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54% of Spaniards think the peseta would have helped overcome the crisis
A recent poll by Eurobarometer has revealed that 54 percent of Spaniards think they could have overcome the crisis more easily if they had kept their own currency - the peseta. The figure is higher than the eurozone average of 45 percent. In an interview with La Vanguardia, the Head of the Commission's Representation in Barcelona Manel Camós argues: "This makes us think that the public has not understood the advantages of the euro".
Supreme Court's interpretation of EU directive gives 45,000 asylum seekers the right to work in the UK
The Telegraph reports that the UK's Supreme Court has dismissed a Home Office challenge to an EU directive that allows asylum seekers to look for work if their claim has not been processed within a year. Asylum seekers are not allowed to look for work when they initially submit claims to the UK. But under the Reception Directive, which the UK Government signed up to after it was introduced in 2003, asylum applicants are entitled to work if their claim is still outstanding after 12 months.
The dispute centred on the rights of asylum seekers who have already had one application for shelter rejected but then submit a fresh claim - individuals who the Home Office argued were not covered by the Directive and were therefore not entitled to seek employment after 12 months in the UK. However, Supreme Justices have now concluded the same rules apply to any asylum seeker who has already had at least one claim rejected but has submitted a fresh one. The Home Office estimates at least 45,000 people will be immediately affected by the ruling.
Banks begin early-stage planning for countries leaving eurozone;
Münchau: German banking system is not solvent any more
The Telegraph notes that a new report from credit rating agency Standard and Poor's has found that European banks have amassed €30 trillion in liabilities and now face a serious funding threat over the next two years as emergency support is withdrawn. Total liabilities are €23 trillion for the eurozone and €8 trillion for the UK, Sweden, and Denmark. The report notes: "ECB loans have contributed to a shortening of liability maturities. The result is a growing funding mismatch for the European banking industry".
Meanwhile, the FT reports that banks have started early-stage planning to deal with the potential fallout on the derivatives and bond markets of a European country being forced to leave the euro. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), representing the industry, last week contacted some of its members to form a group to consider what they may need to do if a eurozone state is ejected.
French daily La Tribune also cites a report issued by the ECB showing that "negative spillover effects from the [eurozone] sovereign debt crisis appear to have worsened banks' ability to obtain funding".
In his column in FT Deutschland, Wolfgang Münchau argues that with a stricter definition of 'core capital', German regional banks (Landesbanken) would have failed the stress tests and writes: "I don't have the slightest doubt that the German banking system is in pure economic terms not solvent any more".
IHT La Tribune Telegraph FT: Lachman FT FTD: Munchau
Le Figaro: Cameron's support for Turkey's EU membership "sows discord"
Deutsche Welle reports that David Cameron may have alienated France and Germany with his forthright support for Turkey's EU membership bid. A headline in Le Figaro reads: "European Union: Cameron sows discord". The article notes that "David Cameron did not pronounce Nicolas Sarkozy's or Angela Merkel's name while setting the cat among the pigeons. But everyone understood".
Deutsche Welle Le Figaro AFP EuroNews Times: Senior Times: Letters
EU procurement rules blamed for waste in school building programme
In testimony to the Commons Education Select Committee this week, Tim Byles, Chief Executive of the Partnerships for Schools agency responsible for the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative, said that BSF had come up against problems of bureaucracy and waste, which was the fault of EU rules on procurement. He said money was wasted on commissioning several designs for a new building to ensure local authorities had options to choose from, meaning designs were "fully worked up and then put in the bin. Much of the regulation is completely out of our control - it is European regulations."
Finance Ministers set for extra September meeting on banking taxes
European Voice reports that the Belgian EU Presidency has called an extra formal meeting of EU finance ministers on 7 September to discuss agreements on a tax on financial transactions and on bank levies, ahead of the G20 finance ministers' meeting towards the end of October. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has previously suggested that a financial transaction tax should be introduced by the 16 states of the eurozone, if agreement cannot be reached to set one up at EU level.
Leading industry associations oppose joint proposal to raise EU emission targets
FAZ reports that industry associations from Germany, France and the UK have rejected their environment ministers' joint proposal to raise EU emission cuts targets from 20 percent to 30 percent by 2020. The paper has seen a letter written by leaders of the three main business associations BDI, MEDEF and CBI warning that - with the economic crisis in mind - it would be counterproductive to unilaterally set out a sharpening of EU emission reduction goals and adding: "Current European climate policy leads to unilateral pressure, especially on energy intense enterprises".
EUobserver reports that civil liberties group Statewatch has raised concerns over the UK's decision to opt into the European Investigation Order. It argues that there is no longer a basis for refusal to offer mutual assistance on police cooperation on the grounds of territoriality, and the measures reduce the flexibility of the executing member state not to carry out coercive measures.
European Parliament to scrap ghost MEPs' 'observer' status
The European Parliament (EP) is now expected to cancel its plans of inviting 18 future MEPs to join the EP in autumn as 'observers'. The new MEP positions were created by a change to the Lisbon treaty, which requires ratification by all the member states. This process of ratification could take up to a year, during which the MEPs were initially to be given 'observer' status, where they would not have the right to speak, vote or draft reports. European Voice reports that "several political groups in the Parliament now feel that there is little point in letting the new members sit as observers", citing cost-saving as the explanation. Instead, the MEPs will join the EP as full members once the treaty change has been ratified.
A leader in the Telegraph argues: "The Labour Party has never been particularly fastidious about observing manifesto pledges. The most egregious recent example was its promise at the 2005 general election to hold a national referendum on the new EU constitution, only to abandon the idea once safely re-elected".
PA reports that the National Audit Office has 'qualified' the accounts of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) due to its failure to administer EU agricultural subsidies - resulting in a £160 million fine for the UK from the European Commission. DEFRA is now reportedly setting aside a further £220 million for possible future fines.
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An editorial in European Voice looks at the rising number of senior level officials in the European Commission, and notes that "the Commission appears to be out of step" with efforts by member states to slim down domestic administration.
The Mail notes that an EU-wide bank savings guarantee scheme will come into force on 31 December. The scheme will cover deposits up to €100,000 and replaces the £50,000 cover currently offered in the UK.
The FT reports that Chancellor George Osborne yesterday called for India to break the logjam over free trade talks with the EU and reach an agreement by next March.
The FT Alphaville blog notes that the Basel Committee has decided to postpone the final phase of the Basel III regulatory regime from the start of 2013 to 2018 and water down the leverage ratio.
European Voice reports that EU foreign ministers have reached agreement to scrap four of the EU's special representative posts - for Macedonia, Moldova, the Middle East and the south Caucasus - by the end of February, as part of the reorganisation under the EU's External Action Service.
An editorial in the IHT argues: "Most of Europe's leaders are politically weak or otherwise distracted. But the euro zone crisis is not over. If renewed market pressure forces one or more countries to abandon the common currency, it would bring a nightmare of disrupted trade and disputed debts. There is no time for complacency".
Euractiv reports that a row is brewing between member states over proposals to temporarily cut import tariffs on raw materials for manufacturing, with France, Germany and Spain opposing the proposals.
The Irish Times reports on the campaign conducted by Italian activist Andrea D'Ambra to ban people with criminal convictions from working in the European Parliament. The article notes that, following Mr. D'Ambra's claims, a written declaration proposing a "clean Parliament" has now been presented by four MEPs. BNP leader Nick Griffin, Jean-Marie Le Pen from French far-right Front National and Italian Lega Nord representatives Mario Borghezio and Vito Bonsignore are some of the convicted MEPs currently sitting in the EP.
Irish Times Written declaration
De Standaard reports that negotiations over the new Belgian government are "proceeding with difficulty" and notes that 46 days after the elections "there is little reason for optimism".
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