Britannia Radio

	Home   About Us   Multimedia   In The News   Events   Research & Analysis Media Centre Open Europe Berlin
New on the Open Europe Blog Hungarian government accuses EU Commissioner of being "extremely ignorant or lying" Open Europe Blog Cypriot deposit leakage continued in June Open Europe Blog Let's have a look beyond the (rather encouraging) headline figures on Spanish unemployment Open Europe Blog
Daily Press Summary Commission wants EU to “own and operate” spy drones, surveillance satellites and aircraft Saturday’s Telegraph reported that the European Commission’s recent proposals for EU defence cooperation revealed plans for the EU to “own and operate” spy drones, surveillance satellites and aircraft as part of a new intelligence and security agency under the control of EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton. “Europe needs its own autonomous security capabilities, this proposal is one step further towards European defence integration,” said a senior EU official. Open Europe was quoted as saying that the EU “has absolutely no democratic mandate for actively controlling and operating military and security capabilities.” Meanwhile, in a joint letter signed by the countries’ foreign and defence ministers, France and Germany have called for “innovative” ways to boost European military cooperation. They said the European Council, which discusses security and defence issues in December, should push for improved information sharing on defence planning, not only within the EU but also NATO. Saturday’s Telegraph Telegraph In the IHT, Hugo Dixon, editor at large of Reuters News, cites Open Europe’s proposal to liberalise the EU’s services markets – which, according to Open Europe’s research, could increase the EU’s GDP by as much as 2.3%. Open Europe research IHT: Dixon German Finance Minister plays down hopes of change in approach to Greece after German elections In an interview with Deutschlandfunk yesterday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said, “The pressure remains [on Greece], so this has nothing to do with the election schedule…They’re far from being over the mountain,” denting hopes that Germany may ease its position following the German elections at the end of September. Separately, the eurozone is expected to release the next €4bn tranche of bailout funds for Greece later today, with the IMF releasing its €1.8bn tranche on Wednesday. Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 Kathimerini 3 Deutschlandfunk: Schäuble Bild am Sonntag: Schäuble Welt Writing on Conservative Home, Priti Patel MP argues that the Conservative Party “needs to go much, much further” than the Government’s EU Balance of Competences review, citing Open Europe’s research which found that EU regulation cost the UK economy £124bn between 1998 and 2010.  Open Europe research Conservative Home: Patel The EU and China have reached an agreement over their trade dispute on solar panels which will see imports of Chinese panels subject to a minimum price of 56 euro cents per watt and a maximum capacity of 7 Giga Watts per year. The deal is expected to last until the end of 2015 and is generally seen to favour China. FT WSJ WSJ Review & Outlook Reuters Süddeutsche FAZ DWN FT 2 A new Emnid poll on the German elections for Bild am Sonntag puts the CDU/CSU on 40%, the SPD on 25%, the Greens on 13%, Die Linke on 8%, FDP on 5%, and the Pirate Party and the anti-euro AfD on 3% respectively.  No link The Mail reports that a new report by the House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee has warned that, based on Government estimates, green levies will add a third to electricity prices by 2020 – even before expected rises in wholesale prices are factored in. Mail Committee report The UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU, Sir Jon Cunliffe, has been appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of England in charge of financial stability. The name of the new Permanent Representative should be announced shortly. Saturday’s Times: Fleming Sunday Times: Dey Cyprus is close to agreeing a deal with the EU/IMF/ECB Troika which would see 47.5% of deposits over €100,000 in the Bank of Cyprus converted into equity, as part of the bailout agreement struck earlier this year. The agreement allows for up to 60% to be converted. Cyprus Mail Famagusta Gazette FT City AM Silvio Berlusconi was quoted by Italian daily Libero yesterday as saying that, if Italy’s Supreme Court upholds the tax fraud conviction against him, he “will go to jail” and will not request house arrest. However, Berlusconi’s office later said he had been misquoted. The Supreme Court’s ruling is due tomorrow. Il Sole 24 Ore Corriere della Sera Repubblica La Stampa Bild Welt FT In an op-ed for the Sunday Telegraph, Helena Morrissey CBE, CEO of Newton Investment Management, argues in favour of Britain leaving the EU.  Sunday Telegraph: Morrissey Telegraph Express The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision will review how well the EU has applied its standards, said Wayne Byres, the group’s Secretary General. An earlier investigation, based on a draft version of the EU plans, pointed to loopholes and triggered a rebuttal from Michel Barnier, the EU’s Internal Market and Financial Services Commissioner. Bloomberg Dorit Hess, Handelsblatt’s Economic and Monetary Policy Deputy Editor, warns that ECB President Mario Draghi focuses too much on calming the markets – a tactic that can only bring “short-term success.” By doing so, she writes, Draghi is “well on his way” to giving up the “highest good – the independence of the Central Bank.” No Link In a joint interview with Le Figaro and Süddeutsche Zeitung, ECB Executive Board Members Benoît Cœuré and Jörg Asmussen come out in favour of publishing the minutes of ECB Governing Council meetings, including the breakdown of votes. Le Figaro: Cœuré & Asmussen Süddeutsche In the Times, Tim Montgomerie writes, “By 2015 it’s likely that both Labour and the Liberal Democrats will have matched the Tory [EU] referendum promise but, if they haven’t, it will be impossible for Mr Cameron to compromise in coalition negotiations. His party would descend into civil war if he abandoned this pledge and he would never be trusted again.” Times: Montgomerie The Times reports that Unison, the public service workers’ union, argues that new fees of £1,200 being introduced by the Government for people alleging unfair dismissal or discrimination breach EU law by making it difficult or impossible for workers to exercise their rights. Times Saturday’s Telegraph reported that of the 1,450,490 jobs being advertised on European Commission-sponsored jobs website, EURES, 808,659 were posts in the UK. British firms are given as much as £1,000 as a bonus for taking on workers from elsewhere in the EU. Saturday's Sun Saturday's Telegraph