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Daily Press Summary FAZ: SPD and Hollande’s positions on ‘fiscal treaty’ are “incompatible” SPD Chiarman Sigmar Gabriel has attempted to play down the differences between his party and French Socialist Presidential candidate Francois Hollande over the ratification of the ‘fiscal treaty’, claiming that Hollande’s call for ‘renegotiation’ and his calls for ‘supplementation’ were complementary. A leader in FAZargues that “In essence few of Hollande’s propositions agree with those of the SPD; they are fundamentally opposed to German policy. In the event of [Hollande’s] electoral victory, there would be strife in the Franco-German house, regardless of who is Chancellor in Berlin”. Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said that “We are going to press ahead with a date that suits the Irish people for a referendum. We’re not going to have to ask the Irish people twice. I don’t see how the French can bring in a new treaty on their own”. Irish Times Irish Times 2 Greek Communist Party organises rally in Athens as parliament votes on terms of second bailout Kathimerini reports that the Greek Communist Party has organised a rally in Athens this evening, as the Greek parliament convenes to vote on the terms of the €130bn second Greek bailout. Protest rallies are also being organised in other Greek cities. An article in FT Deutschland notes that, as a result of the Greek crisis, it has become more difficult for German municipalities to get easy access to credit. Die Welt reports that the German government has put forward draft legislation to increase the participation of the Bundestag in decisions concerning the eurozone bailout funds, however, it was not possible to secure cross-party consensus on the issue after the opposition complained that the “exceptional circumstances”, under which decisions could still be delegated to a limited number of MPs were too vaguely defined. FT WSJ Le Monde FT 2 Il Sole 24 Ore Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 Expansión Expansión 2 Les Echos: Papandreou IHT Le Figaro Les Echos Telegraph Telegraph: Evans-Pritchard WSJ: Brady Irish Times FTDWelt Dutch magazine Elsevier reports that according to the Dutch Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, the Netherlands’ public deficit in 2013 will be even higher than previously estimated – 4.6% and not 4.5% of GDP – thereby challenging EU demands to impose austerity. Elsevier The BBC reports that a British man has been served with a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) by Portugal for a crime he was cleared of in 1995 by a Portuguese court. The BBC notes that under the EAW scheme, domestic courts have few powers to test the evidence underpinning a request and are not obliged to consider the merits of the case. Open Europe Research: Justice and Home Affairs BBC BBC: Today Kent News Belfast Telegraph French and Danish ministers will not attend exclusive German dinner to discuss ‘future of Europe’ EUobserver reports that German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has irked some of his EU colleagues by inviting only a select few to a dinner tonight to discuss the 'future of Europe' after the economic crisis. Invited to attend were foreign ministers from the EU’s five other founding members – France, Italy and the three Benelux states – as well as Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Austria and Spain. Although theIrish Times reports that the Danish minister will not attend, and neither will Alain Juppé of France. EUobserver Irish Times Il Sole 24 Ore Mark Hoban, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, has said that the UK’s new model for financial supervision under the new Financial Reporting Committee should be followed in the EU, arguing that: "We also believe macro prudential supervision needs to be mirrored in Europe. It's vital all national regulators have both macro prudential and resolution tools to address emerging risks.” Telegraph Open Europe research Reuters reports that the European Commission launched a consultation yesterday with a view to writing new regulations to control ‘shadow banking’. The WSJ notes that the Commission is likely to target money-market funds and investment funds among others. Reuters WSJ EUobserver Le Figaro Welt Handelsblatt ARD EC Press Release EUobserver reports that German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has irked some of his EU colleagues by inviting only a select few to a dinner tonight to discuss the 'future of Europe'. EUobserver Irish Times Il Sole 24 Ore The EU has threatened trade sanctions against Iceland and the Faroe Islands over what Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, has described as the "illegal" plunder of mackerel stocks in the North Atlantic. RTE CNBC reports that India is poised to ask its airlines not to take part in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a senior official has said. CNBC Deutsche Börse has announced it will challenge the European Commission at the European Court of Justice over its refusal to let its merger with the NYSE go ahead, reports Handelsblatt. Handelsblatt The Telegraph reports that Asma al-Assad, the British-born wife of the Syrian president, will be added to the EU’s list of 114 Syrians subject to asset freezes following leaked emails revealing her online shopping sprees. Telegraph