GREECE: Athens rules out quitting euro

ATHENS — Greece’s drive to crack down on flagrant tax evaders such as doctors and lawyers is flagging and must be reinvigorated, a report by the European Union and International Monetary Fund said on Monday. Athens has collected just half the tax debts and conducted less than half the audits it was supposed to under the targets set by its lenders, according to a survey by the country’s international lenders which was compiled in November.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will cut its budget deficit this year by more than expected after securing debt relief, but will need to bridge a 2.5 billion euro gap to meet its long-term fiscal targets, new budget projections showed. In an updated 2013-16 medium-term budget plan submitted to parliament on Friday, Athens cut its 2013 deficit target to 4.3 percent of GDP, from 5.5 percent in a projection made in October, and down from 6.6 percent in 2012. ...

BERLIN/ATHENS (Reuters) - Euro zone paymaster Germany, relieved at a narrow election victory for Greece's pro-bailout parties, signaled on Monday it may be willing to grant Athens more time to meet its fiscal targets to avert a catastrophic euro exit.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will cut its budget deficit this year by more than expected after securing debt relief, but will need to bridge a 2.5 billion euro gap to meet its long-term fiscal targets, new budget projections showed.

The lull is over. After enjoying a long period of relative calm, the eurozone is heading into new turbulence this week as EU leaders meet in Brussels for a scheduled two-day summit. While Americans take the day off to eat their Thanksgiving turkeys, EU leaders are expected to engage in some less-than-convivial sparring over two highly sensitive issues, and the outcome could be a new period of financial instability for the euro.