Brussels - The European Union and Ukraine could sign a new strategic deal by the end of the year, bringing Kiev and Brussels even closer on issues such as trade and travel, the EU's foreign-affairs commissioner said in Brussels on Thursday.

"If things do not slow down for political reasons, hopefully we will be done by the end of the year," Benita Ferrero-Waldner told journalists in Brussels.

Brussels/Frankfurt - A war of words erupted on Wednesday between the European Union's executive and the head of its largest member's central bank as officials accused one another of "surprising" acts and "misinformed" decisions.

Brussels - Europe's fish stocks are desperately over-fished, and the best solution is to scale back the continent's fishing fleets dramatically, the European Union's executive said Wednesday.

"We need to get out of the current situation, where too many fishing vessels are chasing too few fish," EU Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg told reporters in Brussels.

Brussels - The European Union's executive is to pledge at least 60 million euros (77.6 million dollars) to boost security and fight piracy in Somalia at a donor conference on Thursday, officials in Brussels said Wednesday.

"The European Commission will pledge at least 60 million euros to support Somalia's security institutions and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)," a statement released in Brussels said.

Brussels - The European Union's executive on Tuesday formally called on
the bloc to offer Romania a 5-billion-euro (6.5- billion-dollar)
bail-out to save it from financial collapse.

The hand-out, part of a 20-billion-euro deal agreed in principle with
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on March 25, is intended
to support Romania's currency, battered in the recent economic storm,
and to keep its government solvent.

It comes with a demand that the country bring its government deficit

Brussels - World, European and African leaders are set to gather in Brussels on Thursday for a conference to raise funds for Somalia's fledgling security institutions, as the world struggles to come to grips with the piracy epidemic along the country's coast.