Oskar Lafontaine, the German finance minister who launched the euro, has called for a break-up of the single currency to let southern Europe recover, warning that the current course is "leading to disaster".

An EU plan to label crude from the Alberta oil sands as dirty is unfair and could damage Canada’s bid to find new export markets, the Canadian resources minister said at the start of a mission to lobby against the idea.

Croatia is gearing up to celebrate its entry into the EU, but don't pop the corks just yet. A heated trademark battle over the country's beloved sweet dessert wine has some feeling less than bubbly.

Bangladesh urged the European Union on Saturday not to take tough measures against its economically crucial textile industry in response to the collapse of a garment factory that killed 550 people.

An extra 7.3bn euros (£6.2bn; $9.5bn) is due to be added to the EU's budget for 2013 under a compromise reached between member states in Brussels.