PARIS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Finance chiefs of the euro zone’s four biggest economies will hold last-minute talks in Paris on Tuesday evening to try to narrow differences on the currency area’s future after Cyprus became the fifth member to request a bailout.

Ministers from Germany, France, Italy and Spain will discuss how to manage the crisis in the short term and proposals for closer long-term fiscal and banking integration to prepare for a European Union summit starting on Thursday.

BRUSSELS, June 26 (Reuters) – The euro zone could create a
treasury for the single currency and issue euro bonds as the
final stage of a fiscal union which could take years to
construct, according to a document prepared for this week’s
summit of euro zone leaders.

“In a medium-term perspective, the issuance of common debt
could be explored as an element of such a fiscal union and
subject to progress on fiscal integration,” said the report,
obtained by Reuters.

MADRID/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Spain formally requested euro zone rescue loans to recapitalize its debt-laden banks on Monday as the euro and shares fell on investor skepticism about this week’s EU summit.

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos asked for up to 100 billion euros ($125 billion) in a letter to Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker, saying the final amount of financial assistance would be set at a later stage.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European leaders will discuss specific steps towards a cross-border banking union, closer fiscal integration and the possibility of a debt redemption fund at a summit on June 28-29, according to a document prepared for the meeting.

Two officials familiar with the 10-15 page document, drawn up over the past month and which is still being revised ahead of the summit, said it sets out in detail the four “pillars” required for a strong economic and monetary union which leaders believe is necessary to secure the currency project’s future.

LOS CABOS, Mexico, June 19 (Reuters) – Italy put forward a
proposal at a G20 summit in Mexico on Tuesday for the euro
zone’s rescue funds to start buying the debt of distressed
European countries, and the idea is expected to be discussed at
a meeting of leaders in Rome on Friday.

The Italian proposal foresees using the EU’s rescue funds,
known as the EFSF and the ESM, to buy bonds of countries such as
Spain and Italy in the secondary market to help bring down bond
yields and lower refinancing costs.

LOS CABOS, Mexico/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Britain’s prime minister said on Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear at the G20 summit in Mexico he wants President Bashar al-Assad out of power in Syria, but Putin indicated that Syrians should decide if Assad stays and Assad’s forces bombarded the city of Homs and clashed with rebels.

Russia has been the staunchest backer of Assad and his military crackdown against militants and protesters in Syria, including supplying arms to the Syrian government.

LOS CABOS, Mexico (Reuters) – Under pressure from financial markets and anxious world leaders, Europe has begun to flesh out sweeping plans for deeper economic integration, including once unthinkable steps toward a banking union and a more unified fiscal policy.

European officials have sketched the bare outlines of their aims in recent weeks, describing ideas to strengthen Europe’s monetary union by overhauling banking supervision and working in the years ahead toward a fiscal union, which would include shared budgets and taxation policies.

LOS CABOS, Mexico (Reuters) – Under pressure from financial markets and anxious world leaders, Europe agreed on Monday to move towards a more integrated banking system to stem a debt crisis that threatens the survival of the euro.

At a Group of 20 summit of the world’s leading industrialized and developing economies in this Mexican resort, Germany and its big euro zone partners took the unusual step of spelling out in detail measures to complete the economic and monetary union they launched to great fanfare 13 years ago.

LOS CABOS, Mexico (Reuters) – World leaders pressured Europe on Monday to take ambitious new steps to resolve its debt crisis after a victory for pro-bailout parties in a Greek election failed to calm markets or ease worries that wider turmoil could derail the global economy.

The world’s major industrialized and developing economies were set to urge Europe to take “all necessary policy measures” to resolve a crisis that has now raged for over two years, according to a draft communiqué seen by Reuters that was prepared for a Group of 20 summit in this Mexican resort town.

LOS CABOS, Mexico (Reuters) – The president of the European Commission suggested on Monday that a way needed to be found to provide direct support to Spain’s banks rather than lending to the government so it can recapitalize them.

Speaking ahead of a summit of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries, Jose Manuel Barroso said the link between highly indebted governments and bad banks needed to be broken, and suggested Spain as a starting point.