Euro zone retail sales leapt in November even though unemployment remained at a record high, hinting at a pick up in consumer demand that would ease deflation worries and relieve pressure on the ECB to loosen policy.

• January 8, 2014

The Dutch foreign minister signed an agreement on Tuesday with his Cuban counterpart to engage in political consultations, breaking ranks with the European Union which limits high-level visits and talks with the Communist-run Caribbean island.

• January 8, 2014

Iran and the European Union will hold a two-day meeting in Geneva on Thursday to discuss implementing a landmark nuclear deal between the Islamic state and major powers, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Tuesday.

• January 8, 2014

Chancellor Angela Merkel will tell Germans their fate is so closely entwined with the European Union that it is imperative to come up with answers on how to permanently resolve the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.

• January 2, 2014

The European Union sought to calm fears in countries like Britain, France and Germany that they face a mass influx of Romanians and Bulgarians following the lifting of restrictions on Wednesday, a change that risks fuelling anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe.

• January 2, 2014

Ending Taiwan's political standoff with mainland China is necessary to boost Taiwan's sagging economy and to help it integrate more effectively with the region, the island's president, Ma Ying-jeou, said.

• January 2, 2014

As U.S. and European banks drop out of commodity trading, Russian, Chinese and Gulf state firms are filling the gap in an attempt to exert greater control over the pricing of the raw materials on which their economies so heavily depend.

• December 30, 2013

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have gathered again in Kiev in a fresh show of force by the month-old anti-government protest movement.

• December 29, 2013