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Daily Press Summary Conflicts arise over who will fill Greece’s funding gap if deficit targets are delayed; Greeks with “positive” view of Golden Dawn jumps by 10% The WSJ reports that a conflict is emerging over how Greece will fund a potential €30bn shortfall if its deficit targets are relaxed, with Greece unable to fill the gap itself but the eurozone and the IMF currently unwilling to lend it more funds. Options being considered include: delaying repayments on IMF loans due over the next two years, writing off interest payments due on debt held by the ECB or writing down some of the original eurozone bailout loans. Kathimerini reports that the Greek government and the EU/IMF/ECB troika are close to agreeing a deal on the next €11.5bn worth of austerity measures. Skai notes that, according to a new Public Issue poll, the number of Greeks with a positive view of the far right Golden Dawn party has jumped by 10% to 22%, since May, with most other parties posting small gains or losses. Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 WSJ Spiegel FTD EUobserver Spiegel DMN Handelsblatt Spiegel Kathimerini 3ZeroHedge Skai In a feature piece in Süddeutsche looking at British-German relations in the context of the EU, Open Europe Director Mats Persson is cited as warning that if Britain were pushed to the margins, it would be a loss for the whole EU, and that instead “a new deal [for the UK] is needed”. Guardian Guardian: Leader Economist: Charlemagne Cost of ECB’s new headquarters rises to over €1bn The ECB yesterday admitted that the cost of its new Frankfurt headquarters – currently under construction – will be around €1.2bn, some €350m more than originally planned. Open Europe’s blog post was cited by El Mundo’s Brussels correspondent Javier Gallego on his blog. Open Europe blog FT CityAM IHT EUobserver El Mundo blogs: Gallego Spanish government working on new reform plan with EU officials; Early elections more likely in Catalonia, after Rajoy rejects demands for greater tax autonomy The FT reports that the Spanish government is in talks with EU officials over the new structural reform plan Spain committed to present before the end of the month at last week’s meeting of eurozone finance ministers. According to the paper, the plan is intended to pave the way for Spain’s EFSF/ECB bond-buying request, and is due to be unveiled next Thursday. El País quotes EU sources confirming that unused money from Spain’s €100bn bank bailout package could be used to buy Spanish debt, although this would need eurozone finance ministers’ approval. In an interview with the WSJ, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Spanish banks need €40bn rather than the €100bn agreed with the Eurogroup. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will hold bilateral talks with his Italian counterpart Mario Monti in Rome today. Separately, Rajoy yesterday told Catalan Governor Artur Mas that there are “no margins” for negotiations over Catalonia’s demands for greater tax autonomy – making early elections in Catalonia more likely. In a radio interview this morning, Catalan government spokesman Francesc Homs suggested that Catalan independence could be achieved through a referendum. Telegraph Irish Times Irish Independent Times FT CityAM FT FT: Barber FTD Expansión 2 Cinco Días El País 3 IHT Economist El Mundo Cinco Días 2 El País El País 2 Reuters Expansión Cinco Días 3 El Economista WSJ: Lagarde In an interview with FAZ, EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs László Andor argues that “The imbalances in the eurozone are not only the result of wrong policies in the crisis countries… With it’s – according to some - mercantilist economic policy, [Germany] also contributed to the causes of the crisis.” FAZ: Andor Welt UKIP ready to consider electoral pact on EU referendum UKIP leader Nigel Farage today said he is ready to consider an electoral deal with the Conservatives if it included an in-out referendum on British membership of the EU. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I have said we are a different party, with a different manifesto, but if we were offered a deal that made it easier to push open a door marked “independence for the UK', of course we would consider it.” BBC R4 Today: Farage Express Open Europe’s Mats Persson is quoted in Swedish magazine Fokus, saying that there’s an integration logic to the euro that “is hard to stop once the project is underway.” Fokus Der Spiegel reports that in response to the German Constitutional Court ruling on the ESM, eurozone member states appear to have reached an agreement on an "interpretive declaration" which will be added to the ESM Treaty incorporating the rulings of the Court. Spiegel El País The Italian government yesterday said that it now expects Italy’s GDP to shrink by 2.4% this year – twice as much as the previous projection made in April – and by 0.2% next year. FT CityAM WSJ Süddeutsche Times Il Sole 24 Ore La Stampa 2 Repubblica La Stampa Bloomberg: Polillo Writing on Conservative Home, Charlotte Leslie MP argues that “The Coalition must defend the NHS from EU directives as doggedly as it passed its health reforms.” Conservative Home: Leslie Michael Fallon, the Business Minister, has said the Government’s red tape drive, which he insisted is now building “momentum”, can be undermined by the “constant pressure” from European regulations – which fall outside the Government’s so-called “one-in, one-out system”. Telegraph Open Europe research Baroness Ashton has failed to fully attend two thirds of European Commission meetings over the past year, according to research by the Telegraph. Telegraph In Svenska Dagbladet, Sara Skyttedal, vice-president of the Youth wing of the European People’s Party – the pan-EU party Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso belongs to – argues that Barroso “makes it difficult to be pro-EU”. Skyttedal says Barroso’s vision of Europe as a “federation” is “frightening”. SvD: Skyttedal EUobserver reports that EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding has told MEPs that “The extent of the illicit activities that lead to losses in the EU budget is really shocking […] we assume that the real figure is considerably higher,” than the €600 million reported by member states in 2010. EUobserver The FT reports that European Commission attempts to weaken bank capital rules supported by France and the ECB, have angered the UK which sees the weaker proposal as unwarranted. FT