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Daily Press Summary Cameron and Merkel agree on “urgent need to make Europe more competitive and flexible”; Schäuble: Banking union will need treaty change Following David Cameron’s meeting with Angela Merkel, British officials say the German chancellor told the prime minister she was willing to pursue the option of treaty change, which Mr Cameron hopes will give him a chance to renegotiate Britain’s EU membership. A Downing Street spokesman said after the talks, “They agreed on the urgent need to make Europe more competitive and flexible and talked about ways to achieve this.” Bloomberg reports that with the FCO barred from engaging in party political activities, Cameron has “warmly encouraged” members of the Fresh Start group of Conservative MPs to meet decision makers in other EU member states to make the case for EU reform. Fresh Start co-chair Andrea Leadsom MP was quoted in Saturday’s Guardian as saying that "I've had some very good meetings with ambassadors from EU member states who are actually very interested in some of the proposals the Fresh Start project have put forward, and who are definitely very keen”. Open Europe Director Mats Persson appeared on BBC Newsnight arguing “When German and British politicians sit down to talk they spend 30-40 minutes coming to terms with how to communicate past the ideology, but after that they tend to agree.” On his Telegraph blog, Mats outlined 10 areas of potential agreement between Germany and the UK on Europe. Mats was also quoted by the International Herald Tribune. Meanwhile, at an informal meeting of EU finance ministers over the weekend, Germany’s Wolfgang Schäuble, insisted that revision of the EU Treaties is necessary to create a single authority to wind up banks under the European Banking Union. “We’ll only do this on a clear legal basis, because I don’t want risks in Karlsruhe,” Mr Schäuble said in reference to the country’s Constitutional Court. Bloombergreports that George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, told his EU counterparts that if one government proposes revisions to the Treaties, other nations will want to use the opportunity to insert changes, according to a UK official. Open Europe blog: Has Germany really gone off Treaty change? Telegraph blogs: Persson BBC NewsnightIHT Open Europe blog Open Europe Berlin blog FT Saturday’s Mail Saturday’s Independent Saturday’s Times Saturday’s Telegraph Sunday Telegraph Sunday Times FT City AM Bloomberg Bloomberg 2 Sunday Telegraph Times: Kielinger Times: Farage Saturday’s Guardian Bloomberg 3 New poll finds businesses want to stay in EU but renegotiate terms A new poll by the British Chambers of Commerce of over 4,000 businesses tested five scenarios for Britain’s future relationship with the EU. The option most widely seen as positive, at 64%, was to stay in the EU but renegotiate the terms of membership. The option most widely seen as negative was total withdrawal, with 60% disagreeing. Remaining in the EU with no change to the current relationship received the lowest positive rating, with only 15%. The survey also reveals that British business’s “top three” priorities for any re-negotiation are employment law (54%), health and safety law (46%), and regional development policies (33%). Other areas where significant numbers of businesses wanted to see change included justice and home affairs policies and public-sector procurement rules. BCC: Poll Times Mail FT CityAM WSJ Telegraph BBC Cypriot Central Bank Head: Central bank independence is being attacked; Cyprus Mail: “Exiting the euro is a debate we must have” In an interview with Bloomberg over the weekend, Cypriot Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades said that “The independence of the central bank of Cyprus is being attacked”, after the government “committed to a sale of state gold without consulting the central bank”. Cypriot government spokesman Christos Stylianides said the government “expects and hopes for a corrective statement”. Meanwhile, the Cypriot government yesterday extended the capital controls for a further seven days. Leading Cypriot daily, the Cyprus Mail, ran an editorial with the headline “Exiting the euro is a debate we must have”. Separately, Cyprus will ease the requirements for citizenship for non-resident depositors who lost more than €3m under the eurozone bailout deal, potentially easing the way for large Russian depositors to gain EU citizenship. Open Europe’s Raoul Ruparel appeared on Sky News discussing the situation in Cyprus. BBC Famagusta Gazette Kathimerini CityAM Spiegel FAZ Süddeutsche Famagusta Gazette 2 BloombergCyprus Mail Famagusta Gazette 3 FAZ Cyprus Mail: Editorial Alternative for Germany calls for “orderly dissolution of the eurozone” and repatriation of EU powers at inaugural party conference The new German anti-Euro party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) held its inaugural party conference yesterday, adopting an election manifesto that calls for “orderly dissolution of the eurozone”, and a possible re-introduction of the D-Mark. In addition, the AfD demands the repatriation of some legislative powers from Brussels to “streamline” the EU. AfD part leader Bernd Lucke was quoted by Bild am Sonntag claiming that a “two-figure result [in September’s federal elections] is realistic”. The opposition SPD also held it party conference yesterday with Chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrück calling for fair pay and pensions, affordable housing and more emphasis on job creation. Meanwhile, in a new book published today, Bild chief editor Nicholas Blome alleges that if re-elected as Chancellor, Angela Merkel could retire in 2015 when she reaches 60, although this has been denied by a German government spokesman. FAZ FAZ 2 FAZ 3 FAZ: Frankenberger Süddeutsche Süddeutsche: Prantl DWN DWN 2 Times IHTEUobserver Bild Welt Spiegel Bild 2 Welt 2 Bild 3 Welt 3 Portugal looks to finalise extension of bailout loans EU/IMF/ECB Troika officials will return to Lisbon today to assess the latest round of austerity measures, including additional savings to fill in for those struck down by the Constitutional Court. The negotiations will pave the way for the release of the next tranche of bailout funds and finalising a seven-year extension of Portuguese bailout loans. Open Europe’s Raoul Ruparel was quoted in Saturday’s Telegraphdiscussing austerity in Portugal. Raoul also appeared on Al Jazeera’s Counting the Cost show assessing the prospects of a second Portuguese bailout. FT Saturday’s Telegraph FT Weekend European Voice Times: Rhodes The BBC reports on last week’s joint event by Open Europe and the European Parliament on EU police and criminal justice measures. A video of the event will available on the Open Europe website later today.Open Europe Event BBC Germany’s Council of Economic Experts has proposed that a wealth tax be instituted in struggling eurozone countries to help fund bailouts. Spiegel Telegraph The Greek government and the EU/IMF/ECB Troika reached an agreement over the weekend allowing the release of the next tranche of Greek bailout funds. The deal will see 4,000 civil servants laid off this year and up to 11,000 next year. Commission Statement Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 The proceedings for the election of the new Italian President start this week, with the first ballot scheduled for Thursday. Meanwhile, Silvio Berlusconi has said that, in the event of new elections, he would be the centre-right’s candidate for prime minister. Corriere della Sera Corriere della Sera 2 La Stampa Rai News 24 Beppe Grillo’s Blog Only 26% are satisfied with French President Francois Hollande’s government according to new Clai-Metro-LCI/Opinion Way poll released on Sunday. Les Echos Croatians yesterday elected 12 MEPs, on a turnout of 20.74%, to take their seats in the European Parliament on 1 July when their country joins the EU. Euractiv EUobserver Le Monde Germany and France are expected to publish a common position on plans to facilitate the automatic exchange of tax information across Europe in a bid to step up the fight against tax evasion, reports the FT. Meanwhile Reuters reports that Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter has declared victory in her battle to maintain Austria’s banking secrecy and avoid reporting foreigners' accounts to their tax authorities. FT FAZ Presse Reuters Kurier In a letter to French Economy Minister Pierre Moscovici, six associations of French employers, bankers and insurers have warned against the “wealth-destructing” Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) to be introduced by eleven EU member states – including France – under so-called ‘enhanced cooperation’. Le Figaro Reuters FT: Dizard City AM reports that according a report by Chatham House, the UK’s 5% biofuel target will cost motorists £460m this year, while meeting the EU’s 10% target will cost £1.3bn each year by 2020. The report also concluded that biodiesel from vegetable oils was worse for the climate than fossil diesel. CityAM The Mail reports that the European Commission is helping to fund groups seeking state-backed regulation of newspapers. Mail Sunday Telegraph