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.    

German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle will travel to Belgrade and Pristina Sunday and Monday to help speed up the implementation of a deal that would have "parallel Serbian structures" removed from Kosovo. Westerwelle's spokesman Friday said Bundestag approval is required for further EU steps, with a decision pending in June.    

German Chancellor Angela Merkel finds "interesting" the idea proposed by French President Francois Hollande of a eurozone-only government, her spokesman said Friday. But he also pointed to the fact that eurozone leaders meet at least twice a year and that eurobonds continue to be a taboo topic in Germany.    

Special treatment of culture "makes sense" European Commission President Barroso has said in relation to upcoming EU-US trade talks.

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German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has blamed the EU commission for dragging its feet on actions against youth unemployment in Europe. "In the end nothing happens because they are all blocking each other," he said about the 27 commissioners during a conference in Berlin.    

Europeans expect a more difficult and uncertain economic future than their parent, according to an opinion poll released Friday.

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French President Hollande has called for a eurozone government to counter a recession which threatens "the very identity" of Europe.

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The shale gas revolution has taken its time to arrive in Europe, where post-Cold-War politics will play a large part in developments.

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Germany has decided to end a drone project despite investing €500 million in the prototype, amid concerns that the Eurohawk violates EU rules and would not get certified. “We prefer to pull the plug. Better an end with horror than horror without end,” defence minister Thomas De Maiziere told parliament.    

Germany wants to prevent European jihadists in Syria from returning to Europe, reports the Guardian. German interior minister Hans-Peter Friedrich wants a two-year entry ban for suspected extremists. He fears the returnees would create 'homegrown' cells. Up to 700 European passport holders are fighting in Syria, around 40 are German.    

China has warned the EU against launching a formal investigation into anti-dumping practices in mobile telecommunications network equipment, reports Al Jazeera. "We hope the EU will not take actions that do no good to either side," said China's commerce ministry spokesman Shen Danyang. China is the EU's biggest trading partner.    

Digital agenda commissioner Kroes has promised to roll out a single telecoms market throughout the EU before leaving office.    

Russia has deployed around a dozen warships to its naval base near Syria, reports the Wall Street Journal. A senior US defence official called it "a show of force" to warn the West not intervene in a war where the use of chemical weapons may have been used.    

The European Greens will hold US-style primary elections to select candidates for the EU's top jobs at the next European elections.

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A giant Barbie doll house opened its gates in Berlin on Thursday amid protests criticising its "sexist" image.    

Fourteen member states have backed a petition urging the European Commission to do more for the rights of sexual minorities, with the last major initiative several years ago.

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French leader Francois Hollande, with his economy in recession and his popularity in tatters, has in a Paris speech blamed EU austerity policy for creating a recession which is "threatening the very identity of Europe." He added: "My duty is to bring Europe out of its lethargy."    

Bulgaria's centre-right Gerb party, which narrowly won recent elections, said the result should be annulled because opposition parties held news conferences on the day before the vote in violation of campaign silence rules. The press conferences came after police found 350,000 illegally printed ballot papers in a Gerb-official-owned printing house.