Brussels - The European Union and Ukraine on Monday were set to approve a programme of political reforms which should encourage European players to invest in physical repairs to the former-Soviet state's giant gas network.

Brussels  - Poli

Brussels - Jose Manuel Barroso moved closer Friday to obtaining a second mandate as head of the European Union executive in Brussels after he received the key backing of French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a summit of EU leaders.

"I have always liked the way he works, and I have not changed my opinion ... I will not be ashamed to support him," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

Sarkozy had previously appeared less enthusiastic about backing Barroso, a conservative and former prime minister of Portugal.

Brussels - The European Union is to offer the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 75 billion euros (101.5 billion dollars) in extra loans, the holder of the bloc's rotating presidency said Friday.

The sum of "75 billion euros is the figure for a voluntary loan to the IMF to enable it to react better in the context of the crisis," Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told journalists in Brussels after a summit with EU leaders.

Brussels - In a diplomatic victory for Spain, European Union leaders Friday were set to back its invitation to the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) of top central banks, just weeks after six middle-weight EU members accused the country of "gate-crashing."

A draft statement prepared for a summit of EU leaders and seen by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa welcomed the expansion of the FSF to "all members of the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies, Spain and the European Commission," the EU's executive.

Brussels - US President Barack Obama's offer of direct talks with Iran is a "very good" one and deserves an "intelligent" response, the man who heads international negotiations over Iran's controversial nuclear programme said Friday.