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New on the Open Europe Blog Poles go cold on the euro Open Europe Blog More delays in Greece may not be an option... Open Europe Blog Are Greece's public creditors liaising with the right people? Open Europe Blog
Daily Press Summary New Open Europe briefing: There are ten unanswered questions surrounding the second Greek bailout, many of which won’t be answered in time Open Europe has today published a new briefing outlining ten questions that still need to be resolved in the coming weeks in order for Greece to avoid disorderly default on March 20. The briefing argues that, realistically, only a few of these issues are likely to be fully resolved before the deadline meaning that Greece’s future in the euro will come down to one question: whether Germany and other Triple-A countries will deem this to be enough political cover to approve the second Greek bailout package. The briefing argues that recent analyses of Greece’s woes have underplayed the importance of the problems posed by the large amount of funding which needs to be released to ensure the voluntary Greek restructuring can work – almost €94bn – as well as the massive time constraints presented by issues such as getting parliamentary approval for the bailout deal in Germany and Finland. The briefing also questions whether Greek debt will ever be sustainable and if, given the recent riots, Greece has come close to the social and political level of austerity which it can credibly enforce. Open Europe research Eurozone demands written pledge on austerity from smaller Greek parties; Greek President: “Who is Mr Schäuble to insult Greece?” Following their conference call yesterday, eurozone finance ministers have decided to delay a final decision on the second Greek bailout to their next meeting on Monday. Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters that, although Greece has now met all the conditions attached to the approval of the second bailout, “further technical work” is still required. However, Greek daily Kathimerini reports that the delay is due to the fact that Germany, Finland and the Netherlands are now calling for Greece’s smaller parties to offer pledges that, regardless of the outcome of the next general elections, they will implement all the austerity measures adopted by the Greek parliament on Sunday – similar to the written commitments provided by former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and Antonis Samaras, the leader of centre-right New Democracy party. The request from the three countries follows reports that, according to the latest opinion polls, Papandreou and Samaras’ parties would not be able to secure an absolute majority in the Greek parliament on their own if elections were to be held now. In an interview with German radio SWR2 ahead of the conference call, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble noted, “When you look at the internal political discussions in Greece and the opinion polls, then you have to ask who will really guarantee after the elections...that Greece will stand by what we are now agreeing with Greece,” adding that eurozone countries could not continue to throw money into “a bottomless pit”. Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager told NPR that his patience had “run out”, rejecting the idea of lending Greece more than €130bn. Responding to Schäuble’s remarks, Greek President Karolos Papoulias said, “We are all obliged to work hard to get through this crisis, but we cannot accept insults from Mr Schäuble. Who is Mr Schäuble to insult Greece? Who are these Dutchmen, who are these Finns?” Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos is widely quoted as saying ahead of the conference call, “There are many in the eurozone who don’t want us anymore…We are constantly being given new terms and conditions.” Meanwhile, Die Welt reports that eurozone governments are also considering a ‘plan B’ to maintain pressure on Greece after the elections. The plan would involve a bridge loan allowing Greece to avoid default when it redeems €14.5bn of debt on 20 March, while delaying the decision on the rest of the second Greek bailout. The paper also notes that the Franco-German proposal for a special account to handle Greek government revenue will be on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of eurozone finance ministers. Raoul Ruparel is quoted in the Irish edition of the Mail discussing the Greek exit from the eurozone. Separately, figures released by the European Commission’s statistics body Eurostat yesterday show that eurozone’s GDP contracted by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011 from previous quarter, reports Le Monde. EUobserver Kathimerini EUobserver 2 Le Figaro Jornal de Negocios El País City AM 3 FT Kathimerini City AM City AM 2 Repubblica Il Sole 24 Ore Welt FAZ Süddeutsche Irish Daily Mail WSJ WSJ WSJ WSJ WSJ: Nixon Welt Bild FAZ Welt Bild BBC Guardian Mail Times Irish Times European Voice Irish IndependentExpress Telegraph Conservative Home Times Monde Irish Times Telegraph Guardian Le Monde NPRBusiness Week BBC: Hewitt Telegraph: Oborne Independent: Whittam Smith Sarkozy pledges to give power back to the French people Nicolas Sarkozy formally launched his Presidential re-election bid yesterday saying, “My central commitment, if the French have faith in me to preside over them again, is to give power back to the French people through referenda.” Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, mocked Sarkozy’s announcement saying, “The truth is the president has been a candidate for the last five years. He was barely in office before he started campaign for re-election, and he was barely in office before he was on his way out”. WSJ BBC Irish Independent Telegraph Times Times: Leader Mail IHT Liberation Liberation 2 Les Echos La Tribune FT FT: Davies Independent Le Figaro Le Figaro 2 Le Figaro: Sarlat & Hersent Liberation Les Echos European Voice reports that finance ministers from all 27 EU member states will meet in Brussels next Tuesday to discuss economic governance legislation put forward by the Commission, which would give it greater powers in terms of assessing and correcting financial instability. There will also be a Franco-German presentation on plans for a common consolidated corporate-tax base. European Voice Monti says giving MEPs more power will increase EU’s legitimacy Speaking to MEPs in Strasbourg yesterday Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti called for an increase in the power of the European Parliament, as a way to give the EU more democratic legitimacy. Mr. Monti's, who came to power in November after Silvio Berlusconi resigned amid pressure over his economic reform plans, which were judged too weak by EU partners, said, "I think it's deeply possible to reconcile democracy with greater integration.” WSJ EUobserver La Stampa European Voice European Voice 2 Finland's Central Bank governor and ECB Governing Council member Erkki Liikanen warns in FTDthat “we must be careful that today's ample provision of liquidity does not lead to problems in the future”, adding that with regards to the planned ECB’s LTRO provision “we must think about how we could discontinue them…we must get ready to shift back to normality, as soon as circumstances allow”. FTD Open Europe Research The European Banking Authority is demanding a harmonised regulatory framework for accounting by financial institutions. The financial supervisors of the UK and Sweden are however opposing this so-called "single rulebook”, reports Handelsblatt. Handelsblatt Reding: ECJ should advise on ACTA Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission and EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, has welcomed the intention of several MEPs to ask the European Court of Justice for a legal opinion on the EU-US ACTA Treaty, saying “Copyright protection can never be a justification for eliminating freedom of expression or freedom of information. That is why for me, blocking the Internet is never an option”. An editorial in the WSJ argues that, although the EU-US negotiations surrounding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) could have been more transparent, greater copyright protection is needed or “uncertainty about IP owners' rights will continue to detract from innovation and commercial activity as long as the matter remains fundamentally unaddressed in law. WSJ: Editorial EC Press Release European Voice Commission argues for EU-wide co-ordination of pension reform In an interview with Die Welt, EU Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor warned against the risk of EU member states’ pension systems being overburdened, and argued, “Each member state needs to take account of its own circumstances. But there are clearly overarching principles for the whole EU, including linking the retirement age to life expectancy…restricting access to early retirement systems and to harmonising the retirement age between women and men.” Welt ARD Iran has ceased oil deliveries to France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Netherlands and Spain, in retaliation against EU sanctions on its nuclear programme. IHT Monde Irish Independent BBC RTL reports that according to insiders, the Netherlands is heading for a confrontation with the rest of the EU following its demands for a €2bn rebate on the Dutch contribution to the 2014-2020 EU budget and its demand to tighten EU immigration rules. RTL The Irish Times reports that China’s central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan will continue to buy euro area debt and keep holding euros but wants more clarity on how the eurozone will strengthen its finances before it makes any commitments. His comments led to a rise in stock markets. Irish Times Express The EU and the US yesterday agreed to mutually recognise their certificates for organic products, in a move that will facilitate transatlantic sales in a market worth roughly $50 billion, the Commission has said. WSJ