By Sarah Marsh

BERLIN (Reuters Life!) – Berlin’s international film festival will feature three 3D movies this year, director Dieter Kosslick said, exploring the medium’s artistic potential after its recent triumph in Hollywood blockbusters.

The 61st Berlin film festival will be smaller but more daring than last year, he added, with the competition lineup featuring an animated film in 3D and five debut films.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Europe should focus on demonstrating its commitment to budget consolidation rather than on new rescue mechanisms in order to calm market fears over its debt woes, an adviser to the German government said on Thursday.

Christoph Schmidt, a member of Berlin’s panel of economic advisers or ‘wise men’, said many of new aid measures proposed would breach the European Union’s “no bailout” clause just as euro bonds would, even if politicians seek to disguise this.

BERLIN/BRUSSELS, Jan 26 (Reuters) – An adviser to the German
government and a member of the European Parliament called on
Wednesday for moves to reduce Greece’s debt burden, in signs
that the idea is gaining ground despite the denials of euro zone
policymakers.

As the bloc struggled to bridge differences over how to
tackle its debt crisis, a top European Central Bank official
urged wholesale reform of the region’s rescue fund and Germany
played down the need for change.

BERLIN, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Germany says it will only agree
new measures to stabilise the euro zone if they come as part of
a comprehensive package to solve the bloc’s debt crisis that the
European Union wants to agree in March.

Europe’s paymaster is being cast as a bully for rejecting
proposals such as broadening the EFSF rescue fund set up after
the bailout of Greece in May to protect fiscally vulnerable euro
zone countries and defend the single currency.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Investors showed growing scepticism on Tuesday that euro zone finance ministers will thrash out an agreement soon to beef up a rescue fund as part of measures to end the region’s sovereign debt crisis.

The ministers showed no indications they were closing in on any firm decisions on Monday. The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said they discussed many options, but favoured none.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Investors showed growing skepticism on Tuesday that euro zone finance ministers will thrash out an agreement soon to beef up a rescue fund as part of measures to end the region’s sovereign debt crisis.

The ministers showed no indications they were closing in on any firm decisions on Monday. The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said they discussed many options, but favored none.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers discussed on Monday having more money in their rescue fund and cheaper emergency loans as part of a package of measures to end the sovereign debt crisis, but they made no firm decisions.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said the ministers discussed many possible options under the package, but favored none at this stage.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany plans to issue less debt next year thanks to its strong recovery and is not concerned the euro zone debt crisis will push up its borrowing costs, the head of the country’s debt management office said on Thursday.

With Europe’s largest economy fast emerging from its deepest post-war recession, the debt agency said it would issue 302 billion euros of bonds and treasury bills in 2011 versus 312 billion in 2010, in line with previous indications.

BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) – Bickering among European Union leaders escalated on Wednesday over a proposal for joint euro zone bonds to overcome the bloc’s debt crisis, with Germany saying it opposed the idea on legal and economic grounds.

The chairman of finance ministers of the 16-nation single currency area, Jean-Claude Juncker, criticised German leaders for dismissing his suggestion for “E-bonds” to deter speculation against euro zone countries without examining it properly.

BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) – Bickering escalated among European Union leaders on Wednesday over a proposal for joint euro zone bonds to overcome the bloc’s debt crisis, with Germany saying it opposed the idea on legal and economic grounds.

The chairman of finance ministers of the 16-nation single currency area, Jean-Claude Juncker, criticized German leaders for dismissing his suggestion without examining it properly.