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Daily Press Summary France and Germany stress Greece must stick to its commitments; FTD: German Finance Ministry running working group looking at Greek euro exit Following their meeting last night, French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that the onus remains on Greece to meet its commitments under the current bailout programmes. Hollande said, “We want – I want – Greece to be in the eurozone…It’s up to the Greeks to make the effort that is essential for that goal to be met.” Meanwhile, in an interview with FT Deutschland, Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager reiterated, “I say to the German government that it is best for it to stick with its strict position. Delaying the right measures won’t help anyone, not even the Greeks.” Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will hold bilateral talks with Merkel today and Hollande tomorrow. Ahead of the meetings, the opposition SYRIZA party warned that the Greek government was approaching them “without any real appetite for negotiation, but only for public relations purposes, which cannot hide the dangerous and catastrophic nature of the new package of measures.” Samaras has also called for an end to the speculation of a Greek exit from the eurozone, saying in an interview with Le Monde, “How can we privatise when, every day, European officials speculate publicly about a potential exit of Greece from the common currency? This has got to stop.” He warned that a Greek exit “could become a geopolitical nightmare that would go beyond the borders of Greece.” FT Deutschland reports that Deputy German Finance Minister Thomas Steffen is running a working group which is examining the potential impact of a Greek exit from the eurozone on Germany and the rest of Europe. This was confirmed by the Ministry of Finance, although it added that the group was set up over a year ago to investigate all eventualities, according to Dow Jones. Separately, the Timesreports that, according to UK Government sources, the Obama administration will pressure eurozone governments to keep Greece in the euro at least until after the US presidential election in November. Kathimerini reports that, according to the government’s latest projections, Greece’s cash reserves will last until October – around the time when a decision on whether to release the next tranche of bailout funds is expected. FT Times Le Monde: Samaras Sun IHT Guardian Kathimerini EUobserver CityAM WSJ FT Deutschland: de Jager Kathimerini 2 Kathimerini 3 FT Deutschland Telegraph FT Deutschland 2 HandelsblattIndependent Times Economist: Leader Economist FT German magazine Focus reports that, according to a new N24-Emnid poll, 75% of Germans are opposed to relaxing Greece’s adjustment programme.  Focus EUobserver Reuters: Spain in talks over EFSF bond-buying; Jornal de Negócios: Portugal to miss 2012 deficit target without additional measures According to sources quoted by Reuters, the Spanish government is in talks with its eurozone partners about the eurozone’s temporary bailout fund, the EFSF, buying Spanish bonds – but has made no final decision over whether to request the assistance. A spokesman for the European Commission denied the reports, adding, “No request has been received from Spain…and we are not expecting such a request any time soon.” Meanwhile, according to a high-ranking official at the Portuguese Finance Ministry quoted by Jornal de Negócios, Portugal is set to miss the EU-mandated deficit target of 4.5% of GDP for this year unless new austerity measures are adopted. The paper suggests that the alternative would be for Portugal to ask the EU-IMF-ECB Troika to relax the target. Reuters WSJ El Economista Expansión FT WSJ FT: Beneyto & Perez Jornal de Negócios Jornal de Negócios 2 Diário Económico In an interview with the Irish Times, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble says he will oppose any debt-relief plan for Ireland that “generates new uncertainty on the financial markets and lose trust, which Ireland is just at the point of winning back.” Irish Times: Schäuble Irish Times 2 Irish Times 3 According to a new CSA poll published by French business daily Les Echos, 72% of French think the new Socialist government “is not active enough” in tackling the economic crisis and rising unemployment. Les Echos Le Monde Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou told reporters yesterday that the island’s deficit at the end of the year will be around 4.5% of GDP – significantly higher than the 3.5% of GDP initially forecast, reports EurActiv. Euractiv In a letter to the FT, Dr Nicola Cantore and Ms Sheila Page of the Overseas Development Institute argue that “The [EU’s] Common Agricultural Policy damages developing countries as a group, and the proposed reforms will damage even those previously favoured.” Open Europe research FT Letters