EU monetary affairs commissioner Pedro Solbes yesterday said that he has accepted the post of Finance Minister in Spain's incoming Socialist government, following a meeting with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The European Commission raised concerns today about the viability of the German government’s plan to bring its budget deficit back in line with euro rules next year.

European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes said today that the continuing strengthening of the euro could affect business confidence in the euro zone.

Britain risks breaking the EU’s 3% deficit cap this year but does not face harsh punishment as it is outside the euro zone, the European Commission said today.

Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy said he would support countries having to set money aside during the good times as part of a revised Growth and Stability Pact governing euro countries.

FINANCE Minister Charlie McCreevy chairs his first Ecofin meeting in Brussels today amid concern over the strength of the euro against the dollar.

The EC is expected to decide tomorrow to take finance ministers to court for letting Germany and France off the hook for violating euro budget rules.

FINANCE Minister Charlie McCreevy is set to become embroiled in the row over the French and German budget deficits as he takes over the chair of the EU Ecofin Council.

Pedro Solbes, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner, has denied that the EU Stability and Growth Pact is suspended.

THE rate of growth for the 12-country euro zone area for 2003 has been reduced to a mere 0.4% from the dismal April prediction of 1%.

France was warned today it faces heavy fines if it does not change its 2004 budgetary plans by next week.

The European Commission survived its most serious test yesterday when its president Romano Prodi refused to sack any of his commissioners over allegations of fraud.

THE eurozone economy will find it difficult to expand by even 1% this year, European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes said on Saturday, effectively scrapping a forecast made three months ago.

The European Commission sought to quash allegations today that senior officials failed to act promptly against widening fraud allegations at the EU’s statistics agency.

EU STABILITY and growth pact reforms, a cut in interest rates and falling German inflation are set to combine to provide an uplift to economic sentiment in the coming weeks.

EC President Romano Prodi, under fire for calling the budgetary rules behind the euro “stupid,” tonight asked for more power to enforce them in a more “intelligent” way.

THE European Commissioner in charge of the single currency insisted yesterday that the rules for running the euro were working perfectly well, despite a claim from his boss that they are stupid.

The European Commissioner in charge of the single currency insisted today that the rules for running the euro were working perfectly well – despite a claim from his boss that they are “stupid“.

Bank of Spain governor Jaime Caruana said euro zone inflation risks are on the downside.

FOR the past couple of years there has been a sometimes worrying and sometimes entertaining sideshow over the single currency's fiscal policy bedfellow, the stability and growth pact.

An EU commissioner says the launch of the euro across the 12 member states is going smoothly.

Ireland's fiercest critic in the European Union has met with Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy in Dublin.

Ireland's fiercest critic in the European Union is in Dublin for a meeting with Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy.