Europe Osborne: Eurozone must put its “house in order”; “No one should doubt that Britain is determined to remain a global financial centre” Writing in the FT, Chancellor George Osborne calls on Europe to “put its own house in order”, urging eurozone countries to decisively underpin the euro and sort out the bloc’s fragile banking system. He is critical of last year’s banking stress tests arguing, “It is revealing that the tests conducted last July identified a capital shortfall of just €3.5bn. Yet less than six months later, Irish banks required 10 times that amount… Europe cannot repeat the same mistake again. It is now clear the new stress tests must be much tougher.” He calls for a “comprehensive package” to resolve the eurozone debt crisis to be agreed early this year, adding, “The eurozone must follow the logic of the single currency and stand more convincingly behind the euro.” Osborne argues that the EU should not allow “badly thought through regulation needlessly to undermine European competitiveness in financial services,” adding, “No one should doubt that Britain is determined to remain a global financial centre serving Europe and the world.” FAZ: City of London has lost support of the British Government A feature in FAZ suggests London may lose ground as a top financial centre, arguing that, “the City of London has lost support from the British Government. Banks must fear overregulation from Brussels , particularly political decisions and a lack of skilled regulators in the EU’s new financial supervisors. That more than 1000 hedge fund managers have left the UK for Switzerland, is bearable, but that big institutions such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays are threatening to leave the City if future regulations harm them, is a big hit.” Meanwhile, European Voice reports that the people who will lead the three new European financial supervisory authorities could be selected as early as next week. European Voice Open Europe research Open Europe press release Portugal forced to pay record levels of interest on new bonds; German state broadcaster’s man in Brussels : Eurozone a “terrible experiment” Les Echos reports that, according to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, the €750bn eurozone rescue fund should be more than doubled in order to cope with the debt crisis. US political intelligence firm Stratfor notes that a eurozone rescue fund would need to be in the order of €3 trillion to take those countries at risk from contagion out of the debt markets for three years. El País quotes Spanish governmental sources revealing that, during his visit to Madrid , Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Li Keqiang committed China to buying €6bn of Spain ’s sovereign bonds. However, fears of contagion still hang over the eurozone. Il Sole 24 Ore reports that yesterday’s auction of €500m in Portuguese six-month bonds saw the yield rise to a record 3.686%, up from 2.045% at the last such sale in September 2010. Meanwhile, EUobserver notes that yesterday’s €5bn five-year bond issuance from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism sold out in one hour. As a result, the first €5bn of Ireland ’s EU-IMF bailout loan will be delivered to the Irish government next Wednesday, according to the Irish Times. An article in the Telegraph notes that EU plans to spread the burden of EU bank failures to senior bond-holders fuelled instability on eurozone debt markets yesterday, pushing yields on 10-year Greek bonds to a record 12.59%. In an interview with Reuters, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou has denied claims that Greece is discussing debt restructuring with creditors, as was previously reported. FT Deutschland notes that financial institutions are now competing with governments in order to obtain credit, with FAZ reporting that eurozone countries are seeking to raise €23bn in private and public funds in the next few days. Rolf Krause, the Brussels bureau chief of German public broadcaster ARD has said that the euro is “a terrible experiment which we've begun”, voicing his support for slimming down the currency union to countries with the same working and savings culture. Independent FT FT 2 Irish Times Irish Times 2 Belgian TV: Panorama Euractiv Le Figaro Les Echos Il Sole 24 Ore Il Sole 24 Ore 2 Stratfor EUobserver IHT Le Figaro Le Monde: Godement and Klau Les Echos El Pais El Pais 2 El Pais 3 TimesWSJ WSJ 2 Telegraph WSJ: Heise El Pais: Innerarity Reuters Telegraaf FAZ Open Europe’s Sian Herbert appeared on Al Jazeera last night discussing Hungary ’s role as rotating EU President in the first half of 2011. Open Europe research Open Europe press release Baroness Ashton has worst attendance record of all 27 EU Commissioners The Telegraph reports that Baroness Ashton has been absent from 40% of 42 meetings of the European Commission “college” in the past year, the worst attendance record of all of the EU's 27 Commissioners. David Heathcoat-Amory, former Conservative Minister for Europe , is quoted saying, “I opposed the creation of an EU foreign minister but I at least thought we would get someone who would bother to turn up”. Meanwhile, Open Europe’s Stephen Booth is quoted in the Daily Star questioning why senior EU officials are entitled to three months off a year. Barroso warns more EU legislation may be necessary to meet energy targets European Commission President José Manuel Barroso yesterday warned member states that they are falling short of meeting energy efficiency targets and said that further legislative measures might be necessary, reports Euractiv. Meanwhile, this year will see the Commission launch an investigation into the regulation of the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme, following several instances of fraud last year. European Voice European Voice Euractiv EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso has entered the controversy over stringent new media laws in Hungary, saying he wants PM Viktor Orban to “clarify” the measures when he meets him in Budapest tomorrow. Barroso is quoted saying media freedom is a “sacred principle” of the EU. FT Irish Times Irish Times: Leader Euractiv EUobserver European Voice AFP AFP 2 European Voice reports that since 2007, the Commission has co-financed five orchestras to promote cross-border mobility; to encourage the international circulation of cultural and artistic output; and to foster intercultural dialogue. In 2010, funding ranged from €147,380 for the European Union Chamber Orchestra to €600,000 for the European Union Youth Orchestra. Matthias von Bismarck-Osten of Oxfam argues in FAZ that “the EU is not using the chances trade policy offers” in order to help developing countries. He writes that “the EU should wipe out the disturbing practice of export subsidies for agricultural products”. No link The FT looks at German FDP leader Guido Westerwelle, describing him as the “most unpopular German Foreign Minister in living memory.” EUobserver reports that Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said that Israel could lift its blockade of the Gaza strip if an EU-sponsored “force” were to control the border with Egypt and help prevent arms smuggling. Open Europe
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Posts
