Rehn

Olli Rehn, the governor of Finland's central bank, visited Athens Friday to take part in a conference organized by the Bank of Greece.

By Raine Tiessalo & Kati Pohjanpalo

Finland?s election is a clear call for politicians to stop arguing over the fate of Greece and instead turn their attention to their own economic troubles.

That?s according to Olli Rehn, the former European Union economics chief and a member of the Center Party that won Sunday?s election.

By Jonathan Stearns

Greece is unlikely to win any writedown on debt owed to the euro area and should instead focus on possible relief in the form of longer repayment periods, said Olli Rehn, who helped avert a Greek exit from the European single currency at the height of the financial crisis.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and former French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici discussed issues regarding the Greek economy in Athens on Wednesday.

According to reports, topics on the meeting's agenda included growth efforts being promoted by the Greek coalition government as well as the country's sovereign debt.

Former Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen becomes the new European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, said EC president Jose Barroso. 

Katainen, will replace Olli Rehn who resigned from his position as a European Commissioner in order to pursue a political career in his home Finland. 

The current European Commission ends its term in the autumn of 2014.

Jyrki Katainen, who has resigned as Finnish Prime Minister, is to replace EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Oli Rehn who was elected to be MEP in May.

This is an interim office for Katainen, who will stand down in October when the new Commission is to be appointed, Finnish broadcaster YLE reports.

Ian Wishart & Milda Seputyte

Lithuania should become the 19th country to use the euro, the European Commission said, paving the way for the Baltic state to join the currency bloc Jan. 1.

Lithuania passed a key hurdle to adopting the euro on Wednesday, winning the backing of the European Commission to become the 19th state to use the single currency from next year.
     
The European Union's executive praised the Baltic state's "long-standing support for prudent fiscal policies and economic reforms."       

Former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou issued a statement on Tuesday denying claims that the International Monetary Fund’s ex-Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn had insisted that the Greek debt be restructured as part of the bailout deal signed in May 2010.

Six EU commissioners will take temporary electoral leave in April as part of their candidacies for May's European elections.