Pope Francis staged a surprise visit to admonish the IMF chief and several finance ministers to help alleviate the debt burden of struggling countries, calling for “a new financial architecture” to ensure social justice.

The US and Europe looked set for a renewed clash over everything from car tariffs to digital taxes in a sign that a new American focus was emerging following president Donald Trump’s trade truce with China.

European shares touched a record high after Phil Hogan, the EU trade commissioner, struck a positive tone on talks with Washington, soothing some concerns over a possible escalation in trade tensions between the cross-Atlantic allies.

France has hit back at a US threat to slap 100% tariffs on French cheese, Champagne and other products, with the president telling Donald Trump the move would amount to an attack on all of Europe.

The European Commission told five countries, including Italy and France, that their draft budgets for 2020 risk breaching the eurozone’s fiscal rules.

A faceoff between the US and EU over jetliner tariffs risks making travel more expensive for passengers, the world’s biggest long-haul airline has warned.

The governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney, is unlikely to succeed Christine Lagarde as the boss of the IMF, European officials have said as the EU was considering four other people for the job.

France won’t back off from its planned tax on companies like Facebook and Google, even after the US suggested it may use trade tools against the levy.

Italy would be open to taking a stake in the proposed merger between Renault and Fiat-Chrysler, as long as the deal triggers economic benefits for the country, a government undersecretary said.

A merger between Fiat and Renault must include guarantees on French jobs and factories and fit with an existing Franco-Japanese car partnership, according to France finance minister Bruno Le Maire.

France will propose a new “growth contract” with its eurozone partners to encourage northern European countries to invest more and for southern countries to undertake further reforms, its finance minister said.

France intends to tax the revenue of about 30 internet giants, such as Amazon, to help ensure “fiscal justice,” according to the country’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.

The board of French carmaker Renault has named two new leaders to replace industry veteran Carlos Ghosn, who resigned after weeks of detention in Japan.

The Government continues to have “reservations” over proposals by the European Commission, which are likely to recommend next week levying a 3% tax on the sales of major online companies. However, the Government believes the debate over the plans will be long drawn out, say officials.

A prediction by the French finance minister that the EU plan to tax revenues of tech companies in Europe will be set at a rate “closer to 2% than 6%” will boost the chances of the proposal being adopted in the face of Irish opposition, a leading Irish tax expert has said.

International business appeared almost impervious to the huge political tensions in Korea and the Gulf, as global shares soared and the rich got richer, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

As Jeroen Dijsselbloem’s turbulent reign over eurozone’s finance ministers’ meetings comes to an end, horse-trading for his succession between the bloc’s countries and political groups is about to heat up.

A six-year push to impose a tax on financial transactions in the EU may have run its course, with Germany and France hesitating as they prepare for Brexit and a redrawing of the financial map.

Further strong growth in the construction industry has set the scene for Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe’s summer update of the Government’s economic and fiscal targets later this week, the last before his first budget in October, but a renewed focus on tax and multinationals by France could sour the upbeat outlook.

Greece is seeking to persuade its creditors in Europe that it has done enough to receive another chunk of bailout loans and a commitment on alleviating Athens' hefty debt burden.

Germany and France have pledged to help strengthen the eurozone, with the harmonisation of corporate taxes among the possible measures considered.

Returning from the political wilderness, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has taken a big step towards a possible re-election bid by winning the leadership of the conservative party.

Moving European farm payments to a single flat rate model by 2019 is too radical and risks penalising more productive farmers, according to Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney and his newly-appointed French counterpart, Stéphane le Foll.

THE French agricultural ministry has said milk producers can exceed their 2011/2012 milk quota by up to 2%, without penalty.

GERMANY and France stepped up a drive yesterday for coercive powers to reject eurozone members’ budgets that breach EU rules, as a market rout of European debt eased temporarily on hopes of outside help for Italy and Spain.

IT’S much too early to be arguing over fine print in the CAP reform proposals published by the European Commission yesterday (which came too late for any details to be given here).

FRANCE and Ireland have agreed a number of common strategic targets from forthcoming EU talks on agriculture and fisheries policies.

IRISH farming interests have been protected by the long-term food security and emergency food stocking model proposed by French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire at the G20 World Farm Leaders meeting in Paris.

A dispute erupted today over compensation payments to European farmers hit by tumbling sales during the deadly E. coli outbreak.

SOME dairy farmers are predicting that they will have exceeded their quota by September, according to Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney.

THE Single Farm Payment is still the best mechanism to safeguard the future of the European family farm, according to IFA president John Bryan.

FRANCE and Ireland are taking a joint strategic approach to ensure strong funding for farmers under the forthcoming reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP).

PERHAPS the EU is not really serious about the environment. Farmers worry about EU measures to cut greenhouse gases, but wonder if they may be part of a political bluff mounted in Brussels for reasons unknown to the average punter.

THE future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must support farm incomes and address the issue of price and income volatility while at the same time avoiding market distortions.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has again been warned that the Irish livestock sector will be devastated if the European Union goes ahead with a bilateral deal on agriculture with the Mercusor trading group of Latin American countries, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

France favours a ban on the export of bluefin tuna – but wants an 18-month delay before the measure would be imposed, ecology minister Jean-Louis Borloo said today.

IRELAND has welcomed a commitment to the future of the Common Agriculture Policy by 22 European Union farm ministers at a meeting in Paris.

FRANCE and Ireland have called on the European Commission to increase the level and scope of export refunds and to continue to apply all available market support measures for the dairy industry.

AFTER nearly 40 years of relative prosperity in the EU, farmers are taking the Lisbon No campaign warning of tough times ahead for agriculture with a big pinch of salt.

THE dairy sector is heading for disaster if milk prices stay at their current historically low level, European agriculture and rural development commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has admitted.