Open Europe : persoverzicht

[Politics.be]

Close Merkel ally: Britain will not “get away with” looking after its own interests at the expense of Europe;Le Monde: On Europe, London must make a choice…or shut upSpeaking on the second day of the CDU’s party congress in Leipzig yesterday, Volker Kauder, leader of the party’s parliamentary faction and close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, criticised the UK for seeking to only further its own interests and singled out the UK’s opposition to the proposed financial transaction tax (FTT) in particular. He said, “I can understand that the British don't want [the FTT] when they generate almost 30% of their gross domestic product from financial-market business in the City of London. But Britain also carries responsibility for making Europe a success. Only going after their own benefit and refusing to contribute is not the message we're letting the British get away with.” Following Merkel’s call for greater budgetary discipline in her speech on Monday, Kauder praised her efforts, saying, “All of a sudden, Europe is speaking German. Not as a language, but in its acceptance of the instruments for which Angela Merkel has fought so hard, and was ultimately successful in the end.”

CDU party delegates adopted a resolution yesterday calling for an EU Treaty change allowing eurozone countries that are "permanently unwillingly or unable" to hold to the rules of the single currency to "voluntarily" exit the eurozone. The "goals" of treaty change discussion should be “automatic sanctions” within the stability and growth pact, with misbehaving member states liable to be taken to the European Court of Justice. The resolution suggests that states that get themselves into debt would be assigned a “budget commissioner” who would oversee public spending and restructuring measures. This person should have "powers to act" if the state failed to fulfil it duties. The FT notes that Merkel’s recent comments and the CDU’s resolution were unclear about whether the vision for “political union” would be just for the 17 euro partners, or for all 27 EU members as “both ambitions were inter-twined in her speech, and in the party resolution.”



Ahead of Friday’s meeting between David Cameron and Angela Merkel, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg reiterated his warning during parliamentary questions that repatriating powers would not be an easy process, arguing, “You have to seek agreement with 26 other countries in order to seek that repatriation. The idea you can simply get on the Eurostar, go over to Brussels and come back with a bagload of powers is simply not feasible.” Austrian daily Die Presse quotes Open Europe’s Research Director Stephen Booth arguing, “Not all member states are enthusiastic about a Europe dominated by France and Germany” and that this provides the UK with an opportunity to shape the EU in the wake of the crisis.


Meanwhile, an editorial in Le Monde runs with the headline, “On Europe, London must make a choice…or shut up”, and argues, “London chose not to be part of the eurozone, but now demands to participate in its decisions. Mr Cameron says he wants to remain in Europe, but his Chancellor of the Exchequer, showing a rather peculiar idea of solidarity, compares France’s situation with that of Greece. As Margaret Thatcher said, ‘Enough is enough’: in the current climate, Britain’s eternal ambiguity increasingly undermines Europe day after day.”
Reuters Times Guardian FT FT 2 CityAM City AM: Cash Independent Mail Express CDU Party Motion FTD Welt FAZ: Banna Die Presse Le Monde: Editorial Times: Leader Times: King Guardian: Freedland IHT: Konstandaras IHT: Saft Independent: McRae Le Figaro: Slama BBC: Peston BBC: Flanders FT: Wolf FT: Gross FT Editorial CityAM: Whyte WSJ Review&Outlook WSJ: De Longis WSJ Heard on the Street Irish Independent: McWilliams Irish Times: O'Brien Telegraph: Brogan



The panel of top European economists who will judge the Wolfson Prize was unveiled this morning, who will award £250,000 to the economist who offers the most feasible plan that a country could follow if it wanted to leave the eurozone. The judging panel will be chaired by Open Europe's Vice-Chairman Derek Scott.
City AM Conservative Home: Browne



Eurozone fears spread to core countries
Fears over the eurozone turned to some of the core economies, including France and Austria, as the spread on their borrowing costs above Germany’s reached record highs yesterday. The Spanish spread also topped the levels seen in Portugal and Ireland when they were forced to request bailouts. The fears were exacerbated by worries that the eurozone may soon slip into recession after growing just 0.2% in the third quarter. In response, the Austrian government yesterday pledged to speed up budget cuts to ensure it maintains its Triple-A rating. French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a review of the French welfare system and pledged to slash French labour costs.



