It is too early to discuss a third bailout package for Greece, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday, stressing the focus of talks with Athens was implementing measures already agreed with the euro zone.
Jean-Claude Juncker
Greece and its euro zone partners engaged in brinkmanship on Monday, with leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisting his country would not extend its reform-linked bailout and Germany saying it would get no more money without such a program.
Asian equities slipped on Tuesday as nervousness over Greece potentially withdrawing from the euro and escalating conflict in Ukraine sapped risk appetite, while the dollar lost steam after its payrolls-inspired rally.
The European Central Bank is considering withdrawing from the "troika" of international lenders that governs Greece's international bailout, German business daily Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday.
Greece's leftist government on Sunday began its drive to persuade a sceptical Europe to accept a new debt agreement while it starts to roll back on austerity measures imposed under its existing bailout agreement.
The European Union's vaunted investment plan, due to be formally blessed by the bloc's 28 leaders at a summit this week, may be a day late and several euros short to revitalize a stagnant economy.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has insisted the $40 billion South Stream natural gas pipeline can still go ahead and accused Russia of holding EU-member Bulgaria to ransom when it said it had abandoned the project.
The countdown has begun to what threatens to be a missed opportunity to revive Europe's stalled economy. When European Union leaders meet on Dec. 18-19 under new management, they have a chance to launch a joint assault on the economic stagnation and high unemployment that are fuelling disenchantment and anti-EU protest among voters.
Jean-Claude Juncker will unveil a much anticipated 300-billion-euro ($370 billion) investment plan on Wednesday that is meant to trigger economic growth in the European Union.
The incoming head of the EU executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, told the European Parliament on Wednesday that he would present his 300-billion-euro plan for investment to bolster growth and jobs by the end of this year.
France and Italy will keep pressure on Germany this week to use government money to revive the euro zone's stagnating economy but in a sign of inertia, a promised list of projects to create growth will not be ready until December.
Party politics seems set to trump concerns about the competence and suitability of several candidates for the European Commission when lawmakers pass judgment on Jean-Claude Juncker's most controversial nominees this week.
The European Union sought ways on Saturday to marshal billions of euros into its sluggish economy without getting deeper into debt, considering options from a pan-European capital market to a huge investment fund.
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