THIS week’s better-late-than-never announcement of a programme of quantitative easing by the ECB was a huge moment in the European integration project and the — so far — ineffective efforts to reinvigorate stalling economies, but tomorrow’s election in Greece may be even more significant.

The European Union failed to reach a deal on giving Greece more financial aid yesterday, prolonging uncertainty over the future of the debt-plagued country and the 17-member eurozone.

Germany yesterday held firm in insisting it was too soon to say that Greece deserved more time to meet its deficit-cutting goals, even as the head of the IMF laid out the case for leniency.

Greece acknowledged yesterday it was having trouble persuading its foreign lenders to accept a plan to save nearly €12bn over the next two years, essential to unlocking the aid payments the country needs in order to avoid bankruptcy.

The chances of Greece leaving the euro are growing stronger by the day. So why don’t we know what the next stage is for the eurozone yet, asks Hugo Dixon

GERMANY and France yesterday warned Greece that it will get no more bailout funds until it agrees with creditor banks on a bond swap and pressed for an early deal to avert a potential default in the eurozone’s most debt-stricken nation.

Spain’s parliament passed an austerity budget for 2011 by a razor-thin margin, saving embattled prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero his job.

Three people died in a blaze at an Athens bank today during rioting over government spending cuts.

EUROZONE countries held intensive talks on yesterday on a possible rescue for Greece, whose debt crisis has shaken the entire currency union, as civil servants staged the first big strike against Athens’ austerity plans.

Greek and Turkish fighter jets collided over the Aegean Sea island of Karpathos today as they shadowed each other.

Hijackers who stormed a Greek bus with about 27 people aboard early today released four prisoners as negotiations got underway.