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79 Conservative MPs defy Cameron to vote for EU referendum
David Cameron suffered his biggest rebellion in the House of Commons last night as 79 Conservative MPs voted for a backbench motion calling on the Government to hold a referendum on the EU, two acted as tellers for the motion, two abstained and 14 were not present. One Conservative PPS Adam Holloway MP resigned while a second, Stewart Jackson MP, was sacked. In addition 19 Labour MPs and one Liberal Democrat MP voted for the motion. The motion was opposed by the leaderships of all three main parties, and was rejected by 483 votes to 111.

In the Telegraph James Kirkup questions David Cameron’s tactics in imposing a three line whip on a backbench motion. In the Mail Melissa Kite also argues that David Cameron has misjudged the mood of the Conservative party while the FT quotes a Conservative MP supporting David Cameron saying: “It is a seminal moment; Cameron always knew his modernisation project would not be complete until he talked about the Europe question.” The Economist’s Bagehot takes a different line arguing that the Conservative Party’s "own leaders are deeply split between short-term pragmatism and deep Euroscepticism in the longer term. This vote tonight is only a milestone on a long journey, which is inexorably leading the British to a very different relationship with the EU."
Telegraph Telegraph 2 Telegraph 3 Telegraph: Editorial FT FT 2 FT: Garel-Jones FT: Stephens Guardian Guardian 2 Express Express 2Express 3 Express 4 Express 5 Express:Clark Daily Mail Daily Mail: Letts Daily Mail: Kite Daily Mail: Wood Daily Mail: Heffer Daily Mail: Comment EUobserver Independent IHT Mirror Sun Le Monde Huffington Post CityAM WSJ EurActiv European Voice Times: Leader Times: Coates Times Times: Ashdown Times: Sketch Conservative Home Conservative Home 2 Guardian: Toynbee Sun Economist: BagehotIndependent: Richards

Banks and Eurozone leaders remain split over writedown of Greek debt;
FAZ: Merkel unlikely to get coalition majority in vote on leveraging the EFSF
Eurozone leaders and banks remain split over the level of write downs which Greek bondholders should take. European officials are pushing for a 60% reduction in the ‘face value’ of Greek bonds, while the International Institute of Finance (IIF), representing the bondholders, is currently only willing to accept a 40% ‘net present value’ write down (making the real write down even lower) and is still demanding €55bn in collateral from the eurozone, a €20bn increase on the amount agreed under the 21 July deal.

There is still not definite consensus on how to beef up the eurozone’s bailout fund, the EFSF. Eurozone countries are discussing two methods of boosting the EFSF; through a special-purpose fund to buy troubled bonds, and through another fund that would guarantee bondholder losses. Separately, the Telegraph reports that the ECB ramped up purchases of government bonds in recent days, buying €4.49bn last week, double the previous week's €2.24bn.

Meanwhile, following a U-turn by Angela Merkel’s CDU party, the German Bundestag will vote on the leveraging of the EFSF at a full plenary session, and not as previously agreed only by the Parliament’s Budgetary Committee behind closed doors. FAZ reports that the governing coalition is unlikely to secure a majority on its own, meaning it would have to rely on the opposition to support its position. Deputy CDU/CSU fraction leader Wolfgang Bosbach has told DPA he intends to vote no tomorrow, saying“the objections of the critics are not eliminated, but rather they have been confirmed.”

Open Europe’s Director Mats Persson is quoted in the Independent in an article looking at the personal relationships between European leaders. Of the relations between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mats said, “It's never been a fantastic relationship, but they are stuck with each other”. Open Europe’s estimate of the cost of EU regulation was cited by Channel 4 News, and Open Europe was also quoted by the Mail.
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Berlusconi hints at resignation as Lega Nord refuses to back pensions reform;
Le Monde: Eurozone officials are considering the possibility of EFSF buying Italian bonds
At yesterday’s emergency cabinet meeting, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi failed to convince Umberto Bossi, leader of junior coalition party Lega Nord, to back a plan to raise the retirement age to 67, as has been demanded by France and Germany. According toLa Repubblica, Berlusconi told his cabinet that he was “ready” to resign if an agreement was not reached, arguing, “I’m asking you for a full mandate, otherwise there’s no point in me going to Brussels [on Wednesday].” According to Il Messaggero, Berlusconi also told Italian President Giorgio Napolitano earlier in the day, “I don’t know if Lega Nord will back this pensions reform. If I don’t manage [to convince them], then I could do the same as Zapatero in Spain.” Meanwhile, Le Monde reports that eurozone officials are considering the possibility to activate the eurozone’s bailout fund, the EFSF, to start buying Italian debt on the secondary market, although the European Commission has denied the allegations.
Repubblica Repubblica 2 La Stampa 2 Corriere della Sera Il Sole 24 Ore La Stampa Il Messaggero EUobserver IHT Le Monde Le FigaroLes Echos La Tribune Il Sole 24 Ore: Bastasin Il Sole 24 Ore: Cerretelli FT CityAM WSJ EurActiv Irish Independent FT: Dinmore FAZSuddeutsche

IDG reports that the deputy head of the European Data Protection Supervisor’s office Giovanni Buttarelli has strongly condemned the EU Commission’s plans to create a central database of copyright criminals.
PCWorld

The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve,is to appear before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to argue that English and Welsh courts should have primary responsibility in interpreting the European Convention on Human Rights, for example on issues of social policy such as prisoners’ voting rights.
Telegraph Guardian Times

CityAM reports that eleven of the City’s main financial groups, including the British Bankers’ Association and Investment Management Association, have signed a letter to the Treasury, urging George Osborne to fight any form of a proposed Financial Transaction Tax by the European Commission.
CityAM

The FT reports that under new proposed transparency rules due to be unveiled by Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier, it will be mandatory for European companies to provide a breakdown, on a project by project basis, of how much they pay governments in individual oil, gas, mining and logging projects, dashing industry hopes for a less stringent regime.
FT

According to the EU’s draft on energy policy by 2050 EU, which Energy Commissioner, Günther Oettinger, wants to propose by the end of the year,energy consumers’ expenditure is estimated to double by 2030, FAZ reports.
FAZ

Writing in FAZ, economic historian Gérard Bökenkamp refutes Jean-Claude Trichet’s claims that the ECB has done a better job in terms of fighting inflation than the Bundesbank.
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The European Court of Auditors has stated that the EU's campaign for milk at school, costing €90m per year, is not very effective and has little impact.
Standaard

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