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New on the Open Europe Blog This is getting personal: Handelsblatt likens ECB President Mario Draghi to the Little Corporal  Open Europe Blog Will one of the Conservative 'Big Beasts' convert the party to 'better off out'?  Open Europe Blog Lib Dem MEPs vote in favour of triggering the UK's referendum lock?  Open Europe Blog
Daily Press Summary Fall in number of Greeks with a positive view of the euro while far-left SYRIZA leads in latest opinion poll A Public Issue opinion poll for Skai and Kathimerini has found that only 59% of Greeks said they have a positive view of the euro compared with 70% last month, while 60% said they believed the government ought to be pushing the troika for a further debt write-down. The poll also found that the opposition far-left SYRIZA party is in the lead on 29.5% ahead of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ New Democracy on 28.5%, with the far-right Golden Dawn on 10% (down 1.5%), the Independent Greeks on 8% and PASOK on 7.5%.   Kathimerini also reports that the Greek government is preparing to make a further 5,000 civil servants redundant by the end of next year in order to secure its next tranche of bailout funding. Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 Kathimerini 3 Public Issue poll WSJ: Zhong Eurozone still at odds over final details of Cypriot bailout Eurozone finance ministers will hold a meeting tonight to try and finalise the details of the Cypriot bailout, although a conclusive agreement looks unlikely. The eurozone will seek to reduce the size of the bailout from €17bn to €10bn, through a mix of tax increases, privatisations and potential depositor write-downs. Der Spiegel reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel allegedly wanted to delay the final decision but was over-ruled by other eurozone states. Meanwhile, the Church of Cyprus has said it will securitise its €80m property portfolio and use the funds raised to aid the government. BBC Kathimerini Spiegel Welt FAZ Economist: Leader The front page of Handelsblatt depicts ECB President Mario Draghi as Napoleon, with the subtitle "The toxic gift. How ECB President Mario Draghi is saving the euro while ruining savers". The paper’s leader cites former ECB chief economist Jürgen Stark as saying that “Central banks must be the trusted anchor of the paper money regime. When they don’t do this and are being overburdened with all kinds of new tasks, this fragile system is under threat.” Handelsblatt: Front page Handelsblatt: Leader UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President François Hollande will today jointly pressure other EU leaders to lift the EU arms embargo on Syria. Hollande is quoted in theTelegraph as saying “We hope that the Europeans will lift the embargo”, while a British source is quoted as saying “We want to change the arms embargo so we can arm the opposition.” FT WSJ Guardian BBC Telegraph Welt France 24 Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani and Silvio Berlusconi have both instructed their parties to abstain in the first vote for the new Italian parliament speakers today. Italian PresidentGiorgio Napolitano cannot start official government talks until the new parliament settles in completely. Separately, Der Spiegel Online columnist Jan Fleischhauer calls Five-Star Movement leader Beppe Grillo “Europe’s most dangerous man.” Repubblica Corriere della Sera Il Sole 24 Ore La Stampa Spiegel Online: Fleischhauer Monti: Italy wants to exemptions from EU deficit rules for certain investments; Juncker: I wouldn’t rule out risk of “social rebellion” in Europe In a letter delivered to other EU leaders ahead of the EU summit in Brussels, Italy’s caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti argued that certain types of investment aimed at boosting growth should be exempted from EU rules on national budget deficits. However, Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said there is “no margin” to consider Monti’s proposal. On his arrival at the meeting of EU leaders in Brussels yesterday, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker warned, “I wouldn’t rule out us running the risk of a social revolution, a social rebellion”. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters, “We made clear in a very consensual discussion that budget consolidation, structural reforms and growth are not in contradiction but are mutually reinforcing”. Le Point Reuters EUobserver WSJ: Fidler Telegraph: Warner FT letters: Westerwelle Welt FAZ FAZ: Mussler City AM WSJ Telegraph Telegraph 2 European Voice Euractiv Irish Times IHT Le Figaro Sky TG24La Stampa Rai News 24 Repubblica Il Sole 24 Ore In a comment piece in Die Welt, publicist Cora Stephan contrasts the anti-euro ‘Alternative für Deutschland’ party with the Pirate party, arguing that while the latter has the youth factor, the former has “good arguments”, and that its “short and clear” manifesto could provide an interesting alternative for many voters.    Welt: Stephan French President François Hollande told the press yesterday that France “is a model student in Europe. We make sure to correct our deficit…We do it at the pace envisaged by our European commitments. That is, through a structural [deficit reduction] effort.” La Tribune Le Monde In an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung, UK Europe Minister David Lidington argues that Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent Europe speech has had a very positive effect, with “Europe now debated constructively” in the UK.Open Europe research: Right speech, right time? The Economist’s Charlemagne argues that the EU’s “crisis of legitimacy is intensifying as it delves more deeply into national policies, especially in the euro zone… Eurocrats’ reply to these conundrums is a flawed mantra: that “more Europe” must always be matched by “more European Parliament”… Part of the answer lies in strengthening national parliaments’ oversight of ministers’ actions in the EU.” Economist: Charlemagne Open Europe research: European Localism The European Court of Justice has found that Spanish legislation on the eviction of home owners with loan arrears goes against EU law as it prevents judges declaring the terms of a loan agreement to be unfair. An estimated 350,000 families have been evicted in the last five years.Meanwhile, El Economista reports that Spain’s public debt reached 84.1% of GDP in 2012. FT BBC El Economista The Times reports that the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is to lead an inquiry into the economic benefits of European fishing companies fishing in UK waters to the UK, with a view to any new arrangements coming into force by 2014. Times The European Central Bank is looking to hire around 800 new staff over the next year as it starts its new role as the single banking supervisor of systemically important eurozone banks in mid-2014, reports the WSJ. WSJ Telegraph In a feature piece on the EU regional development subsidies for the region of Calabria in Southern Italy, FAZ notes that it has received nearly €3bn since 1994, but that concerns about the effectiveness of the support continue to be ever-present due to corruption and the threat of organised crime. FAZ Open Europe research: Off Target EU Justice Commissioner Vivian Reding yesterday suggested that following the recent controversial amendments to the Hungarian constitution, the EU could cut some of its funding for the country.Deutsche Welle