoufakis said in a pre-publication copy of the interview made available on Wednesday.

Austrian FinMin: Time for Greece to end debt standoff, but no Plan B yet

There is still time for Greece to end a debt standoff with its European partners, though no Plan B is in the offing, Austria's finance minister said, adding that Athens must honor the terms of its bailout package.

A showdown in Brussels looms this week as Greece's new leftist government tries to cancel a deeply unpopular bailout program with international creditors.

Europe stocks little changed as investors await Greek debt talks

European stocks were little changed before a meeting between Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and his euro-area counterparts in Brussels.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.1 percent to 372.56 at 8:07 a.m. in London. Stocks climbed Tuesday amid investor optimism that Greece can reach an agreement on new bailout terms with its euro-region creditors.

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