Daily Press Summary
ComRes poll: Half of voters think EU referendum will be economically harmful to UK; 30% of respondents more likely to vote Conservative after referendum pledgeA ComRes survey for the Independent has found that David Cameron’s pledge of an EU referendum if re-elected in 2015 has made 30% of respondents more likely to vote Conservative, with 27% saying they would be more likely to vote Labour if Ed Miliband were to match Cameron’s pledge. However, 49% of respondents said they believed it would be economically damaging due to the uncertainty it will create for companies and investors. Independent Guardian Times: RifkindUK will seek to limit EU migrants’ access to health services;Duncan Smith challenged over claim that EU rules allow migrants to claim benefits “on day one”The Mail reports that Immigration Minister Mark Harper has said that EU migrants who travel to Britain without a job are to be told they must have private medical insurance rather than access the NHS. Meanwhile, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith told Parliament that the Government will resist EU plans to increase EU migrants’ access to the UK’s welfare system, saying, “Habitual residence tests and other rules require that those who come into this country are involved in some form of work… European legislation is before us at the moment that tries to allow those coming in to claim benefits on day one.” A European Commission spokesman rejected Duncan Smith’s remarks as “total tosh”, noting that, even if the UK were to lose the on-going legal dispute on its ‘right to reside’ test at the ECJ, EU legislation would still not require the Government to grant benefits to EU migrant workers from their first day in the UK. Open Europe research Sun Independent: Lawson Mail HansardDanish Europe Minister Nikolai Wammen said that “Denmark won’t jump on the British ferry” on Europe, and the EU spokesperson for Danish opposition Venstre party, Lykke Friis, said, “We rather take the Fehnmarn-tunnel [connecting Denmark and Germany] to Europe.”Die PresseFrench Labour Minister Michel Sapin sparked controversy after saying during a radio interview that France is a “totally bankrupt state”. His office explained later on that Sapin was ironically citing an expression used by the then French Prime Minister François Fillon in 2007 – and does not consider France as a “bankrupt state”.Les Echos Le Figaro DWN TelegraphEuropean Commission President José Manuel Barroso compared CDU MEP Ingeborg Gräßle’s attitude to that of the Taliban after she demanded detailed information on the resignation of former EU Health Commissioner John Dalli.BildThe BBC reports that the UK is expected to agree to send troops to train forces in Mali, as part of a joint EU mission. A Downing Street source is quoted as saying that the UK is “ready to provide further assistance where we can and depending on what French requests may be.” BBC GuardianIceland won its case at the court of the European Free Trade Association meaning it will not be forced to repay the British and Dutch governments for covering deposits in failed lender Icesave.FT City AM Independent Guardian EUobserverGerman Environment Minister Peter Altmaier yesterday presented proposals for an “emergency freeze” in green energy subsidies, paid for by consumers through their household energy bills, following steep increases in electricity prices.FT Spiegel Handelsblatt FAZ Welt Welt 2 BildWriting in the FT, German economists Hans-Werner Sinn and Harold Hau argue that the eurozone banking union plans are flawed, saying, “A centralised supervision and resolution authority is necessary to address the European banking crisis. But that authority does not need money to carry out its functions. Instead bank resolution should be subject to binding rules for shareholder wipe-out and creditor bail-ins.”FT: Sinn & HauThe ECB Governing Council reiterated its opposition to a renegotiation of the Irish promissory notes which were used to help bail out Irish banks. FT Irish IndependentDie Welt’s chief economic policy correspondent Dorothea Siems argues that while ECB President Mario Draghi is often hailed as the saviour of the euro, the crucial role of German Chancellor Angela Merkel for pushing debtor countries to implement structural reforms and of Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann for advocating strict rules on monetary policy are often neglected. Welt: SiemsGreek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told the BBC, “I feel sure, 100% certain that [2013] will be the last year of Greece’s recession...The probability of Greece leaving the euro is now very small.”EUobserver BBC FAZ IFO studyIn 2012, foreign investors bought 20.1% less of Spanish debt compared to the previous year, reports Expansión. Separately, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn yesterday urged the Spanish government to take action to improve credit access for SMEs. Expansión Expansión 2 La Vanguardia El PaísAccording to a new Tecnè poll on the Italian elections, the centre-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani would be only one seat short of an absolute majority in the Italian Senate. Bersani yesterday ruled out the idea of a “grand coalition” with the centrist bloc led by outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti.Il Sole 24 Ore La Stampa SkyTG24The FT reports that €93bn of funding flowed back into the periphery eurozone countries in the last four months of 2012, according to calculations by ING.FT FT 2 WSJ
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