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EU urges Gaza ceasefire
The EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Monday that European monitors who were once on Gaza's border with Egypt would be ready to return to work at the crossing after a ceasefire in Gaza is achieved, reports the IHT.
Solana was speaking after he,other EU officials and the foreign ministers of the Czech Republic, France and Sweden, met with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik.
Deutsche Welle reports that Israel has rejected calls by the visiting EU diplomats for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and that the EU is struggling to coordinate its own peace efforts with those of French president Nicolas Sarkozy's parallel mission.
Sarkozy is in the region, travelling in his capacity as co-president of the Union for the Mediterranean.
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Putin accuses Ukraine of stealing EU-bound gas
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of stealing gas bound for the EU, and has ordered a reduction in gas sent to Europe in a new twist in the dispute between the two countries, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The paper says that EU officials are getting worried that the standoff could affect European supplies, although as yet no major impact has been felt.
However, the Sofia Echo is reporting that supplies to Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Macedonia have been halted as of early this morning.
Meanwhile, the Kyiv Post says that Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller has announced that he will compensate "Western Europe" for the gas Ukraine has allegedly been diverting from the transit pipeline system - including buying gas on the derivatives market.
Le Figaro says the crisis is the first major test of the new Czech EU presidency.
ECB prepares another drop in interest rates
The Wall Street Journal is reporting on a likely European Central Bank rate cut next week, after a slowdown in Spanish and Italian inflation.
Figures released on Monday, says the paper, show that the euro zone’s annual inflation rate could drop below the ECB’s 2 per cent target for the first time since August 2007.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports that the bank's vice president Lucas Papademos has suggested it be given significant extra powers to aid bank supervision, including policing large financial institutions that span more than one member state.
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Germany ready for U-turn on economic recovery plan
Angela Merkel was preparing last night to agree a €50bn stimulus package to shield Europe’s largest economy from the worst ravages of recession – weeks after she dismissed Gordon Brown’s similar recovery plans, reports the Times.
Last month the German chancellor rejected calls to slash taxes or greatly boost spending.
Barroso doesn't rule out increase in €200bn EU rescue package
European commission president José Manuel Barroso has not ruled out raising the size of the €200bn financial recovery package approved by EU leaders in December, reports the Guardian.
The paper says that when asked by journalists if the package would be enough, he responded, “We’ll see.”
It goes on to quote him: “The European Union gave a very adequate response, but the situation is evolving. We can't exclude that there is a revision of the response (the package) in function of what becomes necessary.”
