Euro-deputies Tuesday backed measures to draw up a blacklist of states unwilling to combat tax evasion. “We need to set up a European blacklist of tax havens and identify proper sanctions for banks co-operating with them,” said Slovenian MEP Mojca Kleva Kekus. EU tax commissioner Semeta also endorsed the idea.    

Germany expects Austria and Luxembourg to take part in the EU-wide effort to clamp down on tax evasion, even though the two countries last week blocked a key EU proposal on the topic.

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A proposal by the EU commission to merge two police-related EU agencies - Europol and Cepol - has failed to get the consensus of member states, EU commissioner Maros Sefcovic said in a press conference Tuesday. He urged home affairs ministers to revisit this "textbook" example of saving EU money.    

EU leaders Wednesday will likely agree that each country should continue to have one EU commissioner beyond 2014, the deadline written into the Lisbon Treaty. A senior German official Tuesday explained that the deadline extension was a promise made to Ireland before it held a second referendum on the treaty.    

Dutch Liberal MEP Sophie in't Veld threatened Tuesday to take the European Commission to court if it does not allow her access to documents on the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). In't Veld said she had asked for the documents last year but received no response.    

EU leaders will make another bid to crack down on tax evasion after UK Prime Minister Cameron called on British tax havens to "get their house in order."

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Russia's request for Interpol to track Bill Browder, a UK-based human rights campaigner, could end his trips to Brussels and other EU capitals.

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Large depositors in the EU should suffer losses if a bank gets into trouble, but deposits under €100,000 should be protected, MEPs say.

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Imposing sanctions on Bangladesh while concluding a trade agreement with India without a strong social component would be a mistake for the EU.    

German politicians from across the political spectrum have expressed their outrage after Hungary's Viktor Orban compared Angela Merkel's policies to the Nazi invasion ordered by Adolf Hitler.

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Serbian and Kosovar prime ministers are to meet in Brussels on Tuesday to improve relations between the two nations, reports AFP. An EU-brokered deal in April saw Serbia lift its objections to Kosovo joining international institutions. EU leaders now want the deal implemented.    

UK prime minister David Cameron on Monday said Google should pay taxes in exchange for benefiting from low tax rates, reports Reuters. The US internet giant enjoys a low corporate tax but has been in the media spotlight, along with Amazon and Apple, for not contributing to the public coffers.    

The International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 released on Monday by the US Department of State notes the global rise of anti-semitism and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Anti-Muslim rhetoric was most often found in the EU and Asia. Anti-semitism was most noted Venezuela, Egypt, Iran, Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Argentina and Hungary.    

German EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger Monday said France must reform or face punitive measures, reports Reuters. "France should reform its pension system [and] liberalise its labour market," he said. The European Commission last week gave France another two years to reduce its deficit to below 3%.    

European Parliament President Schulz Monday announced six candidates for EU ombudsman to replace Nikiforos Diamandouros. They are Alex Brenninkmeijer, Markus Jaeger, Dutch centre-right deputy Ria Oomen-Ruijten, Emily O'Reilly, German socialist deputy Dagmar Roth-Behrendt and Italian nationalist EFD deputy Francesco Speroni. The successful candidate will be announced in July's plenary session.    

A plan to cut spending on IT security in the EU diplomatic corps is causing concern among officials who handle classified files.

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Almost 60 percent of one Cypriot bank's clients are "high risk" and almost a third of all depositors' records contain errors, a leaked report says.

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Energy and tax policy are on next WEEK’s agenda as European leaders gather in Brussels to discuss the issues at the EU summit on Wednesday.

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Cyprus should return to growth in 2015 after three years of deep recession, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday. The report said real GDP should grow by 1.1% in 2015, after dropping 8.7% this year and 3.9% in 2014.    

So-called stress tests, a review of eurozone banks' assets - bonds, capital - that should have been published this year will probably be published by mid-2014, European Central Bank board member Yves Mersch said Friday in London. The review is needed before the ECB starts supervising eurozone's biggest banks.