Summit on Eurozone Crisis Ends in Failure
The euro has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar in almost two years, following Wednesday's late night meeting in Brussels. The talks in Belgium were meant to come up with an agreement on how to tackle the eurozone crisis. But no deal has been reached, as Andrew Simmons reports.

Angela Merkel 'Regrets' Britain's Veto of EU Treaty
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Angela Merkel tells Germany's parliament that Britain is still an important partner in the European Union despite 'regretting' its refusal to back fiscal integration plans.


The German chancellor told the Bundestag that Britain will remain a crucial partner within the European Union despite its veto last week of a treaty on budget discipline, [.]

Chancellor Merkel appeared to be trying to build bridges following Prime Minister David Cameron's refusal to agree to changes to the EU's Lisbon Treaty on tougher budget rules after he failed to win safeguards for the City of London.

"As much as I regret that Britain did not join us on this path, and as much as I regret that 20 years ago Britain decided against the euro, I have no doubt that in the future Britain will also be an important partner in the European Union," Merkel told the lower house of parliament.

Countering the views of pro-Europeans who argue that Mr Cameron has risked isolating Britain from the EU decision[-]making process, the German chancellor said that Britain still had a role to play in several significant areas. » | Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Eurozone Crisis: Banks Agree 50% Reduction on Greece's Debt
THE GUARDIAN: Private investors take 'haircut' on Greek bonds in €100bn bailout that also strengthens European rescue fund

Europe's leaders are claiming a victory in the eurozone crisis after agreeing new deals that slash Greek debt and increase the firepower of the main bailout fund to around €1 trillion (£872bn).

Athens will be handed a new €100bn bailout early in the new year. The accord was reached in the early hours of Thursday after hours of debate.

At one stage talks broke down with holders of Greek debt but they ended up accepting a loss or "haircut" of 50% in converting their existing bonds into new loans.

Investors are likely to welcome the breakthrough. Sharp gains are predicted for European markets on opening, with the FTSE 100 being called up 75 points and similar rises expected on the German and French stock markets.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, helped broker the deal in talks with the bankers that also included the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde.

Merkel said the swap would take place in January. Sarkozy said private sector investors would refinance Greek's remaining debt at preferential rates while governments would find €30bn to go alongside €100bn from the private sectors. » | David Gow in Brussels | Thursday, October 27, 2011

Video: Eurozone and investors agree to halve Greek debt: Breakthrough in crisis talks as banks accept 50% cut to Greek bonds that will be converted into loans and euro rescue fund is strengthened »

Eurozone bailout deal for Greece – full text: Read the full euro summit statement on the agreement to halve Greece's bond debt to banks, provide bailout funds and bolster the EU's emergency finance system » | guardian.co.uk | Thursday, October 27, 2011