German Lutherans

DAVOS - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos on Thursday.

Before the tumultuous year of 2015, Greece actually came close to leaving the eurozone in 2012, following the election of Antonis Samaras as prime minister. Chancellor Angela Merkel was notably apprehensive about the New Democracy leader's pre-election campaign. 

"I can now observe my life as it comes to an end. I find it exciting to observe myself," Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany's former finance minister, said in one of the last interviews he gave before his death on Tuesday. "Yes, I feel lonely," he told Der Spiegel magazine a month ago.

Wolfgang Schaeuble was an emblem in German politics, one of the pioneers of European integration, a catalyst in the unification of the two Germanies - he probably made it happen on the economic front - and, of course, one of Europe's longest-serving MPs, having served in the Bundestag for more than 50 years.

Wolfgang Schaeuble, who helped negotiate German reunification in 1990 and as finance minister was a central figure in the austerity-heavy effort to drag Europe out of its debt crisis more than two decades later, has died. He was 81.

Schaeuble died at home on Tuesday evening, his family told German news agency dpa on Wednesday.

The legend of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) passed away in his sleep.
Schuble, who was part of the Bundestag for more than 50 years, is survived by his wife, four children and four grandchildren.
He was born in Freiburg in 1942, where he studied, and then he studied at the University of Hamburg.

The European Commission said on Dec. 20 it wants to change the protection status of wolves - allowing them to be hunted - based on new data suggesting the animals pose a rising threat to livestock.

Following the Brussels summit, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, affirmed that the Commission won't yield to Hungary's demands and will explore alternatives should an agreement on the budget fail to materialize. Orban's opposition regarding the EU's budget remains a sticking point, particularly concerning a €50 billion allocation for Ukraine.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday urged the bloc's 27 leaders to back massive financial aid for Ukraine and Kyiv's ambitions for membership talks, ahead of a crunch summit.

"We must give Ukraine what it needs to be strong today. So it can be stronger tomorrow at the table when it is negotiating a long lasting and just peace," the European Commission president told MEPs.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that the EU and China must address "imbalances and differences" between them.

"China is the EU's most important trading partner," von der Leyen said at the start of the Beijing summit, "but there are clear imbalances and differences that we need to overcome."