Open Europe : Daily Press Summary

[Politics.be]

Germany prepared to support further EU sanctions on Russia;Cameron and Clegg disagree over stripping Russia of the 2018 World CupGerman Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview with German radio Deutschlandfunk yesterday that the EU had “created the conditions” to “increase the pressure” on Russia, but stressed, “If there are negative consequences, then they must be borne across Europe as a whole.” German Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel told ARD yesterday, “We don’t deliver [military equipment to Russia], even if the contracts have been concluded in the past. I would have expected the same from France and the UK.”EU ambassadors will meet again today to discuss imposing travel bans and asset freezes on individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, while tomorrow they will try to reach an agreement on proposals for ‘stage three’ sanctions. UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg yesterday called for Russia to be stripped of the right to host the 2018 World Cup, although UK Prime Minister David Cameron has since played down the idea.Meanwhile, the US yesterday published images which it said show that Russia has been firing artillery across the border onto Ukrainian forces. Saturday’s Guardian cited Open Europe research into the links between the City of London and Russia, with Open Europe’s Raoul Ruparel quoted as saying, “While the Londongrad narrative is attractive, the data suggests it doesn't quite hold…Given that London is a global financial centre, Russian business is only a small slice of a very large pie.” The research is also quoted by Melanie Phillips in the Times and Nick Cohen in the EUobserver, while Raoul is also quoted by Spanish news agency EFE.Deutschlandfunk FT Bloomberg FT 2 WSJ Rzeczpospolita FAZ FAZ 2 FAZ: Rossbach FAZ: Frankenberger Süddeutsche Süddeutsche 2 Handelsblatt EUobserver EUobserver 2 EUobserver 3 Reuters DE City AM Times Times: Philips Reuters Reuters 2 La Tribune ARD Saturday’s Guardian Observer: Cohen


The FT reports that 81% of a group of FTSE 100 chairmen questioned by Korn Ferry, a leadership consultancy, said they wanted to see Britain renegotiate its relationship with the EU. Given a choice between renegotiating, staying in or leaving, only 15% backed staying in no matter what happens, and 4% wanted the UK to leave.
FT

WirtschaftsWoche reports that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is considering establishing a separate Commission post for Financial Markets – currently part of the Internal Market portfolio. FAZ reports that Berlin favours such a move, although a spokeswoman for Juncker has denied the report.
WirtschaftsWoche FAZ

The free-trade negotiations between the EU and Canada have been dealt a blow due to German objections to ‘investor-state dispute settlement’ (ISDS), which would allow foreign investors to challenge government policies in special tribunals. Disagreement over ISDS may also sink the free-trade talks between the EU and the US (TTIP), reports the WSJ, while the FT reports that the EU is frustrated at the US reluctance to discuss a legally-binding energy chapter in TTIP.
City AM WSJ Süddeutsche FT EurActiv

A new study published today by the Bertelsmann foundation to mark the 20th anniversary of the single market has found that, between 1992 and 2012, Germany’s GDP increased by €37.1bn per year as a result of its membership of the EU’s single market – equivalent to €450 per inhabitant. In contrast, UK GDP only benefited by an additional €1bn per year, equivalent to €10 per inhabitant.
Bertelsmann Foundation Welt

Welt am Sonntag reported that a group of five German professors have lodged a legal challenge against the EU’s banking union at the German Constitutional Court. According to the complainants, the banking union breaches German law because it has been established without the necessary changes to the EU treaties.
FT FAZ Süddeutsche Welt am Sonntag EUobserver

The Telegraph reports that Labour Party advisers have calculated that Ed Miliband will become Prime Minister if UKIP wins more than 9% of the vote in next year’s general election.
Telegraph

Il Sole 24 Ore reports that European Commission President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker is putting pressure on Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to give up on Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini’s candidacy for new EU foreign policy chief and opt for a different portfolio. Member states are expected to disclose their official nominees by the end of July.
Il Sole 24 Ore

Saturday’s Times reported that the Royal College of Physicians warned that proposed EU General Data Protection Regulations would create “barriers to legitimate scientific research in the health sector without offering better protection for citizens”.
Saturday's Times

A new Homo Homini poll for Rzeczpospolita of Polish voting intentions has found that the newly established ‘right-wing’ alliance led by Law and Justice would get 40% of votes ahead of the governing Civic Platform on 24%, the SLD-Twój Ruch alliance on 13% and Janusz Korwin-Mikke’s KNP on 6%.
Rzeczpospolita

The Greek government has nominated Defence Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, a member of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s centre-right New Democracy party, as its next European Commissioner.
AFP Kathimerini

ECB Vice-President V�*tor Constâncio has said that the ECB will not adopt new measures to tackle low inflation in the eurozone until the impact of the measures adopted last month is assessed properly.
WSJ Kathimerini 2 Kathimerini

Eurozone finance ministers are likely to discuss in September whether to allow Ireland to repay its more expensive bailout loans from the IMF before paying back the money it received from the eurozone’s own bailout fund, Reuters reports.
Reuters

The number of jobless people in France has gone up by 9,400 (0.3%) in June compared to the previous month, according to new figures from the French Employment Ministry. The number of people out of work for one year or longer has increased by 9.8% year-on-year.
French Employment Ministry La Tribune

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