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Cameron: Treaty change may offer opportunities for Britain to further our national interest;
Clegg: “No question of unilaterally repatriating powers from the EU”
On the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday said that: "We are looking at the balance of powers. That work is now under way in Whitehall. I think it is right that it looks at the different powers that are exercised in Brussels and Westminster”. Writing in theObserver, Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg argued that while there was sense in specific amendments to introduce strict budgetary rules for eurozone members, “tampering with the EU's founding texts is opening a Pandora's box, leaving us paralysed by ideological battles, institutional navel gazing and special demands from every member state”.

In Saturday’s Times and on the BBC’s Today in Parliament, Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom explains that she is setting up an all-party parliamentary group on EU reform because although she does not want Britain to leave the EU, she would like the relationship to go back to its roots as a free-trade area. Meanwhile, Saturday's Telegraph reported that the process of critically re-examining the relationship between the UK and the EU is already underway as Whitehall officials formally assess the “risks and opportunities” arising from each governmental department’s dealings with the EU in order to ascertain whether any powers can be repatriated from Brussels.

Open Europe’s Stephen Booth was quoted in the Independent on Sunday, arguing that “Negotiations on the EU’s long-term budget… will be a crucial test of the Government’s commitment to EU reform”. Open Europe’s Director Mats Persson warned in the Sunday Express that British Prime Ministers have talked tough on Brussels before but come up empty-handed, arguing that: “What the Government needs to do is come up with a plan of what it intends to do. It needs to go beyond broad political assurances, [the trouble is] they don’t seem to have any ideas where to take this.” Open Europe’s finding that EU regulations had cost Britain £124 billion since 1998 was cited by Simon Heffer in Saturday’s Mail.
Guardian Telegraph Telegraph 2 Telegraph 3 Telegraph: Editorial Guardian BBC: Andrew Marr Show BBC Today Mail EUactiv Sun Sun: Kavanagh Economist: Bagehot European VoiceExpress Express 2 Express 3 Conservativehome BBC Today in Parliament Observer Observer: Clegg Mail on Sunday Sunday Telegraph Sunday Telegraph 2 Sunday Times: LidingtonIndependent on Sunday Sunday Express: Leader Sunday Express: Buchanan Sunday Express: Hamilton Mail on Sunday: Forsyth Independent on Sunday: Wyles Sunday Telegraph: LeaderSunday Telegraph: D’Ancona Sunday Telegraph: Carswell Saturday's Times Saturday's Times 2Saturday's Telegraph Saturday's Independent Saturday's Guardian Saturday's Mail Saturday's Express Weekend FT Saturday's Independent: Richards Saturday's Mail: Heffer

Open Europe’s Christopher Howarth was quoted in the Sunday Times commenting on Catherine Ashton’s recent visit to the three-day Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Australia by saying that: “Baroness Ashton has not set the world on fire to date.”
Sunday Times

China still hesitant about investing in leveraged eurozone bailout fund;
Schäuble reiterates calls for fiscal union and common budget policies in eurozone
Over the weekend, China distanced itself from making any official contribution to the eurozone’s leveraged bailout fund until more details on the structure of the fund are available, and significant technical discussions have taken place. Bloomberg reports that Russia has offered to invest up to $10bn into struggling eurozone countries via its role in the IMF.

In an interview with Welt Am Sonntag, Charles Dallara, Head of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), said that he believes over 90% of banks will participate in the latest EU summit deal, which sees them taking a 50% write down on their holdings of Greek debt. FAZ quotes Dallara saying: "Angela Merkel has increased the guarantees [for bondholders] from €20bn to €30bn. That was decisive [in reaching an agreement]." Separately, YLE reports that according to Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen, any increase in Finnish guarantees for the second Greek bailout will be matched by an increase in the collateral which Finland has received.

In an interview with the FT German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble reiterated his call for greater “fiscal union” for the eurozone in the long run, saying, the eurozone needs “stronger institutions to oversee the implementation of a commonly agreed finance policy.” Schäuble admitted this would require treaty changes, but said that for now they are focusing on small changes, particularly to Article 136, which allows the eurozone to press ahead on issues relating to the single currency.

At Friday’s auction of ten-year bonds, Italy was forced to pay a 6.06% interest rate, the highest level since the introduction of the euro in 1999, despite on-going ECB purchases of Italian debt. Meanwhile, Il Corriere della Sera reports that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said that he will stick to his commitments to the EU, even if that means putting each of them to a vote of confidence in the Italian parliament.

