BRUSSELS, Oct 15 (Reuters) – European Union lawmakers will
start a battle over the EU budget next week when they vote on a
spending increase which many national governments say is
unacceptable at a time of austerity.

The European Parliament is expected on Wednesday to approve
a nearly 6 percent rise in the budget to 130 billion euros
($183.2 billion) next year.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Reconstruction of Pakistan’s basic infrastructure after floods is likely to take 2-3 years and international donors should offer to finance most of it in November, the head of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

The ADB and the World Bank earlier said that the costs of overcoming damage from the worst natural disaster in Pakistan’s history were estimated at about $9.7 billion.

BERLIN/BRUSSELS, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Germany opposed on
Tuesday extending Greece’s repayment period for its bailout
loans and the European Union’s executive played down the
prospects of doing so after the IMF suggested it was possible.

On Sunday, the International Monetary Fund said loans to
Greece could be stretched out or replaced if refinancing worries
lingered in the markets, although it added it had no concrete
plans for such an extension. [ID:nN10280920]

BRUSSELS, Oct 12 (Reuters) – The European Union played down
prospects of extending an emergency loan programme for Greece,
saying on Tuesday that the issue was not being discussed.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Greece
should be able to finance its borrowing needs on the market from
2012, at the end of a bailout scheme granted jointly by the EU
and the International Monetary Fund.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Producers of heavy trucks protested on Thursday at European Union plans to impose strict curbs on emissions of carbon dioxide from the vehicles, saying they were unrealistic and ill-designed.

The chiefs of Volvo, Fiat’s unit Iveco and DAF said they had asked the European Commission and the European Parliament to redesign the planned law, warning them of chaos in an industry employing 250,000 people.

BRUSSELS, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Greek budget deficit and public
debt figures will be revised up for 2006-2009, following audits
of the crisis-hit country by the European Union’s statistical
office, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

“Whether it will be a large increase or moderate one, I
cannot say. There will be a clear upward revision,” Commission
spokesman Amadeu Altafaj told a daily news briefing.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone growth rates jumped in the second quarter but consumer demand contributed less than expected to the rebound, data showed on Wednesday, fuelling concerns the region’s recovery is about to run out of steam.

Gross domestic product in the 16-nation currency area grew 1.0 percent quarter-on-quarter, its fastest pace in four years, for an annual gain of 1.9 percent, European Union statistics agency Eurostat said.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro area policymakers pressed China on Tuesday for a faster appreciation of its currency to help rebalance the world economy but said Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had differed with them.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, told a news conference after talks with Wen in Brussels: “China’s real effective exchange rate remains undervalued.”

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro area policymakers pressed China on Tuesday for a faster appreciation of its currency to help rebalance the world economy but said Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao had differed with them.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, told a news conference after talks with Wen in Brussels: “China’s real effective exchange rate remains undervalued.”

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union finance ministers met on Friday in a fresh attempt to agree a common approach to taxing banks as well as to grill credit-rating agencies about how they arrive at their ratings.

Three years after the start of a banking and economic crisis, European Union member states are still struggling to agree on reforms to regain control over the financial sector.