EU finance ministers agreed to proceed with a planned €315bn investment plan, while reminding crisis-hit nations it will not offer them special assistance.

Mario Draghi could end the search for an asset worth buying if he would only turn to the euro area’s jointly issued crisis bonds.

The economic crisis in Europe has put 6m people out of work and driven others into poverty, according to a think tank study looking into the social impact of the slump that was examined by EU finance ministers for the first time yesterday.

The price of a Big Mac from McDonald’s has dropped by more in Ireland than any of the other eurozone countries, according to economists who see it was a good way to illustrate national economies.

The Government’s plan to ease the national debt by refinancing up to €30bn put into the banks has suffered a setback with three triple-A countries setting tough new conditions.