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Daily Press Summary Asmussen: Fears over eurozone break up are not acceptable;  Spain increases pressure on ECB for action to aid its banking sector  All eyes are on the ECB ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of the Governing Council, with ECB Executive Board Member Joerg Asmussen warning, “The markets are pricing in a break-up of the euro zone. For a currency union, such systemic doubts are not acceptable.” Following a meeting in Rome yesterday both French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti reiterated their calls for greater ECB intervention, with Hollande saying, “It is the role of those institutions involved in the eurozone to intervene, notably the European Central Bank.” Meanwhile, the FT reports that the Spanish government may be looking to utilise the ECB to aid its bailout of Bankia by providing the lender with €4.5bn of government bonds, potentially allowing the bank to post these bonds as collateral to borrow from the ECB. The WSJ reports that since Spanish banks are running low of high quality assets which they can pledge in exchange for borrowing from the ECB, Spain is pressing the ECB to further loosen the requirements on which assets qualify.  FT Sole 24 Ore Irish Times Irish Independent AFP Times Le Figaro Corriere della Sera Repubblica FT Le Monde WSJ Guardian: Editorial Irish Independent Germany divided over ECB bank supervision  Divisions are growing in Germany over the structure of future ECB supervision of the banking sector with Deutsche Bank, the country’s flagship lender, coming out in favour of the ECB overseeing all banks rather than just systemically important ones, as suggested by the German government. However, Jörg Asmussen, ECB executive board member, said it would be sensible “at least at first” to limit supervision to systemically important banks, according to the FT.  FT CityAM Hollande suggests Greece can be kept in the eurozone without additional funding  French President Francois Hollande said yesterday that, if the latest EU/IMF/ECB troika report shows that Greece has demonstrated some credibility, “Then, without giving any more money, we can re-implement the program and keep Greece in the eurozone,” suggesting some support for a renegotiated programme, according to Kathimerini. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti suggested he agreed with Hollande, although German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble reiterated his call for Greece to stick to its commitments.  The Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) notes in a new report that, if Greece is forced to implement the next round of €11.6bn in austerity measures demanded by the troika, it could face a much longer than expected recession. The Guardian reports that the troika will ask for the Greek government to raise the limit on the maximum length of a working week to six days, according to leaked emails.  Kathimerini CityAM Guardian Repubblica Kathimerini 2 UK gains support in pushing back against EU female board quotas  The FT reports that, according to EU officials, the UK has launched a diplomatic effort to push back against EU plans for a 40% quota for women on the boards of large companies, by circulating a letter of opposition amongst other EU members. The letter notes that national plans to boost female representation are underway and should be given more time. It is said to have support from up to ten other member states, including Germany and Sweden. The article quotes a spokesman for the UK Government as saying, “[The UK is not] leading the charge, but rather forming part of a pack.” A separate article in the paper notes that businesses have also reacted badly to the proposals.  FT CityAM FT 2 FT Editorial  Barroso repeats call for “political integration”  European Commission President José Manuel Barroso told EU diplomats yesterday that he believes there is a need for “further political and institutional integration” and a consolidation of “a truly political union” through a change of the EU treaty reports Euractiv.  Euractiv Euractiv notes that the European Commission will be watching closely as Hungary embarks on a plan to nationalize sectors of its economy.  Euractiv The European Commission is investigating the Russian energy giant Gazprom for allegedly hindering competition in Central and Eastern European gas markets, in breach of EU antitrust rules.  Euractiv The Irish Independent reports that the former head of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, does not want his 2010 letters to the Irish government, thought to contain threats aimed at making Ireland accept a bailout published.  Irish independent According to the latest rankings of countries’ competitiveness produced by the World Economic Forum there is a significant disparity between Northern and Southern Europe, with Finland ranking third and Greece ranked 96.  WEF Le Figaro

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