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New on the Open Europe Blog ¡Cuidado, Señor Rajoy! The Catalans mean business and the eurozone should take note Open Europe Blog Too soon to jump to conclusions: The Dutch debate on Europe has only started Open Europe Blog Wednesday's Karlsruhe ruling: Good news for Germany and Europe? Open Europe Blog
Daily Press Summary Het Financieele Dagblad: ECB and IMF in talks over €300bn bailout for SpainDutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad reports that the ECB and the IMF are in talks over a potential bailout package of up to €300bn for Spain, citing a source familiar with the matter. According to the paper, the IMF would lay down the conditions attached to the package, which would be spread over three years. Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told Bloomberg, “I’m not in the camp that says [to Spain] ‘take the money’.” Separately, Spanish Treasury Minister Cristóbal Montoro yesterday announced that the deficit of Spanish regions stood, on average, at 0.9% of GDP at the end of June, meaning that they look “in line to meet the target of 1.5% of GDP for 2012.” El País reports that, according to sources from the regional government, Andalusia is to ask the Spanish government for a bailout of at least €2.4bn. Het Financieele Dagblad Reuters Bloomberg: Schäuble El País Reuters El Mundo Expansión El EconomistaEl País 2 El País 3 El Economista 2 Expansión IMF official: Greece will require more fundingThanos Catsambas, an IMF alternate executive director, told the WSJ in an interview, “Greece will require additional financing, which may either take the form of Official Sector Involvement [governments and the ECB taking losses on their loans to Greece] or of additional loans, hopefully on more-favourable terms,” prompting talk of a third Greek bailout. An IMF spokesman said yesterday that there are “good arguments” for extending the deadline for Greece to meet its budget targets, but that “such an extension would be dependent on the ability to offer financing.”  Eurozone finance ministers are holding an informal meeting in Cyprus today, with the prospect of an extension to Greece’s adjustment programme as the focus of discussions. Ahead of the meeting, Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees De Jager said, “There could be some more time [for Greece] – but not money, not extra money.” His view was echoed by his Austrian counterpart, Maria Fekter. WSJ CityAM Times Telegraph CityAM EUobserver Kathimerini Independent Kathimerini 2 Economist: Leader Economist Economist: Charlemagne Economist 2 Le Figaro: Catala WSJ: Fidler WSJ: Engle Lidington: Barroso’s speech “no war declaration on the British position”The FT quotes Europe Minister David Lidington, as saying that, since not all countries would join European Commission President José Manuel Barroso’s vision for closer union, “It would be wrong to see it as a declaration of war on the British position.” Open Europe’s Director Mats Persson is quoted as saying that further tension could still arise in areas such as the next long-term EU budget, if other member states reject Britain’s call for a freeze, and over Britain’s potential withdrawal from 130 EU crime and policing laws in 2014. Open Europe blog FT Giorgio Squinzi, the head of Italian employers’ association Confindustria, yesterday suggested that Italy should consider requesting EFSF/ECB bond-buying before next year’s elections, arguing that lower borrowing costs would help Italy return to growth.Reuters Italia Schäuble: No need for the Bundestag to re-approve the ESMGerman President Joachim Gauck yesterday signed-off both the ESM and fiscal treaty following the go-ahead from the country’s Constitutional Court, although, as FAZ reports, it is still unclear how the government intends to comply with the additional conditionality imposed by the Court. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble is quoted saying that there is no need for a new Bundestag vote on the ESM.” Meanwhile, Die Welt reports that the SPD are pushing for clarification on how exactly the ruling will affect the ECB’s new bond buying programme. Open Europe Analysis Süddeutsche Welt FAZ FAZ:Jahn The FT reports that, due to German objections, the European Commission decided not to unveil a roadmap to a single eurozone deposit guarantee scheme along with its proposal for a single eurozone banking supervisor on Wednesday.City AM FT Coalition talks in the Netherlands have started. Dutch politician Henk Kamp – from the centre-right VVD party, the winner of the general elections – has been tasked with investigating the possible options for a coalition, and is due to report back on 20 September, De Volkskrant notes.CBC Volkskrant FT FT 2 Welt WSJ Telegraph Irish Times FT Editorial WSJ Review & Outlook Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten reports that if the ECB were to become the sole supervisory authority for all eurozone banks, it would have to take on thousands of extra officials, as currently it only has around 1,600 employees compared with almost 10,000 people working for national bank regulators in eurozone countries.FT FT 3 DWN Bild Süddeutsche: Gammelin In an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung, ECB President Mario Draghi defends the bank’s decision to purchase unlimited amounts of bonds from struggling eurozone countries, claiming that the confidence it generated was already resulting in fund managers bringing their capital back to Europe.Süddeutsche: Draghi Spiegel Welt FAZ Die Welt reports that total German public debt increased by 0.7% in 2011 to a total of €2.025 trillion, or €24,771 per citizen. The paper notes the “dramatic” situation of the 16 German states, whose share of the debt rose by 2.5% to €615.4bn.Welt According to the latest CSA/Les Echos barometer, confidence in French President François Hollande and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to “effectively tackle the main problems currently affecting the country” decreased by 6% and 11% respectively, compared to the previous survey.  Le Monde Les Echos Les Echos: Barometer