Bank lending to private households in the euro area contracted again in December as the region's crippling debt crisis continues to put a freeze on demand for credit, data showed on Monday.
The worst is over in the eurozone debt crisis, but risks remain and it is up to governments to resolve them, European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said in a newspaper interview Thursday.
Greece reached the hour of decision on Wednesday over more budget cuts demanded by the EU and IMF and a debt deal to obtain a second rescue and close a key chapter in the eurozone crisis.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosts German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday to thrash out details of a plan to save the euro at the start of a pivotal week for the single currency.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron strained Friday to stress their unity on tacklingEurope's spiralling debt crisis but differed sharply on key points.
The responsibility to prevent Greece from defaulting lies with eurozone governments, European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet told a Slovak newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday.
