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UK Chancellor: UK is "not prepared to accept" a 4.9% increase in EU budget
UK Chancellor George Osborne said yesterday that the UK is "not prepared to accept" a 4.9% increase in the EU's budget for 2012. "The proposal from the Commission for a big budget rise is completely unacceptable," he said, "I think Europe needs to get in touch with reality”.
Open Europe Director Mats Persson is quoted by the BBC, the Express and on Politics.co.uk saying, "The commission is either completely misreading or wilfully ignoring the public mood around Europe". "Just like national governments, the EU has to adapt and find ways to re-shuffle and prioritise the funds available in the current economic climate. Almost everywhere you look there is fat that can be cut from the EU budget - from the 50 or so EU quangos to the wasteful farm subsidies to cohesion subsidies to Europe's richest regions", he added. Mats also appeared on BBC Newsnight saying that the UK Government needs to take a far more proactive approach in pushing for changes to how the EU budget is spent not only its overall size.
Newsnight Open Europe blog Open Europe press release FT Mail BBC FT 2 WSJ EurActiv European Voice Irish Times IHT Times Mirror Telegraph Telegraph: Comment Guardian Express Express: Farage Express: Comment Elsevier Politics.co.uk Express FAZ: Leader
Dutch VVD spokesperson: "How many True Finns will Brussels create?"
Open Europe’s report on EU aid continues to receive media coverage. Elsevier EU correspondent Carla Joosten argues that European Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski will "have to do a lot better to convince member states that Brussels really needs the [budget] increase. Critics as Open Europe, which revealed this week how EU aid money is being wasted in Africa, don't make it easier for him." She also quotes Dutch MP Han ten Broeke, EU spokesman for the governing VVD party, saying, "How many True Finns will Brussels create?" Open Europe’s report is also cited by Dutch news agency Nieuwsbank, German paper Main Post and Polish news site Wirtualna Polska.
Elsevier blog: Joosten Wirtualna Polska Main Post Nieuwsbank Open Europe blog Open Europe blog 2 Open Europe report Open Europe press release
Confusion over whether incoming or outgoing Finnish government will negotiate Portuguese bailout
Confusion abounds in Finland over who will negotiate the Portuguese bailout, with the current Finnish Prime Minister, Mari Kiviniemi, seemingly contradicting herself over the last few days as to whether the new government will take the reins in the negotiation. As it remains unclear whether the new government will even be in place by the time a decision is due on the bailout on the 16 May. Meanwhile, the True Finns leader, Timo Soini, continues to talk tough on the EU. When asked about the recent electoral success of the True Finns, in an interview with El Pais, Soini said, “The politics of the EU is the fundamental reason. It has transferred excessive power to Brussels in almost all areas, for example with the bailouts. The majority of Finns do not accept it because we don’t have anything to do with the crisis and we don’t want to pay for the errors of others. Also, we do not think that the system is working. It’s a big issue now in my country”.
Yle Yle2 Reuters ElPais Economist ElPais2 Helsingin Sanomat El Pais: Soini
FTD: German governing coalition may fall over vote on Eurozone bailout fund;
Spanish borrowing costs continue to rise
FTD reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing the prospect of a heavy defeat in Parliament over the approval of the permanent eurozone bailout fund (ESM). Several sources within the German government coalition confirm that there is "no majority" support within the governing parties. Merkel may be able to obtain a majority with support from the opposition parties, however, this could endanger the governing coalition, reports FTD. The vote is now due to take place in the autumn. HLN reports that resistance to the structure of the ESM is increasing in Slovakia a, although the government has already approved it.
Spainraised €3.4bn in a successful bond auction yesterday, however, its cost of borrowing reached its highest point for a decade amid reports of poor economic activity on the back of further falls in real estate prices and a rise in bad loans.
A new poll by Reuters found that a majority of economists expect that a Greek restructuring will take place. However, most expect it will not happen for up to a year. Meanwhile, Lars Feld, one of Angela Merkel’s closest economic advisors, admitted in a radio interview with Deutschlandfunk that he fears “Greece can’t get out of this situation without some kind of restructuring”. He added: “that doesn’t have to mean an actual default,” it could include “the buyback of bonds through a European institution”. These are both ideas which have been ruled out by the German government so far.
FTD Handelsblatt HLN FT WSJ CityAM IHT El Pais El Pais 2 Reuters IrishTimes Bloomberg Reuters 2 Kathimerini Times Economist Economist 2 Irish Independent FT 2 Irish Times 2 FT Editorial European Voice 2 WSJ Irish Indipendant Economist: Charlemagne
Het Financieele Dagblad reports that the Netherlands’ international competitiveness is at risk, following a proposal from the EU's Economic Policy Committee which suggests that trade deficits within the eurozone should be limited to 4% of GDP while trade surpluses should be limited to 5% of GDP.
FD Z24: Bouman
Italy calls for revision of EU Treaties to combat migration
Italy's Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti yesterday called for a new revision of the EU Treaties in order to tackle migration, the economic crisis and energy challenges. Italian paper Corriere reports that the Commission has agreed to call a debate on a possible revision of the Schengen rules. The Mail reports that in addition to France and Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany have indicated that they will increase border checks.
EurActiv European Voice Mail Nea Naftemporiki Corriere Repubblica
An investigation by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has revealed that a third of the NHS’ 220 children's units in the UK do not comply with the EU’s Working Time Directive.
Guardian RCPCH: Facing the Future
Liberal Democrat peer: Public safety being put at risk by European Court of Human Rights
In a report published today Tory MP Dominic Raab calls for an urgent reform of human rights legislation, and attacks the ECHR judges for “assuming a legislative function beyond their agreed powers… undermining the credibility and value of the court [and] risking triggering a constitutional crisis by opposing the will of British politicians”. In a foreword to the report, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Carlile, a Home Office adviser on terrorism, wrote that: “A narrow interpretation of the convention has had a chilling effect on deportation, and thereby on public safety”.
Telegraph Mail Express Civitas ECHR Report
Euro-sceptic Austrian MEP Hans-Peter Martin, known for reporting on MEP fraud, is accused of using almost €1m of his party’s money for private gain, reports Europaportalen.
Europaportalen
A representative of the Libyan opposition’s Transitional National Council (TNC) told the Irish Times yesterday that the council opposes the potential deployment of an EU force in Libya.
Irish Times
European Voice reports that the European Commission’s humanitarian aid department, ECHO, will open an office in Abidgan, Ivory Coast, to help the country to return to stability after the recent violence following the Presidential election.
European Voice
The European Commission has announced tougher ethical rules for commissioners, reports European Voice. The new regulations will require commissioners to update declarations of financial interests annually, and will introduce clearer rules on gifts and hospitality.
European Voice
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