The FT reports that Greek bondholders have presented to the Greek authorities a proposal for a bond swap, which would see them take a 50% write down on the face value of their holdings but in exchange for new bonds with high interest rates and incentives linked to GDP growth. Negotiations will resume in Frankfurt on Thursday where Greek officials are expected to present their counter proposals.



In an interview with Les Echos, French Economy Minister François Baroin argues, “We respect Germany’s history…but we continue to believe that the ECB is an answer, and perhaps an important element of the answer to this crisis.”
FT CityAM WSJ Express Mail Irish Independent Times FAZ IHT EUobserver Telegraph Le Monde Expansión WSJ 2 FT 2 Le Figaro Les Echos: Baroin FT 3 FT 4 FT 5 WSJ 3 Times 2 Guardian Guardian 2 Irish TimesIrish Times: LeaderNew EuropeRTLZ24Credit WritedownsDow JonesStandaardDie PresseLe MondeLe Figaro 2Le Figaro 3Le Monde: GuélaudLes EchosLes Echos 2Reuters FranceEl EconomistaPT JornalLa GacetaEconomico



Mario Monti to unveil new Italian government;

Reports suggest Monti could appoint himself as interim Economy Minister
Newly appointed Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is due to unveil his new cabinet today. Speaking to the press yesterday, Monti refused to offer more details on the agenda and the composition of his government, but reports in the Italian press today suggest that the cabinet will not include any politicians. It is also widely reported that Monti could eventually opt to appoint himself as interim Economy Minister.
BBC BBC 2 Il Sole 24 Ore La Stampa La Stampa 2Corriere della SeraCorriere della Sera 2Corriere della Sera 3FT CityAM WSJ Times



Barnier shelves plans for temporary ban of sovereign credit ratings
EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier’s plans to allow for the suspension of the credit ratings of troubled EU member states have been shelved. EUobserver reports that Barnier, who yesterday faced opposition from other Commissioners, has now said that more time is needed “to really go into technical details of how a temporary suspension could be implemented.” However, he managed to push forward plans to give the EU’s financial markets watchdog, ESMA, the power to force credit rating agencies to seek approval for their methodologies and make them liable to award compensation.



Separately, City AM reports that the European Parliament yesterday voted through restrictions on short-selling and trading of instruments linked to EU sovereign bonds, in spite of evidence that similar temporary bans have had little effect on price performance in the past.
EUobserverTelegraphIHTLe FigaroLe Figaro: MadelainBBCCoulisses de BruxellesLe MondeLa TribuneFTCityAMWSJEurActivEuropean VoiceIrish IndependentSuddeutscheFAZIndependent: ProsserCityAMEurActiv



Lord Chief Justice warns Parliament of the consequences of EU acceding to the ECHR
Lord Phillips and Lord Judge, Britain’s two most senior judges, have warned that UK courts are following European Court of Human Rights rulings too strictly and should adopt a more critical approach towards Strasbourg, the Guardian reports. Lord Judge also warned that Parliament should be aware of the consequences of the EU acceding to the European Convention which would result in the ECHR’s decisions becoming fully binding on all member states instead of, as he believed, only requiring UK courts to “take account” of such rulings.
Guardian



City AM reports that Chancellor George Osborne yesterday voiced his concerns that current EU proposals on capital rules for banks would make it impossible for the UK to implement the recommendations made by the Vickers Commission on banking.
CityAM



In an article looking at EU-China relations, New Europe quotes Open Europe’s Pieter Cleppe warning against the risk of looming EU protectionism, and arguing, “The Lisbon Treaty has given the European Parliament veto powers over free trade which could hand it US Congress-style powers.”
New Europe



Belgium’s Derk-Jan Eppink is the first MEP to join German law professor Marcus C. Kerber in his attempt to sue the ECB over its bond-buying programme at the EU’s General Court, reports Bild.
Bild NZZ Wiwo



Spanish business daily Cinco D�*as reports that Ignacio Sánchez Galán, Chairman of the Spanish Club of Energy, has criticised Spain’s 2020 Renewable Energy Plan (PER) – which is driven by the EU’s emission reduction targets – arguing that its implementation would increase the cost to consumers of financing renewables from €250 to €400 per year.
Cinco D�*as


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