Open Europe : Daily Press Summary

[Politics.be]

Cameron, Merkel, Reinfeldt and Rutte to hold ‘anti-Juncker’ summit; Renzi: No support for Juncker if policies don't change Prime Minister David Cameron will travel to Sweden today for a two-day mini-summit with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at which the leaders will consider alternatives to Jean-Claude Juncker for the post of the next Commission President, as well as other aspects of EU reform. In an interview with the FT, Reinfeldt argues that “We do not support the idea [of spitzenkandidaten] because it would make it impossible for any other candidate and rule out a lot of potential commission presidents.” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius came out in support of Juncker in an interview with Europe 1 yesterday, arguing that “One can regret it, because [Juncker] is not from our [political] group, but one needs to follow a certain democratic logic.” However, EurActiv France quotes French Socialist MEP Guillaume Balas suggesting that the Socialist group in the European Parliament should not back Juncker without first trying to put together a majority with other left-wing forces. Separately, Süddeutsche’s Paris correspondent, Stefan Ulrich, writes that Europe's leaders will be "disregarding citizens" and "weakening Europe" if they ignore Juncker's presidency bid. Meanwhile, Saturday’s Telegraph speculated about whether Juncker was about to pull out of the race due to lack of support. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told a conference in Naples yesterday, “The EPP wants to put forward Juncker? Fine. What is Juncker planning to do over the next five years? Someone who wants to continue with the policies of the past few years will not have our consent.” Open Europe Director Mats Persson is quoted in the FT as saying that if Cameron does ultimately prevail in stopping Juncker, “It’s hard to see how he won’t be forced to pay a price.” Open Europe’s Pawel Swidlicki is quoted by AFP and a number of French newspapers arguing that “Juncker epitomises everything that is wrong with the EU”, while Open Europe’s Nina Schick appeared on Sky News arguing that Juncker’s claims to have a democratic mandate are “wafer-thin.” Open Europe Blog FT Guardian Irish Times Euractiv BBC FT AFP Europe 1 EurActiv France Saturday's Times Saturday's Telegraph FT Weekend European Voice Repubblica AGI Telegraph: Johnson Guardian: Verhofstadt Svenska Dagbladet: Küchler Süddeutsche

Ulrich Wohlgemuth: Juncker is representative of the old EU elite and further centralisation;
‘Ever closer union’ is utterly illusory
In a comment piece in Germany's leading Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Open Europe Berlin Director Michael Wohlgemuth argues that “ Juncker is a representative of the old EU elite which is more interested in centralisation and harmonisation in the name of ‘solidarity’ rather than market-oriented reforms and decentralisation in the name of ‘subsidiarity’.” He continues, “The European Parliament is important. Transparency and democratic participation are exactly the values the European (non) voters are missing. But false promises in advance…and false propaganda afterwards…serves these values the least. This only strengthens the EU’s opponents.”

In a separate piece for World Review, Michael writes that the European Parliament elections results show that “‘ever closer union’ as a ‘one-way road’ and a ‘one-size-fits-all’ strategy has lost support from EU-citizens… Any ‘great leap forward’ towards a political or fiscal union or a vision of a ‘United States of Europe’ has become utterly illusory.”
World Review: Wohlgemuth

New Ukrainian President sees EU trade deal as “first step toward full membership in the EU”
Ukraine’s new President Petro Poroshenko said on the weekend that he wants to sign an EU trade treaty as soon as possible, adding, “We consider it as the first step toward full membership in the EU.” Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would adopt protectionist trade measures if Ukraine signs the EU pact. " As soon as the treaty is signed and comes into force, we will be taking measures to secure the economy,” he said.
Handelsblatt EUobserver EUobserver 2 Spiegel Reuters Deutschland BBC FAZ Süddeutsche

New EPP faction leader: Commitment to ‘ever closer union’ is “non-negotiable”
In an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, CSU MEP Manfred Weber, the new leader of the centre-right EPP faction in the European Parliament, rejects the possibility of removing the commitment to 'ever closer union' from the EU Treaties, claiming that, “For us this, is non-negotiable. We cannot sell Europe’s soul.” Weber also criticises the proposal of giving national parliaments a greater role in EU decision making, arguing that “If we grant each national parliament a veto right, Europe would come to a virtual standstill.” He concludes that while a UK exit from the EU would be painful for both sides, “Ultimately, the EU would be better able to deal with it than the Brits themselves.”
FAS FAS 2 Süddeutsche Spiegel

According to a new GESOP poll for El Periódico de Cataluña, neither Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular nor the opposition Socialist Party would win an absolute majority in next year’s general election. The poll credits Podemos, a new anti-austerity movement founded earlier this year, with up to 58 of 350 seats in the Spanish parliament.
El Periódico

Kathimerini reports that a reshuffle of the Greek government could be announced today. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met former Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis on Friday, amid speculation that she could replace outgoing Yannis Stournaras as Greece’s Finance Minister.
Kathimerini

