Athens / AFP The Greek parliament has adopted fresh austerity measures sought by its international creditors, including expediting privatisation of utility companies. The reforms were passed by 152 of the 293 parliamentary deputies present, deputy speaker Yorgos Varemenos announced after the debate. The vote opens the way for 2.8 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in loans, which have been blocked ...

  Paris / AFP The French government defended its 2017 budget on Wednesday, seven months ahead of the presidential election, after a top watchdog said it doubted it could hit its fiscal targets. France, which has repeatedly broken the European Union’s fiscal rules, is targeting a deficit of 2.7 percent of GDP for 2017, the lowest in a decade and ...

  Bloomberg The Nordic members of the European Union have vowed to work closer together to make up for the potential loss of a key ally, the U.K. Meeting Wednesday in the Finnish island of Aaland, the leaders of Sweden, Denmark and Finland agreed to explore ways of cooperating on some of the crucial battles they will face in Brussels. ...