German Chancellor Angela Merkel, stung by criticism she is cracking the whip of fiscal discipline in Europe, has shown a more caring approach by pledging to fight record youth unemployment on the crisis-hit continent.

The declared new enemy in Berlin, aside from sloppy budgets and bloated bureaucracies, is the threat of a "lost generation" of young people without jobs, skills or hope, especially in hard-hit Greece and Spain.

Fewer Europeans are planning to go away for a summer holiday as economic austerity bites, a new study shows, with levels of foreign vacation travel at their lowest for eight years.

No more than 54 percent of Europeans are planning to get away for summer holiday this year, according to the Ipsos-Europ Assistance "holiday barometer" published Thursday.

Syria's oil production has crashed to 20,000 barrels per day, or five percent of its pre-war output, Oil Minister Sleiman Abbas said, quoted on Wednesday in the ruling party's Al-Baath daily.

"The terrorism of armed groups (rebels) and the unjust (Western) embargo imposed on Syria" were to blame for the collapse, he told a session of parliament.

Swiss banks could be forced to hand over the names of their employees under a prospective deal between Switzerland and Washington that aims to end a dispute over alleged tax evasion, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

"All the banks with significant business in the United States could be required to submit their correspondence to American authorities, as well as the names of their employees," the daily Tages Anzeiger said.

The European Commission is ready to end its special budget deficit surveillance of Italy after Rome brought the shortfall back within EU rules, a senior official said Wednesday.

EU Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani said in a tweeted message that the Commission had recommended "abrogating (the) decision on the existence of an excessive deficit in Italy," thereby removing the country from the EU's so-called Excessive Deficit Procedure program.

The European Union will make country-specific economic policy recommendations that are likely to ease the focus on budget austerity to help the economy recover.

The EU Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive arm, is expected on Monday to grant France, Spain and other nations more time to slash their deficits amid high unemployment and a protracted recession in many member states.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday cut its growth forecast for China in 2013 to "around 7.75 percent", down from its earlier forecast of 8.0 percent, citing a sluggish global recovery which hurt exports.

"The Chinese economy is expected to grow at around 7.75% this year and at about the same pace next year," David Lipton, IMF first deputy managing director, told reporters in Beijing.

Greek banker Christos Sorotos was appointed on Tuesday as interim CEO of the island's largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, to guide it through tough restructuring under Cyprus' bailout terms, the central bank said.

Britain-based Sorotos, 61, is an expert in corporate restructuring who has worked in Greece, the United States, Bulgaria and Romania, said a statement said.

French consumers are deeply pessimistic, being as gloomy as they have ever been since 1987, official data showed on Tuesday.

They are increasingly worried about the outlook for their living standards, a monthly index compiled by the national statistics institute INSEE showed.

The European Commission is expected on Wednesday to increase the pressure on several countries, particularly France, to speed up structural reforms seen as the only reliable way to boost growth and job creation.

With Europe still mired in recession, the Commission will on Wednesday release its latest economic recommendations for member states -- except for those under bailout programs: Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus.