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New on the Open Europe Blog Who said EU federalists don't get headlines in UK media (but 'associate membership' for Britain is hardly a revolutionary thought) Open Europe Blog Open Europe in 2012: a short summary of our achievements and a review of our eurozone predictions Open Europe Blog The OECD: Bearer of bad news at Christmas? Open Europe Blog
Daily Press Summary Irish Deputy Prime Minister: Irish taxpayers alone cannot bear weight of supporting European banks In an op-ed published in nine different European newspapers, including FAZ in Germany, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore has called for a deal on legacy banking debt which would see the easing of the burden on Irish taxpayers following the €64bn bailout of the country’s banking system. Gilmore warned that "The taxpayers of individual member states cannot be left to bear the weight of the European financial system alone. Where a financial institution poses a risk to Europe as a whole, Europe as a whole must deal with the fallout that threatens everyone”. Irish Independent Portuguese President refers 2013 austerity budget to Constitutional Court The Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva has said that he will ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the legality of proposed tax rises and pay cuts in his country’s controversial 2013 budget. The move could put at risk a €78bn EU-IMF bailout deal. Last year the court ruled against a pay cut for civil servants which forced the government to seek alternative sources of revenue. Euractiv FT WSJ Telegraph EUobserver Gideon Rachman: Britons would vote to stay in the EU; Dan Hannan MEP: New deal only possible if exit is an optionWriting in the FT, Gideon Rachman argues that “A majority of British voters tell pollsters they would like to leave the EU. But the actual vote, after a referendum campaign, would probably be very different… the British public would almost certainly opt for the status quo – staying inside the EU.” In the Telegraph, Dan Hannan MEP argued that “it is possible to envisage a solution, whereby the euro countries form a federal union, while Britain, the EFTA states and possibly some other existing EU members form a broader free trade nexus around it.” He adds, “There is absolutely no chance of getting an acceptable deal unless it is clearly understood by all sides that the alternative is withdrawal.” Meanwhile, writing in the Times, David Charter argues that “if the EU has matured enough to strike market-opening deals with Washington and Tokyo, does Britain really need to leave?” FT: Rachman Telegraph: Hannan Times: Charter The Telegraph reports that the Institute of Directors and British Chambers of Commerce have called on the Government to actively review cases of so called ‘gold-plating’ in social and employment law where the UK has added extra rules onto EU legislation. Open Europe research: EU Social & Employment law Telegraph Dimitris Christofias, the Cypriot President, has said that he will refuse requests from international creditors to privatise state owned assets as part of the country’s bailout deal, meaning its finalisation may have to be postponed until after the February 17 elections, reports the WSJ.WSJ A Finnish opinion poll shows that the support for the (True) Finns Party, which opposes eurozone bailouts, increased by two percentage points to 18%.YLE An EU/IMF/ECB Troika report requests the Greek government to collect outstanding taxes directly from the bank accounts of Greek citizens if necessary, reports Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten.DWN Turkey’s Europe Minister Egemen Bagis has said the European Commission’s assessment of his country’s EU membership bid, published in October, was “one-sided and baseless”.BBC Rzeczpospolita reports that Ukrainian parliamentary parties are preparing a joint statement in which they express their support for the country’s accession to the EU.Rzeczpospolita Irish Education Minister Ruairí Quinn yesterday said that, during the Irish presidency of the EU, he would try to make “significant progress” on easing the red tape involved in having professional qualifications recognised between EU member states, reports the Irish Times. Irish Times The Times reports that year on year the number of national insurance registrations for Spaniards across Britain has increased by 25%. Times