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New on the Open Europe Blog The UK electorate is in the market for something more than the false choice of status quo or exit  Open Europe Blog EEA plus: a model for the future of the UK in Europe?  Open Europe Blog Howarth: It's Crunch Time for Britain and the EU Open Europe Blog
Daily Press Summary Lord Owen: UK should start negotiations now to restructure Europe around the Single Market; Chris Howarth: Vote Labour if you want to leave the EU In the Evening Standard, Lord Owen argues that, “This autumn is the obvious time to start negotiating with Europe — ideally followed by a vote next year.” He argues that, “The UK negotiating position would be for a Single Market that is designed for the whole of Europe. It would follow the existing Economic Area Agreement (EEA), to which all EU countries are signatories. The EEA already separates out Single Market policies from all the complex EU treaties. Signatory countries outside the EU, such as Norway and Iceland, would immediately become full voting members.” This would be “a quid pro quo” for the UK acquiescing in eurozone treaty amendments. Writing on Prospect Magazine’s blog, Open Europe’s Christopher Howarth argues that “A Labour victory in 2015 might actually be the worst option for those wishing to avoid a UK exit.” Open Europe blog Prospect blog: Howarth Evening Standard: Lord Owen Independent: Lawson FT: Rachman Citing unnamed German officials, the FT suggests that Berlin is pushing for an inter-governmental treaty to streamline decision-making in the eurozone – outside the normal EU treaties and similar to the fiscal treaty – in order to avoid wholesale EU treaty change. FT FT 2 Open Europe Director Mats Persson will today give evidence to the House of Lords’ inquiry into plans for a "genuine" economic and monetary union in the eurozone.Parliament In discussions over the state of negotiations with the European Parliament over the EU’s long term budget in the Council of Ministers, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark all criticised the demands of MEPs for extra funding beyond the €7.3bn agreed by Ministers to supplement the 2012 and 2013 annual budgets. UK Europe Minister David Lidington warned the negotiations were in a “perilous situation”. No link Italian Prime Minister reiterates calls for ‘United States of Europe’ Speaking in the Italian Senate ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of EU leaders, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said, “Europe must not turn into a cage of duties, rules and procedures which often end up restraining everyone’s actions.” He added that monetary union “is not enough…Without the United States of Europe, the future of European peoples remains a chimera.” Separately, Italy’s centre-left Democratic Party has drafted legislation which, if adopted, would ban Beppe Grillo’s Five-Star Movement from running in future elections unless the movement changes its structure. ADNKronos Beppe Grillo’s blog Repubblica Repubblica 2 La Stampa Il Sole 24 Ore Spiegel Online reports that at this week’s European Council, EU leaders will vote to continue the ‘one EU Commissioner, one country’ principle beyond November 2014, rather than limiting the number of EU commissioners to two thirds of the number of Member States as laid down in the Lisbon Treaty. The decision would require unanimity. Spiegel Investment bank Goldman Sachs has warned in a note that a UK exit from the EU would represent a 'loss/loss’ scenario for both the UK and the EU, but that the UK would suffer a disproportionately higher burden. The note specifically warned that “the UK’s ability to conduct business in financial services across the European Union is likely to be severely compromised by a departure from the EU.”Open Europe research: Trading Places Telegraph FT The WSJ reports that the IMF is recommending short-term stimulus spending for non-euro countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. WSJ New Bank of Spain figures show that Spain’s public debt reached a record-high 87.8% of GDP at the end of March, and is now above the EU-27 average.Expansión El País El País 2 Deutsche Welle quotes Green MEP Sven Giegold complaining that “both France and Germany are issuing signals” that they want to put a brake on the proposed FTT.Open Europe flash analysis FT City AM DW The EU trade clash with China is escalating as the Commission prepares to launch an anti-dumping probe against Chinese telecom giants. Telegraph Euractiv Europeanvoice The European Parliament yesterday voted for a draft law that will safeguard bank deposits of up to €100,000, reports Euractiv. Euractiv Writing in Handelsblatt former German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, argues that he is in favour of a slower pace of debt consolidation for countries such as France. No Link The FT reports that fears are mounting in Dublin over the impact on cross-border police co-operation of a UK opt-out from EU crime and policing legislation.Open Europe research: An unavoidable choice FT The Guardian reports on a warning by the chief executive of the new City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, that EU plans to limit bankers' bonuses could have the perverse effect of leading to a doubling of their salaries. Guardian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has responded to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comment that she would “do everything to put Hungary back on track, but we won't be sending in the cavalry right away” by saying that “The Germans have already sent cavalry to Hungary: they came in the form of tanks.” German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle dismissed the remarks. Telegraph EU Observer Thelocal.de