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The Irish Farmers Association says Europe needs to do more to protect the income of farming families.

Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras has announced plans for an early general election next month after parliament rejected his candidate for president, throwing the country’s international bailout into doubt.

With Irish dairy farmers set to reap a bonanza as the fastest growing milk producers in the world over the next five years, according to Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, the big challenge foreseen by Teagasc, the science engine room at the heart of Ireland’s multibillion-euro agri-food industry, is that milk prices could fall by a whopping 50% next year.

Irish citizens will fuel the growth in the country’s economy over the next three years, with support from the traditional export markets of Britain and the US, according to the economic forecast from the European Commission.

As the debacle of Irish Water continues to descend into the depths of farcical proportions, nobody seems to mention anymore the man who is now comfortably lapping it up on an obscene salary in Brussels – former Minister for the Environment and now European Commissioner Phil Hogan.

Euro-area bond yields near record lows are leading governments to be complacent, according to Standard and Poor’s head of sovereign ratings Moritz Kraemer.

Talking to your plants will no longer be solely an occupation of earth-goddesses or hippies — especially as they will be able to talk back.

It's official - Enda Kenny will not be running for a job in the EU.

Call for citizens based abroad to vote

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has promised to examine whether taxpayers' money is used to provide VIP facilities at Dublin Airport for former and current office holders.

Italy’s chance of stable government after elections this weekend may rely on forcing two awkward partners into coalition: former European Commissioner Mario Monti and an openly gay leftist he has vowed not to work with.

All shareholders must work together to tackle the EU’s long-term youth unemployment crisis, writes Rolf Dorig

Some call it Europe’s Got Talent for geeks. Teams of scientists from across the continent are vying for a funding bonanza that could see two of them receive up to €1 billion over 10 years to keep Europe at the cutting edge of technology.

Plans for a Europe-wide tax on banks has won overwhelmingly support from MEPs - and triggered a new attack on British Chancellor George Osborne for not taking part.

The EU banking union, intended to save banks from bringing down states, is teetering on the edge as countries battle to save their domestic interests.

Hopes for a deal to ease Ireland’s bank debt before the Budget have been dashed with the Taoiseach hinting it could be the new year before it takes effect.

A green paper on auditing, launched by the European Commissioner Michel Barnier, could have damaging consequences for foreign direct investment into Ireland and many businesses located in the IFSC, say sources familiar with the situation.

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has returned to the political frontline after months in the shadows, vowing to abolish a key tax on homes in remarks likely to stoke investors’ jitters about Italy’s future after an election next spring.

Europe’s finance ministers have failed to agree the terms for a new banking supervisory framework – one of the key parts of plans to strengthen the region’s financial system and help bring an end to the three-year debt crisis.

The European Commission is to instigate measures to break up the traditional recruitment practices that ensure the boardrooms of major listed companies are filled predominantly by men.

An ECB source has said the Frankfurt-based institution would like to see senior bondholders included in the restructuring of banks as part of the EU bailout of the Spanish banking system.

A new Eurobarometer on attitudes towards tobacco shows that Ireland has the lowest average age of starting smoking at 16.4 years, compared to an EU average of 17.6 years.

The Dutch government, one of the most vocal critics of European countries failing to rein in their budgets, quit after failing to agree on a plan to bring its own deficit in line with EU rules.

A notorious appearance on 'The Late Late Show' was the beginning of the end for Padraig Flynn.

The Government has referred on the final report of the Mahon Tribunal to the Garda Commissioner, DPP, Revenue Commissioners and the Standards in Public Office Commission.

The final report from the Mahon tribunal published today has found former European Commissioner Padraig Flynn to have "wrongfully and corruptly" sought money from developer Tom Gilmartin.

Criminals gangs in Europe target various EU states to hide much of their €135bn yearly haul, handing it over to relatives or investing it in legitimate businesses.

As Athens is caught in the middle of a game of brinkmanship with its creditors, the EU warned they wanted new reforms even before they sign up to the second bailout and its austerity programme.

With Brendan Gleeson securing a Golden Globe nod for the phenomenally successful The Guard, the Irish film scene looks healthier than most other indigenous sectors and the closing credits for this feel-good story show no sign of rolling just yet, writes John Daly

ITALY’s president appointed former European Commissioner Mario Monti yesterday to head a new government charged with implementing urgent reforms to end a crisis that has endangered the whole eurozone.

ITALY’s president raced to appoint an emergency government yesterday to face a crisis endangering the whole eurozone, after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned to the jeers of thousands of protesters.

OVER a third of white fish caught in Irish waters by the domestic fleet is dumped back into the sea dead or dying.

MOBILE phone operators who charge customers three times more for their calls when abroad are facing a raft of new rules to force them to drop their prices.

President Mary McAleese, who first met Mr Lenihan as a student at Trinity College, has said the death of such a young and talented politician was untimely.

Comments by European Commissioner Olli Rehn urging the swift passing of the Budget are intended to inject a "dose of realism" into the situation, a spokesperson said today.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen tonight denied he was clinging to power as the Opposition directly demanded he bring forward next month’s Budget.