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Daily Press Summary Cypriot banks reopen under severe capital controls; No signs of depositors panickingCypriot banks reopened at 10am GMT this morning but will be under strict capital controls for seven days at least. So far, there has been little sign of depositors panicking with only small queues outside most banks in Nicosia. The Cypriot Central Bank announced the details of the controls last night which will apply to all accounts and include a €300 limit on daily cash withdrawals per person, bans on cashing cheques and €1000 limit on cash that can be taken abroad per person per trip. The European Commission issued a statement this morning saying that the controls were legal, for now, but must be removed “as soon as possible”. Separately, Der Spiegel reports that the ECB yesterday sent €5bn in cash to Cyprus to make sure there was enough cash on hand when the banks reopened today. ECB data also showed that household deposits in Cypriot banks fell by 4.4% in February. Meanwhile, other small countries in the eurozone with large financial sectors, such as Luxembourg and Malta have sought to distance themselves from Cyprus. Separately, the Turkish government issued a statement yesterday saying that firms which pursue gas exploration with Cyprus will be banned from future energy contracts in Turkey. Open Europe’s Raoul Ruparel was quoted discussing the capital controls in Die Welt, Jornal de Negóciosand El Economista. Raoul also appeared on BBC Radio London this morning discussing the crisis in Cyprus. Open Europe’s flash analysis reacting to the Cypriot bailout deal was cited by Les Echos and Greek paperCapital. Central bank of Cyprus press release Commission press release FT FT 2 FT 3 CityAM WSJ WSJ 2 WSJ 3Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 Telegraph Irish Times Euractiv BBC Welt Süddeutsche FAZ FAZ 2 BildIndependent IHT Guardian EUobserver Expansión Expansión: Mersch El Mundo Jornal de Negócios Les Echos Capital.gr El Economista FT 4 Welt 2 FT: Pissarides CityAM: Browne CityAM: Danielsson WSJ Review & Outlook Telegraph: Evans-Pritchard Economist: Leader Economist On the Spectator’s Coffee House Blog, James Forsyth cites Open Europe’s blog post looking at the more assertive tone being struck by German politicians and media in their response to the eurozone crisis.Spectator Coffee House: Forsyth EU Commission demands additional €11.2bn to cover shortfalls in 2012 and 2013 annual budgetsThe EU Commission yesterday demanded an additional €11.2bn from member states to reimburse beneficiaries of EU funded programmes that cannot be covered by the 2012 budget as well as claims that are expected in 2013. The UK’s gross share of the additional funding would come in at around €1.6bn (£1.4bn). EU Budget Commissioner Janusz Lewandowski argued that "postponing payment of a bill will not make it go away”, while Greg Clark, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, described the request as “extraordinary” and “totally unacceptable”. Open Europe’s Pawel Swidlicki is quoted in the Telegraph, Times and Mail as saying that the UK will probably end up having to pay more because it has no veto over annual budgets, and that the extra funding should come from savings elsewhere. The Mail also cites Open Europe’s research that the UK could save around £4bn over seven years if the EU’s regional development funds were restricted to its least wealthy member states. Pawel is also quoted by Polish daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna which cites extensively from Open Europe’s research on the cost of EU quangos. Open Europe research: Reforming the EU budget Open Europe research: EU Regional policy Open Europe research: EU Quangos Telegraph Mail Times CityAM Express EUobserver European Voice Euractiv WeltDziennik Gazeta Prawna The UK has been outvoted 26-1 in a meeting of EU Ambassadors on EU plans to include a cap on bank bonuses within its legislation to implement the Basel III accord on bank capital requirements, the first time the UK has been outvoted on a piece of EU financial regulation. FT Reuters Bloomberg CityAM Italy’s centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani will this evening report to President Giorgio Napolitano on the outcome of talks with other political parties. The talks have been unsuccessful, but the Italian press suggests Bersani may still try to strike a deal with Silvio Berlusconi’s party. According to La Repubblica, Berlusconi now wants himself or his closest aide Gianni Letta to be elected as Italian President in return for supporting a Bersani-led government.Open Europe blog FT Il Sole 24 Ore Corriere della Sera Corriere della Sera 2 Repubblica Repubblica 2 The Spanish government was forced to raise its 2012 deficit figure to 6.98% of GDP, after the EU’s statistics office Eurostat insisted on a change to the way tax refunds are accounted. The target agreed with the European Commission was 6.3% of GDP. Eurostat will publish its final deficit figures on 22 April.FT Bloomberg El País El Mundo Expansión Cinco Días According to a new YouGov poll for the Sun, Labour leads on 40%, ahead of the Conservatives on 30%, UKIP on an all-time high of 13%, and the Liberal Democrats on 12%.No link City AM reports that the House of Lords EU committee is urging the government to take legal action against the EU’s Financial Transaction Tax believing the UK could be required to collect the tax on behalf of the eleven EU nations participating.CityAM The UK Government has agreed to re-distribute EU structural funds for the 2014-2020 EU budget period so that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will all face a 5% reduction in funding, thereby protecting Scotland from a disproportionate hit of 32% or €228m compared with the current period.BBC Times In an interview with the Guardian, EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger argues that in order for EU energy prices to be kept globally competitive there should be no new taxes on energy within the EU, and current taxes should not be raised. Guardian: Oettinger The European Commission yesterday lifted its block on EU subsidies for Polish roads following allegations over price fixing. Polish prosecutors charged 11 suspects in January with price fixing on tenders co-funded by the EU.EUobserver Gazeta Wyborcza The European Commission has agreed to pay €148m in aid to Palestine to safeguard "basic services, such as health, education, social protection”, reports EUobserver.EUobserver