European Union

A crucial Eurogroup session will begin with a 90-minute delay due to a previously unscheduled meeting of Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Yanis Varoufakis, Christine Lagarde and Wolfgang Schaeuble. Therefore, the regular Eurogroup itself will start at 15:30 GMT.

The delay was announced by Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem through his Twitter account.

By David Goodman

As Greece heads toward 11th-hour funding talks with its euro-area membership on the line, bondholders are surprisingly sanguine about its failure so far to secure a deal.

The German government appeared to open the door to a last-minute deal between Athens and its creditors, saying Friday that Greece's request for a loan extension from its eurozone partners provided "a starting point" for more talks.        

German holding and insurance company Talanx has sold its subsidiaries in Bulgaria and Ukraine to Euroins, a Bulgarian insurance group.

The aim is to streamline the company's portfolio in Eastern Europe, German news websites report. No price tag is mentioned, though a "single-digit million deal" (in EUR) is suggested by most sources.

By Mark Whitehouse

Government Spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis told private ANT1 TV on Friday that Greece is "optimistic" that there will be an agreement at the Eurogroup meeting on Friday but cannot be entirely sure. "We are having in dialogue and are struggling hard so as to achieve a mutually beneficial solution while respecting the popular mandate," he said in reference to the Eurogroup's meeting.

Bulgaria has outpaced Italy and the Czech Republic in the rate of EU fund absorption, EU statistics show.

Lithuania, at 93.7%, is the "champion" of absorption.

According to the Regional Policy directorate at the EU Commission, the country is currently ranking 23rd in terms of "percentage of available funds paid out by the Commission", up from the previous 25th place in 2014.

The European Commission is stepping up its assistance to Italy to deal with the current high migratory pressures in Lampedusa. A number of important measures have been pledged.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis' proposal for a six-month extension of its bailout facility was rejected by Germany that won't budge from its position concerning austerity regardless of the humanitarian problems caused to Greece.

According to diplomatic sources there are signs of progress.

Same sources also indicate that there is no deadlock issue and Eurozone Ministers of Finance will most likely head towards a solution tomorrow, which will be accepted by all euro member states.