BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU finance ministers faced a struggle to reach a deal to force banks to set aside more capital to cushion future losses, with Germany warning an immediate agreement looked unlikely and Britain demanding stricter rules than those on offer.

The EU’s 27 members are divided over how much capital lenders should have to set aside to cover risks, one of the central questions raised by a five-year-long financial crisis that toppled dozens of banks in Europe and the United States.

BRUSSELS, May 2 (Reuters) – EU finance ministers will
attempt to reach a deal to force European banks to set aside
more capital to cushion losses on Wednesday, with Britain and
Sweden demanding even stricter rules than those on the table.

The EU’s 27 members are divided over how much capital
lenders should have to set aside to cover risks, one of the
central questions raised by a five-year-long financial crisis
that toppled dozens of banks in Europe and the United States.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – - Price pressures stayed high in the euro zone in April in the face of a likely recession, keeping interest rate cuts off the agenda for a European Central Bank seeking ways of reviving economic growth within its inflation mandate.

Annual consumer price inflation in the 17 nations sharing the euro moderated to 2.6 percent from 2.7 percent in March, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 2.5 percent.

BRUSSELS, April 26 (Reuters) – Italy’s Prime Minister Mario
Monti backed a call on Thursday to reorientate the EU’s sick
economy towards growth, saying that concentrating on budgetary
discipline alone could leave the continent in a prolonged slump.

Responding to the European Central Bank’s message that it
was up to leaders to pull Europe out of its devastating debt
crisis, Monti said countries needed “new policy skills” as well
as structural reforms and government spending cuts.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called on Wednesday for a “growth compact” but put the onus on euro zone governments to shape-up their economies.

He gave no indication the ECB was poised to provide more support to countries or banks.

BRUSSELS/BUDAPEST, April 25 (Reuters) – The EU opened the
way to talks with Hungary on financial aid on Wednesday, ending
a five-month dispute over the independence of its central bank,
but it kept pressure on Prime Minister Viktor Orban by sending a
row over the judiciary to Europe’s top court.

The European Commission said it was satisfied with
Budapest’s assurances that its central bank law would be brought
back in line with that of the European Union, allowing Hungary
to discuss a precautionary International Monetary Fund loan to
stabilise its indebted economy.

BRUSSELS, April 25 (Reuters) – European Central Bank
President Mario Draghi gave no indication on Wednesday that the
ECB was poised to provide more support for banks or governments
but also said the time was not right to consider rolling back
its crisis-fighting measures.

There are growing expectations in financial markets that the
ECB will have to ride to the rescue again with Spain under
intense pressure, the Dutch government having collapsed over
budget plans and latest data showing the euro zone is being
driven back into recession.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Central Bank President Mario Draghi gave no indication on Wednesday that the ECB was poised to provide more support for banks or governments but also said the time was not right to consider rolling back its crisis-fighting measures.

There are growing expectations in financial markets that the ECB will have to ride to the rescue again with Spain under intense pressure, the Dutch government having collapsed over budget plans and latest data showing the euro zone is being driven back into recession.

BRUSSELS, April 25 (Reuters) – European Central Bank
President Mario Draghi gave no indication on Wednesday that the
ECB was poised to provide more support for banks or governments
but also said the time was not right to consider rolling back
its crisis-fighting measures.

There are growing expectations in financial markets that the
ECB will have to ride to the rescue again with Spain under
intense pressure, the Dutch government having collapsed over
budget plans and latest data showing the euro zone is being
driven back into recession.