Britannia Radio

Follow us on:   Home   About Us   €uro-Zone   Research   Media Centre   Make a Donation  

New on the Open Europe Blog

Westerwelle's 'Future Of Europe' report - worth getting excited over?
Open Europe Blog

Germany and banking union: Building the Chinese Wall
Open Europe Blog

Merkel caught in the middle between the Bundesbank and the ECB
Open Europe Blog

Daily Press Summary

Open Europe will host three fringe events at the 2012 Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Brighton. For more details, please check our events page.Open Europe Events

El País: Spain plans to request bond-buying with unused money from its €100bn bank bailout;
Spanish Foreign Minister: Independent Catalonia risks being left out of the EU “eternally”El País reports that the Spanish government is planning to request that the unused money from its €100bn bank bailout package be used to buy Spanish debt on the primary market – a move which could in turn trigger ECB purchases on the secondary market. Meanwhile, in an auction this morning, Spain sold €4.8bn of three and ten-year bonds, with solid demand and lower interest rates than in the previous auction in August.

Separately, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is expected to reject Catalonia’s demands for greater tax autonomy. Several Spanish papers suggest that Catalan Governor Artur Mas is to call early elections if he fails to obtain concessions – with 25 November and 2 December indicated as possible dates. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo warned yesterday that Catalonia’s secession would be “illegal”, adding that the region would risk being left out of the EU “eternally”.
El País El Mundo El Mundo 2 El País 2 Expansión El Economista El País 3 Expansión 2 Il Sole 24 Ore La Vanguardia

Handelsblatt reports that a trialogue agreement between the EU Commission, Council Presidency and European Parliament foresees that new EU bank capital rules will include a provision for a binding target of at least 15% female representation on the boards of European banks, although it is still uncertain whether there will be a majority for this among EU finance ministers.Handelsblatt

Pawel Swidlicki: Poland and other new member states stand to gain from reforming EU regional spendingIn a feature interview with Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, Open Europe’s Pawel Swidlicki argues that EU regional spending needs to be re-focussed on the poorer member states where it can have the biggest impact. Pawel also argued that given the low level of confidence in the EU among the UK public at the same time as the eurozone was experiencing integrating integration, it is necessary for the UK to reform its wider terms of EU membership, but to work with countries like Poland Sweden and Germany to re-focus the EU on the single market and free trade.
Rzeczpospolita: Swidlicki Open Europe research: EU Regional Policy Open Europe research: EU Trade

EBA chairman: Single banking supervisor risks “polarisation” between euro and non-euro countries;
German MPs oppose single deposit guarantee schemeDuring a hearing with MEPs yesterday, Andrea Enria – the chairman of EU banking watchdog EBA – said plans for a single banking supervisor in the eurozone, “risk a polarisation...between the euro area, with single rules and supervisory practices, and the rest of the EU, which would operate with a still wide degree of national discretion in...applying the single rulebook.” Meanwhile, in an internal document seen by Reuters, German MPs from the ruling CDU and FDP parties have warned that they will only accept ECB supervision for cross-border and systemic banks. The document also states that “deposit guarantees will not be unified across Europe” and that “competence for monetary, fiscal and supervisory policy must not be assumed by the same decision-makers.”
Reuters Handelsblatt Reuters 2 City AM EUobserver ANSA

Greek coalition comes under pressure as divisions over budget cuts remain;
Bailed out states may be able to borrow with joint backing of eurozone to fund reform programmeThe Greek coalition government is facing severe internal strains for the first time as it struggles to agree on the next round of austerity measures. The government is currently up to €3bn short of the €11.5bn in cuts demanded by the EU/IMF/ECB troika with coalition leaders set to meet on Sunday in an attempt to finalise the deal.

Kathimerini reports that the EU’s next long-term budget will include a mechanism to allow bailed out states to borrow money with the backing of the entire eurozone as long as the money is used to fund structural economic reforms required under the bailout programme. Separately, Greece is set to sell its London consulate in Holland Park as part of the stepped up privatisation programme.
Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 CityAM DWN

The centre-right VVD and centre-left PvdA should form a Dutch Cabinet without including a third party, according Henk Kamp, who has been tasked with exploring the formation of a coalition along with former social democrat Finance Minister Wouter Bos.Volkskrant NRC FD Business Week

NRC Handelsblad reports that Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal has described the proposals contained in the final report of the ‘Future of Europe Group’ as a mere "exchange of ideas", writing in a letter to Dutch MPs that “It's evident that there were diverging opinions among the participants on the subjects discussed”.NRC Rosenthal Letter Open Europe blog

The New Statesman reports on wealthy UK landowners’ receipts from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, noting that although “The Conservative Party now rarely misses a chance to bash Brussels bureaucrats… one hears little from it about the inequity of the CAP.”New Statesman Open Europe research: CAP reform

EU Ministers will meet again on Monday to discuss the EU’s budget for 2014-20, althoughEuractiv quotes one diplomat as saying that “We should not imagine a consensus during the next 2-3 months”.
European Voice Euractiv Euractiv 2 Open Europe research: EU budget

Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe was interviewed by Slovenian TV discussing the EU’s institutional spending, arguing that "savings could be easily found, for example EU agencies’ spending, adding that “the salaries of EU officials should also be considered, just like in many member states”.No link

Following a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic suggested that Croatia is still keen to join the euro.CityAM

In a report published yesterday Moody’s, the credit rating agency, suggested the Irish mortgage crisis will peak next year with one in five mortgages being in default, leading to heavy write offs for many of these loans.Irish Independent

The FT reports that the renewed calls for the ECB to publish the minutes of its meetings received backing from Erkki Liikanen, the head of the Finnish Central Bank, while ECB President Mario Draghi said that the ECB was “permanently reflecting on this issue.” The Bundesbank also said it “would have no problem with the prompt publication of minutes”.FT FT: Leader

Addressing the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan argued that “We have been in the Customs Union for 17 years. Half of our exports are EU-oriented. However, while the goods move freely, our business people who own those goods are asked to obtain visas. This is a human rights violation; a crime against humanity” reportsHurriyet.
Hurriyet

At a cabinet meeting yesterday, the French government adopted the draft bill ratifying the fiscal treaty. The bill is due to be discussed and voted by the French parliament in early October.
FT Le Figaro La Tribune Le Monde: Bergern

The WSJ reports that the European Commission is proposing to freeze talks on new legislation covering the insurance sector until the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) finalises a new study on the impact of the proposed rules, expected in March 2013.
WSJ Reuters