Britannia Radio

Follow us on:	Home   About Us   €uro-Zone   Research   Media Centre   Make a Donation
New on the Open Europe Blog Ave Angela, morituri te salutant Open Europe Blog Economic realities push Europe closer to a Greek decision Open Europe Blog Beyond posturing, Germany knows that the UK is needed in the EU Open Europe Blog
Daily Press Summary Greece manages a successful short term debt sale to avoid default this week Greece yesterday managed to sell over €4bn in short term debt, allaying fears it would not be able to pay off debt maturing this week. Kathimerini reports that the Greek government is optimistic that the next €31.5bn tranche of bailout funds will be released soon, possibly in conjunction with a further two tranches worth a total of €12.5bn. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble tentatively supported this view, saying a payment of all three tranches could come before the end of the year, despite the IMF and eurozone still being at odds over how the extension to the Greek bailout will be funded. Meanwhile, the Greek Finance Ministry yesterday admitted that it does not know the identity of 500,000 people who did not pay the special property tax levied through electricity bills last year. FT CityAM WSJ WSJ 2 WSJ Brussels Beat Kathimerini FT Editorial FT 2 Kathimerini 2 FT: MallabyKathimerini 3 Süddeutsche Süddeutsche 2 Bild FTD FTD 2 DWN DWN 2 Cameron’s EU speech delayed for fear of upsetting other leaders ahead of budget summit The Sun reports that David Cameron has postponed his speech on Europe until after next week’s EU budget summit after advice from the Foreign Office that it could upset other EU leaders ahead of the talks. Downing Street sources last night admitted the PM’s EU speech, which is expected to address the issue of an EU referendum, may slip to January next year – but no later. Meanwhile, following discussions with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, David Cameron's official spokesman said the two men had seen “eye-to-eye” on the need for restraint in EU spending over 2014-20. But in Rome, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti was less receptive, saying that, although Italy will seek to reduce its net contribution, it is “less convinced of the need for substantial cuts.” Open Europe’s Twitter coverage of the press conference featured on the Guardian’s live blog. Sun Sole 24 Ore Repubblica Euactiv Reuters FT Reuters Italia Guardian: Live blog Times Mail Open Europe’s daily press summary and blog reporting on Portugal’s economic situation and the reactions to Angela Merkel’s visit to Lisbon featured on the FT’s Alphaville blog. Open Europe blog FT blogs: Alphaville EU finance ministers made little progress in negotiations over the single eurozone banking supervisor at their meeting yesterday – making an agreement by 1 January 2013 increasingly unlikely. EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier told the press that changes to the EU Treaties are not on the table at the moment, but could be possible in the future. Open Europe research EUobserver Irish Independent ECOFIN conclusions FT WSJ EurActiv Reuters Dow Jones FTD Les Echos Times  Talks between the European Parliament and national ministers on the 2013 annual EU budget collapsed yesterday. MEPs walked out over several member states’ refusal to agree to their demand for a €9bn supplement to the 2012 budget. The Commission will now have to draft a new 2013 budget. FT EUobserver ECOFIN press release Euractiv Süddeutsche FAZ European Voice Les Echos Le Figaro General strikes are taking place in Spain and Portugal today, with anti-austerity protests also under way in Greece and Italy. Open Europe’s Vincenzo Scarpetta appeared on Trans World Radio discussing the strikes and the social consequences of EU-mandated austerity in struggling eurozone countries. Open Europe research El País El Mundo Cinco Días Jornal de Negócios Euractiv BBC BBC: Hewitt Sole 24 Ore Repubblica Le Monde Liberation WSJ BBC Reuters Süddeutsche Bild FAZ Welt In its annual report, the German Federal Court of Auditors calls for stronger austerity measures in order to reduce the German budget deficit more quickly, reports Deutsche Wirtschaftsnachrichten. The report notes that stricter tax inspections and better controls of financial resources could lead to savings of up to €1.5bn. DWN