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EU leaders clash over IMF involvement in Greek bailout;
Swedish Finance Minister won't rule out help from EU states outside the eurozone
DW reports that all 27 EU finance ministers are today expected to adopt a draft declaration on the current eurozone crisis, including an obligation for Greece to report its latest budget situation on 16 March and undertake additional austerity measures if necessary. The article notes that details of any bailout plans are being withheld from the public by eurozone ministers, as representatives agreed it would be "unwise" to reveal possible measures. El Pais notes that Spanish Economy Minister Elena Salgado has told the media not to expect ministers to come out with a concrete bailout plan for Greece, as "it is not on the agenda".
The FT reports that Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the group of eurozone finance ministers, has said that, "Greece must know that taxpayers in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg aren't ready to correct the failings of Greek budgetary policy".
The Guardian reports that the Greek Finance Minister, George Papaconstantinou said in response: "We're trying to change the course of the Titanic. Anyone else doing this would get applause. But they tell us: 'You're not doing enough. You won't be able to do it anyway.'"
European Voice notes that Papaconstantinou said that eurozone leaders had not been "specific enough" at a summit last week, adding: "My guess is that what will stop markets attacking Greece is a further, more explicit step that makes operational what was decided last Thursday at the European Council," the FT reports.
Europaportalen notes that Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg would not rule out help for Greece from EU nations outside the eurozone - saying "We haven't ruled out a common European support effort in order to strengthen the credibility of the Greek economy, but that would require a strong supervisory role for the IMF." AFP reports that Juncker declared Borg's call for greater IMF surveillance and monitoring of Greece to be an "absurd" irrelevance "fuelled by Anglo-Saxon voices" seen as hostile to the shared currency. "If California had a refinancing problem, the United States wouldn't go to the IMF," Juncker said.
Bloomberg notes that Kurt Lauk, a business advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has said that Greece should lose voting privileges in the EU if it receives a bailout. "If a country is in receivership, I think we need to introduce a rule that they are not allowed to vote while they're in receivership - in the council or on any other issue," he said.
Meanwhile, writing in the FT, former European Central Bank Executive Board Member Otmar Issing argues against a Greek bailout. He writes, "For Emu, the crisis represents a final test of whether such an institutional arrangement - a monetary union without a political union - is viable for an extended period of time. Lax monitoring and compromises when it comes to observing implementation of rules have to stop. Emu is a club of states with firm rules accepted by entrants. These rules must not be changed ex-post. Governments should not forget what they promised their citizens when they gave up their national currencies."
In the IHT, Paul Krugman argues that "the real story behind the euromess lies not in the profligacy of politicians but in the arrogance of elites - specifically, the policy elites who pushed Europe into adopting a single currency well before the continent was ready for such an experiment."
In the Times, Ruth Lea argues "for the sake of the long-term viability of the eurozone, it would be far better to evict Greece now and direct the beleaguered country to the IMF for some long overdue economic discipline."
Guardian City AM 2 EUobserver BBC BBC: Paul Mason's blog Irish Independent IHT Irish Times FT WSJ Mail Irish Independent European Voice BBC Today EUobserver 2 European Voice 2 FT: Issing WSJ: Editorial WSJ: Moec Times: Lea IHT: Krugman AP AFP Bloomberg L'Express Europaportalen El Pais ABC Les Echos Welt AFP Handelsblatt OE research OE press release
Energy companies lobby Conservatives for exemption from EU energy rules
The Times reports that two of Britain's biggest energy companies, RWE npower and E.ON, are lobbying the Conservative Party to keep some of the UK's nine most polluting power stations operating beyond 2015. Under the EU's Large Combustion Plants Directive, the coal and oil-fired power plants must close by the end of 2015. Together, the nine power stations produce about 15 percent of total UK electricity supplies, and E.ON and RWE are pressing for at least some of the plants to be exempted from the EU rules on the grounds that, without them, Britain could face blackouts by 2015. One industry official said: "It is something they have expressed their views on quite clearly to the Tories and it seems they are listening." equipment."
Greece hits back at Commission saying that financial instruments used to mask debt were legal under EU rules
The Telegraph notes that the European Commission is giving Greece two weeks to answer allegations that it used complex derivatives to mask the true picture of its debt. The New York Times reported that Greece used currency swaps and sold off future fees from airports, roads, and the lottery to mask its liabilities.
