Wednesday, 21 August 2013

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Daily Press Summary

Schäuble: “There will have to be another [bailout] programme in Greece”
Speaking at a CDU election rally near Hamburg yesterday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble for the first time admitted, “There will have to be another [bailout] programme in Greece,” in order to help the country “get over the hill” of debt repayments it faces. He added that there would be no further debt write-downs in Greece. A Finance Ministry spokesman attempted to row back from the comments saying that, “A change in course has not been intended.” Meanwhile, Chancellor Angela Merkel told Ruhr Nachrichten that, “We have always said…that we will re-assess the situation in Greece at the end of 2014 or 2015.”

Carsten Schneider, SPD budget spokesman, also responded saying, “Schäuble really has now let the cat out of the bag…He previously left open the question of whether Greece needed another bailout.” EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, suggested that a third bailout for Greece is not the only option, noting that “debt sustainability can be improved for instance by extending the loan periods”, according to Helsingin SanomatSüddeutsche reports that additional aid for Greece may come via EU structural funds.
Kathimerini CityAM FT WSJ Kathimerini 2 Helsingin Sanomat FAZ FAZ: Jahn Süddeutsche Süddeutsche 2DWN Bild EurActiv Times Welt Handelsblatt EUobserver Reuters Deutschland Reuters Deutschland 2Spiegel Telegraph Kathimerini Irish Times Euractiv BBC Mail Le Figaro La Tribune Le Monde Jornal de Negócios Ruhr Nachrichten

Greece registered a primary budget surplus between January and July this year of €2.6bn, compared to a deficit of €3bn over the same period last year. The overall budget balance, which includes interest payments on debt, came to a deficit of €1.9bn.
Kathimerini

The Local.de features an article by Open Europe Berlin Director Michael Wohlgemuth in which he argues that “barring a huge upset”, the German elections will not affect the country’s European economic or foreign policy.
The Local: Wohlgemuth

The latest Forsa/Stern poll sees Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU Union rising one point to 41%, while the SPD hits a yearly low at 22%.The Greens remain at 13%, while Die Linke and the FDP are at 8% and 6% respectively.
Handeslblatt Welt Süddeutsche FAZ

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has offered to go to Egypt to help broker a political solution to the crisis as EU foreign ministers today discuss their response, including whether to suspend different types of aid.
Reuters Reuters Deutschland BBC Guardian iDnes HN

Cinco Días reports that spending on new homes in Spain was equivalent to 2% of the country’s GDP in 2012, down from 9% of GDP in 2006.
Cinco Días

The Czech parliament dissolved itself yesterday, leaving President Milos Zeman the task of officially calling early elections, expected in the autumn.
Eurozpravy CT CN iDnes Lidovky Lidovky2 Aktualne PL Bloomberg European Voice Euractiv BBC Ceske Noviny FT Les Echos

The EU is set to impose trade sanctions on the Faroe Islands in a long running dispute over herring quotas.
European Voice FAZ IHT

The Bank of Slovenia has hired three external auditors to conduct stress tests on the country’s ten largest banks – in line with the latest EU recommendations.
Expansión

The Cypriot cabinet yesterday approved a series of anti-money laundering bills focused on increasing oversight and transparency of the country’s financial sector. Such measures are a key part of the bailout agreement struck with the EU/IMF.
Cyprus Mail

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