Open Europe : Cut through the chatter

[Politics.be]

IMF, Commission and Eurozone united in call for Greece to step up efforts to introduce necessary reforms and reach a deal with creditorsIMF Chief Christine Lagarde said yesterday, “Payment delays have not been granted by the board of the IMF in the last 30 years”, amid a report from the Financial Times that Greece had considered requesting such a deal. Lagarde added that Greece should focus on the “tedious” technical work to get its reforms in place. European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas echoed this saying the institutions were “not satisfied” adding that “work needs to intensify”. Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan also struck a concerned tone saying, “Negotiations are difficult, liquidity is getting short, so under pressure it’s more likely that an accident can happen,” adding that a Grexit “would [now] produce much less damage.”Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis insisted he had a good discussion with Lagarde and there was “no rebuff”. He added, “We have the right to be heard, and we have the right to challenge the logic of a programme that has clearly failed,” insisting that he wanted to stop Greece being a “bottomless pit” for Eurozone cash and stressing that Greece is “not going to sign up to targets we know our economy cannot meet.” In an interview with Reuters, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he is “firmly optimistic” a deal will be reached by the end of the month “despite the cacophony and erratic leaks and statements in recent days from the other side”.Meanwhile, Kathimerini reports that the Greek Finance Ministry is considering legislation which would force all state entities to move their cash reserves to the Bank of Greece – estimated to total €2.5bn to €3bn – which would allow the government to utilise them to cover short term costs. The Finance Ministry also released data yesterday showing that it beat its primary budget surplus target for the first quarter of the year through a significant delay in payments to suppliers and higher than expected revenue from the Public Investments Programme. However, amid increasing uncertainty Greek government borrowing costs have risen sharply, while Greek bank stocks reached their lowest levels for 20 years.Source: Kathimerini The Financial Times The Wall Street Journal Kathimerini 2 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Süddeutsche Zeitung Reuters

EFTA member states criticised for not implementing EU rules fast enough
Norwegian news website Nationen reports that the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority (ESA), the body responsible for enforcing the implementation of EU law throughout the European Economic Area, has criticised Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein for not doing so quickly enough. According to ESA, over the past six months, Norway has failed to implement 2% of EU directives, Iceland and Lichtenstein failed to implement 2.8% and 1.2% respectively, while on average, full EU members failed to implement 0.5% of directives. In 2014, the ESA pursued 14 court cases on behalf of EFTA concerning lack of implementation of single market directives.

Source: Open Europe Intelligence Nationen EurActiv
Sharp rise in Eurozone managers’ business optimism for the next year
A Warth and Klein Grant Thornton poll of 2,500 Eurozone business managers finds that 34% expect better business in the next twelve months. The figure represents a sharp rise from the 13% who were optimistic in Q4 of 2014, or the 5% who were optimistic in Q3 of last year. Separately, Die Welt reports that Europe, particularly the Southern countries, is expecting a bumper year for tourism due to the weaker euro. January 2015 witnessed a 34.2% increase in tourists from China, India and Brazil the paper reports.

Source: Warth and Klein Grant Thornton Die Welt
New poll boost for Sweden’s anti-immigration party
According to a new Sentio poll, support for the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats rose by 1.2% to 17.8% in April compared to the previous month. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s Social Democrats are ahead on 25.6% – a 2.7% decrease compared to March. The opposition Moderate Party is second on 25.5%.

Source: Aftenposten
Former Spanish Finance Minister and IMF chief detained on money laundering and tax fraud charges
Rodrigo Rato, former Spanish Finance Minister and IMF Managing Director, was detained by Spanish authorities yesterday evening on money laundering, asset stripping and tax fraud charges. Rato was released after the police completed a search of his flat and office in Madrid. Formerly a leading member of Spain’s centre-right Partido Popular, Rato left the party last autumn amid a separate scandal for which he is also under investigation.

Source: El Pa�*s El Mundo Expansión
MEPs award themselves an extra €18,000 a year to pay for staff
The Times reports that MEPs are preparing to award themselves an extra €18,000 a year to pay for their staff, taking their staffing allowance to €275,000. The paper reports that the 7% increase will mean an extra €207m bill for the parliament.

Source: The Times
Schäuble: France “would be happy” to have someone forcing it to pass reforms
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told a conference in Washington yesterday that France “would be happy that someone forced parliament” to pass structural reforms, “but that’s difficult. That’s democracy.”

Source: AFP EUObserver
EU mortgage rules to hit mortgages for holiday homes
The Daily Telegraph reports that the EU’s new Mortgage Credit Directive will force firms offering foreign currency mortgages to offer borrowers the option of switching the mortgage to the same currency as their earnings or their country of residence in the event of substantial exchange rate fluctuations. However, experts warn that such a move would be very expensive for lenders who might stop offering such products altogether, hitting British workers who receive any part of their income in a foreign currency and making it more difficult for UK residents to buy second homes in Europe.

Source: The Daily Telegraph
Turkey accuses European Parliament of “religious and cultural fanaticism”
Following a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Wednesday commemorating the centennial of the Armenian genocide and urging Turkey to recognise that event, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement which claims that “the European Parliament known for contriving obstacles to the development of Turkey-EU relations aspired once again to rewrite history… Unfortunately, what lies behind it is a religious and cultural fanaticism and indifference towards others regarded as different.”

Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung Euronews
Open Europe event: A Labour government could increase the risk of Brexit over the next ten years

At an Open Europe panel debate in Brussels on Britain’s post-election EU policy, Open Europe Director Mats Persson said that whatever the outcome of the UK election in May, the EU will not go away as a political issue in Britain nor will the need to reform the EU. An EU referendum is a “matter of when, not if”. He noted that under a Labour Government, the probability of Brexit may go down over the next five years, but increase over the next ten years – given that the Conservatives may become more Eurosceptic in opposition and recommend a referendum and out once back in power.

Vivien Pertusot of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) said that “if Labour is in charge, the UK issue will not go away, given that the UK is not in the core of the EU: the eurozone.” Stefani Weiss of the German Bertelsmann Foundation pointed out that “a lot of people in Germany are convinced we need Treaty change, with regards to Eurozone matters at least.” She warned, however, that “the UK cannot just say that it will leave if it doesn’t get what it wants. The EU is not perfect and needs reform but members cannot just pick and choose, that wouldn’t work.”

UK MEP, Syed Kamall, the leader of the ECR Group in the European Parliament, warned that “until we resolve the gap between what British voters want the EU to be and what it is, we’ll continue to have a problem. That’s why we need a referendum.”

Meanwhile, Open Europe recent report analysing the consequences of Brexit is cited by EUobserver and Richard Tice on Conservative Home.

Bron: politics.be