The FT notes that the information has been requested by Eurostat, and quotes Commission official Amadeu Altafaj Tardio asking: "The question is, was this legitimate in government management operations?" City AM quotes Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou saying, "These kinds of more exotic financial instruments were, at the time, completely Eurostat legal. Greece was not the only country using them."
City AM Editor Alistair Heath writes in his column "it was bizarre to hear the EU defend Eurostat yesterday on the grounds that it knew nothing of the practice. In fact, its own 2002 accounting guide talked about it at length and confirmed that it was legal. Even by Brussels' standards, this sort of nonsense beggars belief."
Bloomberg Mail Irish Independent WSJ: Wheatcroft Conservative Home IHT FT City AM Telegraph Times City AM: Heath BBC: Hewitt blog
AFP reports that Greek PM George Papandreou has pledged to deepen ties with Russia ahead of talks with Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Greece had not asked Russia for financial support, adding: "But if the Greek colleagues raise the issue, we will discuss it".
Whitehall scheme aims to boost UK staff in EU institutions
The Express reports on the news that Whitehall plans to train more civil servants for EU jobs, with the aim of boosting UK influence in Brussels. The UK is currently underrepresented in the EU - constituting 12 percent of the population but only 6 percent of Commission staff. Open Europe Researcher Sarah Gaskell is quoted saying that "The UK certainly needs to step up the fight for its interests, but this cannot be achieved only by simply sending more middle-ranking civil servants to Brussels at an additional cost to taxpayers. There urgently needs to be a change in culture at the very top - the UK needs to be confident enough to say No to the many intrusive and unwelcome EU initiatives that seem to keep on coming."
A leader in the paper argues: "The outrageous expenses claims of Westminster MPs pale into insignificance beside the luxury Eurocrats afford themselves."
EU Foreign Minister Cathy Ashton facing 'credibility crisis'
The Independent reports that 'Brussels officials' have said that the persistent criticism of EU Foreign Minister Cathy Ashton, particularly in relation to her decision not to travel to Haiti last month, is severely undermining her credibility. A senior diplomat in Brussels is quoted saying: "She very badly and urgently needs a success story or she will lose this image war. At first people were inclined to be kind and wait for her to come good. But she is keeping them waiting a little too long."
The diplomat also said: "The French seem to have it in for her. It is open to question how much of this is about her being British and a woman." Ashton's aides say she is still relatively sanguine, but has been angered over what she perceives as "latent sexism" from some of her European peers.
UK citizens in EU received £14mn in winter fuel allowance last year
The front page of the Times reports that British pensioners living in Europe received £14 million in winter fuel allowances last year. Britain is unable, under EU law, to discriminate against people who live elsewhere in the European Union receiving the payment. The number of expats who received the winter fuel allowance increased following the EU's expansion to include countries such as Romania and Bulgaria.
Writing in the WSJ Ariel Cohen, Senior Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, looks at the proposed French sale of Mistral assault ships to Russia, and argues that "Building a modern navy will intimidate Russia's neighbours and open doors for Russian power projection in the Mediterranean and the Middle East."
Le Figaro reports that Hungary has turned down an installment of €1bn in funding it was due from the IMF, EU and World Bank in the wake of the financial crisis, as its budget austerity measures have helped bring the public deficit down to 3.9% GDP in 2009.
The FT's Brussels blog looks at EU President Herman Van Rompuy's plan to increase the number of summits of EU leaders from quarterly to around 10 a year.
FT: Brussels blog Economist: Charlemagne notebook OE blog
De Standaard: Audy Le Monde Le Monde: Verhofstadt
European Voice reports that Vítor Constâncio, the Governor of the Bank of Portugal, has been chosen to replace Lucas Papademos as Vice-President of the European Central Bank.
EU member states agreed yesterday to suspend preferential trade benefits to Sri Lanka amid accusations of human rights abuses.
The FT reports that the fragile state of small and medium-sized enterprises threatens the nascent recovery in Europe, with eurozone bank lending to companies shrinking 2.3% in December compared to the previous year.
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