Moody’s has upgraded the outlook for the eurozone’s temporary and permanent bailout funds – the EFSF and the ESM – from negative to stable.
No link

France’s anti-EU Front National quickly removed from its website a video in which the party’s founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, suggested making an “oven load” of French Jewish singer Patrick Bruel – a Front National critic. PVV leader Geert Wilders, whose party will be sitting in the same group as Front National in the next European Parliament, called Le Pen’s remarks “disgusting”. Front National leader Marine Le Pen told Le Figaro that her father had made a “political mistake”.
Le Figaro Telegraph NOS WSJ Guardian Spiegel

French Finance Minister, Michel Sapin, has said that the imposition by US regulators of a $10bn fine on BNP Paribas for sanctions evasion “could affect ongoing discussions on the free trade treaty .”
Euractiv

The Mail on Sunday reported that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has privately confessed that he blundered in his second TV debate with UKIP leader Nigel Farage in claiming that in ten years’ time, the EU would be “quite similar to what it is now.”
Mail on Sunday

Cameron, Merkel, Reinfeldt, Rutte: We will agree priorities for EU before we agree on who gets top jobs;
Hannoverische Allgemeine Zeitung: CDU sources suggest Juncker could voluntarily withdraw from race
Speaking at a press conference in Sweden this morning, following talks on the future direction of the EU, UK Prime Minister David Cameron; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said they had agreed that the top policy priorities for the next European Commission had to be decided before the appointment of top EU jobs. Merkel reiterated her support for Jean-Claude Juncker as Commission President, but said that “too often the policy-substance is neglected. We want to begin the work now.” The leaders said that the policy-priorities for the next five years should be on increasing competitiveness in various ways.

Cameron, Merkel and Rutte all suggested that the four leaders had agreed to “work together” to address the “abuse of free movement.” Merkel added that while she “believes in free movement” the abuse of welfare-systems is also subject to intense discussion in Germany, not only in the UK.

Separately, Labour yesterday officially came out in support of the government’s position on Juncker, saying that its MEPs would vote against him if he is nominated, while Germany’s Hannoverische Allgemeine Zeitung cites senior CDU sources suggesting that Juncker may “withdraw voluntarily.” Open Europe’s Pawel Swidlicki appeared on BBC World discussing the summit and Juncker’s prospects of becoming the next Commission President. Open Europe’s Vincenzo Scarpetta is quoted by Spanish news agency EFE as saying that EU leaders will try to avoid a formal vote.

Meanwhile, Rutte is to hold talks with his Irish counterpart Enda Kenny tomorrow evening, to discuss the appointment of the next Commission President.
Times Bloomberg Sun FAZ European Voice Euractiv BBC Independent Guardian El Pa�*s EUobserver Spiegel Handelsblatt Handelsblatt 2 Sun: Newton-Dunn Spiegel: Blome Irish Times EUobserver TAZ HLN Telegraaf NOS Standaard EFE Irish Times

The European Parliament will vote on whether to approve or reject the European Council’s nominee for the post of Commission President “by secret ballot”, despite transparency cited as one of the main reasons why MEPs should nominate the President.
European Parliament: Rules of Procedure

German tabloid Bild concludes that a Brexit scenario would “hit the Brits harder than us in the spirit of a united Europe it is important that they stay.”
Bild

A senior member of the German anti-euro AfD party has told the Irish Times that, if the Conservatives prevent the party from joining the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, it would give the impression that David Cameron’s party was German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “lapdog”.
Irish Times

Gikas Hardouvelis, a technocrat, was appointed new Greek Finance Minister yesterday. Outgoing Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras is expected to become the new governor of the Bank of Greece later this month, reports Kathimerini.
Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 FT WSJ European Voice

Writing in a joint article in the Telegraph, John Cridland Director-General of the British CBI and Dr Markus Kerber Director-General of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) argue that “The status quo won’t do; this must be a window of opportunity to achieve a reformed EU.”
No link

La Tribune reports that a group of rebel French Socialist MPs are planning to table several amendments to the draft budgets for 2015 and 2016, primarily aimed at increasing spending to boost domestic demand. Meanwhile, the Bank of France has this morning confirmed its growth forecast of only 0.2% of GDP for the second quarter of 2014.
Le Monde La Tribune Les Echos

Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French National Front and father of current leader Marine Le Pen has attacked his daughter’s leadership of the party and her criticism of his alleged anti-Semitic remarks saying, “I consider the political fault is with those who have aligned themselves to the single thought of the conformist political mainstream.”
Irish Times Telegraph Euractiv

Bulgaria has frozen construction on Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline due to EU and US pressure, EUobserver reports.
EUobserver

Die Welt reports that the German government coalition continues to be at odds over the implementation of a minimum wage, with vice CDU chairman Thomas Strobl calling for further “additions and differentiations” such as exceptions for seasonal workers for example.
Welt Welt 2 Bild



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