Open Europe : Daily Press Summary

[Politics.be]

Dutch PM calls for review of EU powers;Rutte: “The role of the Dutch is to make sure the British stay aboard”In his first interview with the foreign press after his re-election, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, “What we want to do is have a debate at the level of the 27 [EU member states] over whether Europe is not involved in too many areas which could be done at the national level…The British want to repatriate competences to the UK, and they already have a list. We, the Dutch, do not want a regime of exceptions – but a debate and decisions at 27.”

On the future of the UK’s EU membership, Rutte said, “Europe needs the UK for at least two reasons: a banking and financial system which is indispensable to the prosperity of the EU and a vision of economy that gives priority to growth rather than the state. The role of the Dutch is to make sure that the British stay aboard.” On the eurozone crisis, he suggested, “We want to allow a country to leave the eurozone if it wishes to. At the moment that is not the case. A country can only give up the euro if it leaves the EU. We should revise the Treaties to change that. We are ready for this.”

Meanwhile, in a full-page op-ed, Die Welt’s London correspondent Thomas Kielinger argues that “Britain is still one of the most exciting and most attractive countries in the world, and Prime Minister David Cameron is not as isolated in Brussels as it sometimes seems”.
Le Figaro: Rutte FT: Rutte Süddeutsche: Rutte Welt: Kielinger

German Bundestag approves latest Greek debt deal;
Mats Persson: Eurozone leaders should keep Greece in mind when dealing with Spain
The German Bundestag has this morning approved the latest Greek debt deal with 473 votes in favour, 100 against and eleven abstentions. A new poll for ZDF shows that 43% of Germans are in favour of the latest Greek debt deal, while 46% said they would have preferred Greece to default.

Meanwhile, the FT reports that the Greek government has increased pressure on Greek banks to take part in the proposed bond buyback scheme, saying it is their “patriotic duty” to do so. Open Europe’s analysis of the buyback, questioning the incentives for Greek banks to take part, featured on the FT’s Alphaville blog. Open Europe’s Raoul Ruparel is quoted in the Telegraph discussing the buyback plan. Separately, Kathimerini reports that a leaked EU/IMF/ECB Troika report concludes that reforms in Greece have been “mixed” with tax reform in particular coming to a “virtual standstill”. The report is also said to be critical of the “fragile” Greek banking sector and the poor progress on privatisations.

On his Telegraph blog, Open Europe Director Mats Persson argues, “It’s hard not to conclude that simply writing down debt in the first place would have been a far superior course of action – much cheaper and more effective for everyone involved…But it is even more important that lessons are learnt. Eurozone leaders should keep Greece in mind when dealing with Spain and its banking sector. A continued reluctance to fully accept the depth of the problems and resolve them now could come back to haunt them in the future…As has been noted in many a crisis, policymakers biggest failing could be failing to learn from previous mistakes.”
Open Europe flash analysis: Who owns Greek debt? FT blogs: Alphaville Telegraph: Persson FT CityAM WSJ Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 Le Monde Bild Welt Economist: Charlemagne Telegraph: Evans-Pritchard ZDF: Politbarometer

MEPs and member states reach provisional agreement on 2012 and 2013 annual budgets
European Voice reports that MEPs and member states have reached a provisional agreement on the EU’s annual budget for 2013 and the additional funding requested for the 2012 budget. A further €6bn will be released to cover 2012 spending commitments – compared with the Commission’s original demand for €9bn. The 2013 annual budget will contain €150.9bn in commitments and €132.8bn in payments – compared with the Commission’s original proposal for €151.1bn and €137.8bn respectively.

A leader in today’s Economist describes the EU budget as a “shameful anachronism”, arguing that “it is wrong to devote 40% of EU spending to farmers…It is also wrong that almost two-fifths of the cohesion funds, which take another 40% of the budget, should go to countries with a GDP per head above 90% of the EU average.”
Open Europe research: Reforming the EU budget European Voice EUobserver Expansión Economist: Leader

One EU country voted against Palestine’s bid to become a UN “non-member observer state” last night, 14 voted in favour and the rest abstained.
EUobserver

ECB Executive Board Member Jörg Asmussen warned yesterday that the ECB will not be ready to operate as a single financial supervisor before 2014.
City AM

The Catalan left-wing ERC party has said it wants the referendum on Catalonia’s independence to take place no later than September 2013. ERC Secretary General, Marta Rovira, confirmed yesterday that negotiations with Catalan President-elect Artur Mas will officially kick off during the weekend.
La Vanguardia Periódico de Cataluña

Conservative MEP Julie Girling has warned that household water bills could rise by £40 a year to pay for new EU rules ordering water firms to filter out chemicals that have a “negligible” threat to the environment, the Telegraph reports.
Telegraph

An OpinionWay/Le Figaro poll shows that 80% of supporters of France’s centre-right UMP party are in favour of holding new leadership elections to break the deadlock between the two candidates – François Fillon and Jean-François Copé.
Le Figaro

The EU will launch negotiations with Japan on a bilateral trade agreement that would be the world’s largest, if completed.
Open Europe research: Trading places FT Welt

Bron: politics.be