Expansión reports that the latest figures from the Bank of Spain show that Spain risks missing its deficit reduction target for 2011 due to a lack of growth. Separately, Les Echos reports that Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho has said that Portugal will propose “adjustments” to its bailout plan.
FT WSJ WSJ 2 CityAM EurActiv FT 2 CityAM 2 WSJ 3 Independent on Sunday Independent on Sunday 2 Sunday Times FT 3 CityAM 3 FT 4 Sunday Telegraph Irish Independent BBC BBC 2Saturday's Independent Weekend FT Saturday's Telegraph Corriere della Sera Il Sole 24 OreExpansión Les Echos L’Express La Tribune Weekend FT Weekend FT 2 Mail on SundayReuters France AFP Handelsblatt Stern Euractiv.de Stentor ORF ORF 2 ORF 3 Handelsblatt 2Le Monde Reuters France Tribune de Genève Les Echos Les Echos 2 Reuters France FTDReuters Bloomberg YLE HB HS FTD 2 Talouselama YLE 2

City A.M. reports an internal HM Treasury document states that the UK’s banking reforms proposed by the Vickers Commission could be illegal under EU law due to a UK attempt to gold-plate capital requirements further than the internationally agreed Basel III requirements.
CityAM CityAM 2

Writing in Die Welt, Germany's Vice Chancellor Philipp Rösler and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (FDP) argue that the EU does not need a common economic government, but that instead, an EU Treaty change should take place which would automatically put sanctions on countries that break the EU’s budget rules.
Welt: Rösler and Westerwelle Welt European Voice

Eurozone comment round-up
In the Times, former Foreign Secretary Lord Owen notes, “A non-euro group would be a mechanism for unity rather than division. Unlike in the Maastricht treaty, its protocol could reflect the reality that eurozone membership is not inevitable and that some countries may never join. Such is the reality in the UK…It would not be a two-speed EU, but a two-category EU, with one group more integrated than the other. No one can be sure which will create faster growth.” In theSunday Times, former Chancellor Alistair Darling argued, “Last week’s agreement [on the eurozone crisis] will fail, too, unless the eurozone comes up with far more detail and on a far more urgent timetable than they seem to be working to…On balance, I think the euro is too big to fail but whether all its present members can remain in it is another question.”
Handelsblatt: Weidmann Weekend FT: Davies Weekend FT: Leader Saturday's Telegraph: Leader Saturday's Telegraph Mail on Sunday: Watkins Observer: Hutton Sunday Telegraph: Booker Sunday Telegraph: Halligan Sunday Times: Focus Sunday Times: Darling Sunday Times: Smith Sunday Times: Dey Times: Fleming Irish Times: Coyle FT: Munchau WSJ Review&Outlook WSJ: Nixon CityAM: Godfrey CityAM: Bojesen Times: Owen

54% of Greeks want a referendum on new aid deal
A poll conducted by Kapa Research SA and published in To Vima has found that 58.9% of Greek respondents judge the latest bailout package as "negative" or "probably negative" for Greece. The poll also found that 54.2% of Greeks thought a national referendum should be called to approve the new aid deal, compared with 40% who said Parliament should decide. The respondents were divided over Europe’s role in Greece, with 50.1% agreeing that more European oversight was either desirable or necessary for the country; while 48.8% saw it as an infringement of national sovereignty. Finally, 72.5% of the respondents said they wanted Greece to remain in the eurozone.
WSJ Bloomberg Reuters

In an interview with the FT, Wolfgang Schäuble, said that if the UK blocked EU agreement on the Financial Transaction Tax, the eurozone should press ahead on its own. De Telegraaf reports that Dutch PM Mark Rutte has given up his opposition to such a financial transaction tax, in order to obtain support for his EU policy from the Dutch social democrats.
FT Telegraaf Elsevier Sunday Times: Leader

The Independent on Sunday reported that the appointment of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg’s wife Miriam Gonzalez Durantez as the head of EU affairs at law firm Dechert might present a conflict of interest for both her and Mr Clegg.
Independent on Sunday

The Mirror reveals that UK taxpayers are owed £66million by European governments in unpaid NHS bills, £44million by the Republic of Ireland alone. Health Minister Ann Milton insisted that EU member states must settle outstanding receipts within 18 months.
Mirror

According to a new opinion poll published for Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, 72% of Norwegians are now against EU membership, with only 12% in favour.
Dagens Nyheter

On Conservative Home, Nick de Bois MP argues that Parliament must debate the European Arrest Warrant.
Conservative Home: de Bois

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Indulge Your Fantasy: Two very different scenarios for the future of the EU
Open Europe Blog