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Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Brussels summit

Euro zone to warn Greece patience running out

Euro zone leaders will tell Greece that time and patience are running out for its leftist-led government to implement agreed reforms to avert a looming cash crunch that could force it out of the single currency.

News • 19 Mar 15

Yanis Varoufakis said Greece could call a referendum or fresh elections if its proposals were rejected

Eurozone ministers to discuss Greek proposals

Eurozone finance ministers are meeting in Brussels today to examine a list of reform proposals submitted by Greece which could trigger the release of funds the country needs to repay a significant IMF loan this month.

News • 09 Mar 15

A man holds a Greek flag in front of the Greek parliament in Athens as people gather in support of their government

Greece readies reforms to keep bailout alive

Greece is racing to finalise reform proposals that would keep its loan lifeline open under an EU debt deal that saw its anti-austerity ambitions curtailed.

News • 23 Feb 15

Christine Lagarde, Pierre Moscovici, and Jeroen Dijsselbloem give a press briefing on the deal

Deal agreed to extend Greek bailout by four months

Eurozone finance ministers reached an agreement tonight to extend heavily indebted Greece's financial rescue by four months, officials on both sides said.

News • 20 Feb 15

A man passes by a wall covered with graffiti reading 'Alexis the Great' in central Athens

Merkel and Tsipras seek solution to Greek crisis

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for nearly an hour today in what a government source said was "a positive climate" aimed at calming the bailout crisis.

News • 19 Feb 15

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (R) and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis in the Athens parliament

ECB increases funding available to Greek banks

The ECB has decided to increase the amount of emergency funding available to Greek banks, following a meeting of its governing council in Frankfurt, according to a source familiar with the issue.

News • 18 Feb 15

Greece has been given until Friday to accept an extension of its current bailout agreement

Greece may seek loan agreement extension

A war of words between Greece and Germany escalated this evening with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras rejecting what he called "blackmail" to extend an international bailout and vowing to rush through laws to reverse labour reforms.

News • 17 Feb 15

Athens has refused to ask for an extension of the existing bailout

Talks end as Greece rejects 'unacceptable' offer

Talks between Greece and eurozone finance ministers over the country's debt broke down this evening when Greece rejected a proposal to request a six-month extension of its international bailout as "unacceptable".

News • 17 Feb 15

The Greek government had said it would look elsewhere for help if it fails to get a new debt agreement with the eurozone

Eurozone, Greece fail to agree way forward

Eurozone finance ministers were unable to agree with Greece a final statement or a way to continue talks until their next meeting on Monday, following hours of discussions in Brussels to extend an international bailout.

News • 13 Feb 15

Lithuania replaced the litas with the euro at midnight local time

Lithuania becomes 19th member of Eurozone

Lithuania adopted the euro at the stroke of midnight local time, becoming the Eurozone's 19th member just as Greek political uncertainty is renewing concern over the single currency bloc's economic prospects.

News • 31 Dec 14

Michael Fuchs suggested the troika would cut funding to Greece if it tried to row back austerity

EU 'no longer obliged' to rescue Greece: German MP

Euro zone politicians are not obliged to rescue Greece as the country is no longer of systemic importance to the single currency bloc, a senior German MP has said.

Business • 31 Dec 14

Greece had the strongest jobs growth in the area between July and September

Euro zone sees slight growth in jobs numbers

Employment in the euro zone rose slightly in the third quarter of this year, with gains also being recorded against the wider European Union.

Business • 12 Dec 14

The health check of eurozone banks comes before the ECB becomes banking supervisor next month

25 eurozone banks fail ECB checks - reports

The European Central Banks has claimed that 25 eurozone banks have failed a health check according to leaked documents.

Business • 26 Oct 14

ESRI recommends an investment programme in social housing

Tánaiste hopeful of housing package in Budget

Tánaiste Joan Burton has said she hoped next week's Budget would contain a housing package and that investment in social housing could result in a "win-win" situation.

News • 08 Oct 14

Mr Draghi said the ECB is ready to use "unconventional measures" if necessary.

ECB President Mario Draghi green lights tax cuts

ECB President Mario Draghi has said Eurozone governments now have scope to introduce tax cuts as part of a package of measures to boost jobs and growth.

Business • 22 Aug 14

Lithuania will exchange the litas for the euro on January 1

Lithuania clears last hurdle to joining euro zone

Lithuania passed the last hurdle to becoming the nineteenth member of the euro zone, after its EU peers gave their approval.

Business • 23 Jul 14

Christine Lagarde said the Fund did not expect a brutal slowdown in China

Global recovery to accelerate in 2015 - IMF

Global economic activity should strengthen in the second half of this year and accelerate in 2015 although momentum could be weaker than expected, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said.

News • 06 Jul 14

An official said 'It would be like eating a pudding and then trying to put it back again'

Bank recapitalisation 'extremely unlikely'

A senior eurozone official has told RTÉ News that it is "extremely unlikely" that Ireland will be given retroactive support for its banks through Europe's permanent bailout fund.

News • 16 Jun 14

Irish people still pay 14% more for goods and services than most other eurozone countries

Ireland third most expensive for goods, services

Ireland is the third most expensive of the 18 eurozone countries for goods and services, according to an unpublished report by State agency Forfás.

News • 02 Feb 14

Christine Lagarde at the launch of the book

IMF publishes book on European recovery

The International Monetary Fund has just published a new book by a number of its staffers called Jobs and Growth: Supporting the European Recovery.

News • 28 Jan 14

A woman shows a €10 note after withdrawing it from a cash machine in Riga

Latvia becomes 18th country to join eurozone

Latvia has become the 18th country to join the eurozone.

News • 01 Jan 14

Eurostat's preliminary figures show Q2 euro zone growth of 0.3% - better than expectations

Euro zone Q2 growth better than expected

Stronger growth in the euro zone's two largest economies, Germany and France, helped the euro zone to emerge from its longest recession to date in the second quarter.

Business • 14 Aug 13

Michael Noonan said eurozone ministers shared the IMF's objective for a return to economic growth

Noonan to 'engage' with Troika on bailout exit

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said he wants to "engage seriously" with Troika representatives in the coming days on how Ireland will exit its bailout and what assistance the EU and IMF might be able to provide.

News • 09 Jul 13

Civil servants took to the streets of Athens last week to protest against expected job cuts in the public sector

Greece faces deadline on aid conditions

Greece has three days to reassure its lenders it can deliver on conditions attached to its international bailout in order to receive the next tranche of aid.

News • 02 Jul 13

The European Central Bank denied that there was an issue with inter-bank lending

Fears over Euro zone inter-bank lending

Euro zone banks are refusing to lend to peers in other countries in the common currency bloc, according to data analysed by news agency Reuters.

Business • 21 Jun 13