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New on the Open Europe Blog Beyond posturing, Germany knows that the UK is needed in the EU Open Europe Blog Déjà vu anyone? EU auditors refuse to sign off EU spending for 18th year running Open Europe Blog Some more (draft) bad news for the Spanish government Open Europe Blog
Daily Press Summary Cameron set for “robust” EU budget talks with Merkel; Mats Persson: Beyond posturing, Germany knows that the UK is needed in the EUAhead of his meeting with Angela Merkel this evening, David Cameron has described the European Commission’s budget demands as “completely ludicrous” and has promised to hold “robust” talks with the German Chancellor. He also reiterated that, “If the eurozone wants to have its own budget, it should have its own budget.” Referring to a letter signed in 2010 by EU leaders, including Mrs Merkel, backing a real-terms freeze, in 2010, the Prime Minister said, “I believe everyone who signed that letter should stick to that letter.”  In the Telegraph, Open Europe Director Mats Persson writes, “Certain people in Merkel’s office have taken to slipping this into chats with journalists” that Berlin is “losing patience” with the UK. But, he goes on to say, “Beyond this posturing, however, Berlin knows that an EU without the UK would be a much less pleasant place. The single market would shrink by 15%, with €75bn euros in annual German exports facing extra costs…I am optimistic that a new Anglo-German deal is still there to be struck – one that would not just keep Britain in Europe, but create a Europe that Britain could live with.” Telegraph: Persson Times: Posener FT: Parker & Peel FT: Errera FT: Parker City AM WSJ Mail FAZ FAZ 2Euractiv BBC Mail Reuters Telegraph Deutsche Welle WSJ blog Number 10: 2010 EU budget letter  Ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron today, Open Europe has released a new video featuring Prof. Dr. Michael Wohlgemuth and Nora Hesse from our newly-established partner organisation Open Europe Berlin, discussing the question ‘Where next for Anglo-German relations?’Open Europe video: Wohlgemuth & Hesse Open Europe Berlin gGmbH  Open Europe press release Leading Swedish business weekly Veckans Affärer runs a five page interview with Open Europe’s Director Mats Persson about the future of the EU and the euro. Mats is quoted as saying, “People in Brussels speak of taking a quantum leap towards more integration. I think this is very dangerous. There are several countries that aren’t ready for this yet.”No link Commons “rebellion” over EU banking union easily defeated  Labour Treasury spokesperson: Government should explore a new “Luxembourg compromise” – an effective veto - over EU financial services  Yesterday, a motion calling on the UK government to veto proposals for an EU banking union was voted down in the House of Commons, with 33 MPs supporting the amendment versus 273 MPs who supported the government. The Financial Secretary to the Treasury Greg Clark said he would look at potential solutions to avoid “Eurozone caucusing”, raising Open Europe’s suggestion of a new “requirement for a dual majority” where both eurozone and non-euro states have to assent to measures within the European Banking Authority.  Labour’s Treasury spokesman Chris Leslie MP argued that the government should explore resurrecting the “Luxembourg compromise” in relation to financial services – an effective veto if vital national interests are considered at stake. Andrea Leadsom MP, vice chair of the APPG for EU reform, also called for a UK “emergency brake” over EU financial measures.  Open Europe research "double majority voting in the EBA" Open Europe research "Continental Shift" Open Europe blog Hansard Express  European Commission: France based its 2013 budget on overoptimistic growth forecasts; French government unveils new €20bn ‘competitiveness pact’Le Monde reports that, according to the European Commission’s autumn economic forecasts due to be published this afternoon, the French economy will grow by 0.4% of GDP – half the 0.8% the French government based its 2013 budget on. The Commission will also warn that France will not be able to bring its deficit down to 3% of GDP by the end of 2013. Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault yesterday unveiled a new ‘competitiveness pact’ involving €20bn worth of tax breaks for French businesses over the next three years. Part of the money will be recovered via new VAT increases.  Le Monde Le Monde 2 Le Figaro IHT Times La Tribune La Tribune 2 Sole 24 Ore Le Figaro: Moscovici FTCity AM WSJ FTD Protests in Athens set to escalate ahead of crucial vote on economic reformTens of thousands of people protested outside the Greek parliament yesterday, with the number expected to increase today ahead of the crucial vote on the latest round of reforms to the struggling economy. Although the coalition government is expected to win the crucial votes this week, the splits which emerged may become more permanent as the leading New Democracy party is considering a government reshuffle to side-line the increasingly rebellious Democratic Left. Meanwhile, the eurozone has given itself three weeks to agree on a reworking of the Greek bailout, with the package likely to include an interest rate cut on the current loans and some involvement from the ECB, according to theFT. FT FT 2 FT 3 CityAM FAZ Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 Kathimerini 3 Kathimerini 4 EUobserver IHT BBC Sole 24 Ore Repubblica Le Monde Irish Times In an interview with Spanish radio station COPE, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suggested that he would not make a request for ESM/ECB bond-buying unless he knew how much Spain’s borrowing costs would go down as a result.El País Expansión Sole 24 Ore Expansión FT City AM WSJ Cinco Días In an interview with Handelsblatt, Austrian Central Bank Governor Ewald Nowotny accepted that the voting weights on the ECB’s Governing Council were “problematic” for countries such as Germany and that “there should be a correlation between liability for risk and voting weight.”Handelsblatt Rheinische Post reports that the German Council of Economic Experts has stressed that the ECB’s new bond buying programme, the OMT, must remain a temporary emergency measure otherwise it will blur the lines between monetary and fiscal policy.Rheinische Post