Diplomats from 11 countries met in Istanbul on April 20 to discuss the Syrian crisis, Xinhua reported.

Iran met with officials from Russia, China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany on April 6 for a second day of negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program, AFP reported.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that he hopes new chapters will open in Turkey's bid for membership in the European Union, Today's Zaman reported March 21.

The leader of Italy's Five Star Movement, Beppe Grillo, has said he supports the idea of an online vote on Italy's membership in the eurozone because such a decision should be up to the Italian people, Reuters reported, citing German magazine Bild am Sonntag's interview with Grillo.

The German economy contracted by 0.6 percent and France's economy shrunk by 0.3 percent in the last three months of 2012, the BBC reported Feb. 14, citing official figures.

The European Union will cut spending for the first time in its history after cuts of 30 billion pounds ($47 billion) over the next seven years were determined Feb. 7 and 8 during overnight talks over the EU budget, Express reported.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Feb. 1 denied reports that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would meet with U.S., U.N. and Syrian opposition officials in Munich on Feb. 2, RIA Novosti reported.

NATO Patriot missiles will likely be deployed near Turkey's southeastern city of Kahramanmaras, German Federal Foreign Office Minister of State Michael Link said Dec. 13, Anatolia reported, citing the German Embassy in Ankara.

Germany's Cabinet agreed Dec. 6 to send troops and Patriot missile batteries to Turkey to defend against possible Syrian missile attacks, an unnamed Cabinet source said, Reuters reported.