Two third of Germans believe Merkel has handled eurozone crisis properly and decisively;59% of Germans no longer believe their savings are secure following Cypriot bailoutA new ARD-Deutschlandtrend poll has found that 66% of Germans believe that Chancellor Angela Merkel has handled the eurozone crisis properly and decisively, although 75% believe that the worst of the crisis is still to come. Overall, Merkel retains her position as Germanys most popular politician with 68% approval, while the SPDs Chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrücks stands at 32%, his lowest since 2005. Overall the CDU/CSU leads on 41% followed by the SPD on 27%, the Greens on 14% and the FDP on 4%.
Meanwhile, a new Forsa poll for Handelsblatt has found that following the Cypriot bailout agreement, 59% of Germans no longer believe that their savings are secure despite assurances from Chancellor Angela Merkel, with doubts particularly prevalent among 18 to 29 year olds.
ARD Spiegel Handelsblatt Welt
Open Europe's Director Mats Persson is now on twitter @matsJpersson. City AM's "Best of twitter" features his twitter feed on Cyprus' plummeting GDP.
CityAM Open Europe Twitter
Former Cypriot Fin Min: restrictive bailout terms mean economic prospects are very, very unfavourable;
Cypriot government spokesman: economy could contract by 13% this year
Bloomberg reports that Cypriot government spokesman Christos Stylianides said yesterday, In 2013 the recession may not be 8.7% as is estimated, it may reach 13%. Separately, according to research by Barclays, the Cypriot crisis could strip 15bn annually from bank profits across Europe, the FT reports. Writing on his Telegraph blog, Open Europe Director Mats Persson asks Is Cyprus turning into a zombie economy? He adds, The question is, where in the world will growth come from that will allow the country to bounce back in 2015/16 as forecasted by the EU/IMF/ECB Troika?
Bloomberg Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail 2 Cyprus Mail 3 Famagusta Gazette FT Telegraph: Persson
Draghi supports use of bail-ins but says policy to tax insured deposits was not smart
The ECB held interest rates yesterday, but in his monthly press conference ECB President Mario Draghi stressed the ECB stood ready to act if needed and the monetary policy would remain accommodative for as long as needed. Draghi also suggested that the decision to tax insured depositors in Cyprus was not smart and stressed that it is no template for the rest of the eurozone crisis.
FT FT 2 CityAM WSJ Telegraph Guardian Economist: Charlemagne BBC European Voice Euractiv Süddeutsche Welt Irish Independent Irish Times
Government-commissioned report says it is not possible to predict number of Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants to the UK
A Foreign Office-commissioned report published today says that the number of Romanians and Bulgarians who will come to the UK after transitional controls are lifted in 2014 is not possible to predict., but suggested that anxiety about the stresses on welfare, health and housing had been overblown. Meanwhile, the FT reports that the Government is in talks with Romania about a campaign to make clear that EU nationals entering Britain do not have an automatic entitlement to welfare and benefits.
Open Europe Research Telegraph Telegraph: Editorial Guardian BBC Express FT Mail NIESR report
French Finance Minister calls on Germany to show greater patience;
New allegations of tax fraud increase pressure on Hollande
At an event on Franco-German relations in Strasbourg yesterday, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici publicly called on his German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble to show greater patience with the French governments efforts to reduce its budget deficit, reports FAZ. Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande was plunged further into controversy over tax fraud after Le Monde reported that the treasurer of his presidential campaign, Jean-Jacques Augier, invested in two companies registered in the Cayman Islands.
Telegraph BBC FAZ Süddeutsche Handelsblatt FAZ: Wiegel
Leader of Italian Democratic Party challenged to form government or hold new elections
Mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi, a member of Pier Luigi Bersanis left wing Democratic party, has challenged Bersani to either abandon his opposition to forming a coalition government with Silvio Berlusconis centre-right party or to prepare for an early rerun of Februarys general election. Il Messagerro quotes Renzi as saying Make up your mind, it's been more than 40 days since the election. When we voted there was no vacancy in the Vatican, even the church, not a model of fluency, has been able to organise it more quickly. Pier Luigi Bersani is reported as responding that going to the polls again now would be irresponsible.
Il Messaggero Il Giorno La Reppublico Corriere Della Sera FT Süddeutsche FAZ
Gunther Krichbaum, the chairman of the Bundestags EU affairs committee tells Bild that We must learn from the mistakes of previous accessions and not repeat them Croatia still has problems with corruption and its judicial sector. We cannot ease up the pressure for reform after its accession.
No link
Data released yesterday showed that the purchasing managers index for services showed that activity fell at a quicker pace in the eurozone in March. The fall was driven by France where private sector activity fell to a 48 month low.
CityAM WSJ
The Greek government restarted talks with the EU/IMF/ECB Troika yesterday, although the two sides remain far apart on issues such as overhaul of the public sector, bank mergers and the size of the fiscal shortfall. Separately, former SYRIZA leader Alekos Alavanos has launched a new party in Greece called Plan B which calls for Greece to leave the euro.
Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 FT Euractiv
The Guardian reports that the UKs Ministry of Justice is opposed to the European Commissions proposals on online data privacy and the right to be forgotten. The MoJ said, The reasonable steps required by the draft regulation would promise much, but deliver little.
Guardian
Portuguese Parliamentary Affairs Minister Miguel Relvas, a key ally of Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, resigned yesterday amid growing questions over how he gained his university degree.
Portugal News RTE
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, a German MEP of Greek origin from the German Free Democratic Party, has said he will resign saying It's difficult to work with people who started a campaign against Greece.
European Voice
Euractiv reports that José Manuel Barroso has not ruled out a third term as EU Commission President saying "My mandate runs until October 2014, then I will make a decision about myself."
Euractiv
Bron: politics.be
Meanwhile, a new Forsa poll for Handelsblatt has found that following the Cypriot bailout agreement, 59% of Germans no longer believe that their savings are secure despite assurances from Chancellor Angela Merkel, with doubts particularly prevalent among 18 to 29 year olds.
ARD Spiegel Handelsblatt Welt
Open Europe's Director Mats Persson is now on twitter @matsJpersson. City AM's "Best of twitter" features his twitter feed on Cyprus' plummeting GDP.
CityAM Open Europe Twitter
Former Cypriot Fin Min: restrictive bailout terms mean economic prospects are very, very unfavourable;
Cypriot government spokesman: economy could contract by 13% this year
Bloomberg reports that Cypriot government spokesman Christos Stylianides said yesterday, In 2013 the recession may not be 8.7% as is estimated, it may reach 13%. Separately, according to research by Barclays, the Cypriot crisis could strip 15bn annually from bank profits across Europe, the FT reports. Writing on his Telegraph blog, Open Europe Director Mats Persson asks Is Cyprus turning into a zombie economy? He adds, The question is, where in the world will growth come from that will allow the country to bounce back in 2015/16 as forecasted by the EU/IMF/ECB Troika?
Bloomberg Cyprus Mail Cyprus Mail 2 Cyprus Mail 3 Famagusta Gazette FT Telegraph: Persson
Draghi supports use of bail-ins but says policy to tax insured deposits was not smart
The ECB held interest rates yesterday, but in his monthly press conference ECB President Mario Draghi stressed the ECB stood ready to act if needed and the monetary policy would remain accommodative for as long as needed. Draghi also suggested that the decision to tax insured depositors in Cyprus was not smart and stressed that it is no template for the rest of the eurozone crisis.
FT FT 2 CityAM WSJ Telegraph Guardian Economist: Charlemagne BBC European Voice Euractiv Süddeutsche Welt Irish Independent Irish Times
Government-commissioned report says it is not possible to predict number of Bulgarian and Romanian immigrants to the UK
A Foreign Office-commissioned report published today says that the number of Romanians and Bulgarians who will come to the UK after transitional controls are lifted in 2014 is not possible to predict., but suggested that anxiety about the stresses on welfare, health and housing had been overblown. Meanwhile, the FT reports that the Government is in talks with Romania about a campaign to make clear that EU nationals entering Britain do not have an automatic entitlement to welfare and benefits.
Open Europe Research Telegraph Telegraph: Editorial Guardian BBC Express FT Mail NIESR report
French Finance Minister calls on Germany to show greater patience;
New allegations of tax fraud increase pressure on Hollande
At an event on Franco-German relations in Strasbourg yesterday, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici publicly called on his German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble to show greater patience with the French governments efforts to reduce its budget deficit, reports FAZ. Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande was plunged further into controversy over tax fraud after Le Monde reported that the treasurer of his presidential campaign, Jean-Jacques Augier, invested in two companies registered in the Cayman Islands.
Telegraph BBC FAZ Süddeutsche Handelsblatt FAZ: Wiegel
Leader of Italian Democratic Party challenged to form government or hold new elections
Mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi, a member of Pier Luigi Bersanis left wing Democratic party, has challenged Bersani to either abandon his opposition to forming a coalition government with Silvio Berlusconis centre-right party or to prepare for an early rerun of Februarys general election. Il Messagerro quotes Renzi as saying Make up your mind, it's been more than 40 days since the election. When we voted there was no vacancy in the Vatican, even the church, not a model of fluency, has been able to organise it more quickly. Pier Luigi Bersani is reported as responding that going to the polls again now would be irresponsible.
Il Messaggero Il Giorno La Reppublico Corriere Della Sera FT Süddeutsche FAZ
Gunther Krichbaum, the chairman of the Bundestags EU affairs committee tells Bild that We must learn from the mistakes of previous accessions and not repeat them Croatia still has problems with corruption and its judicial sector. We cannot ease up the pressure for reform after its accession.
No link
Data released yesterday showed that the purchasing managers index for services showed that activity fell at a quicker pace in the eurozone in March. The fall was driven by France where private sector activity fell to a 48 month low.
CityAM WSJ
The Greek government restarted talks with the EU/IMF/ECB Troika yesterday, although the two sides remain far apart on issues such as overhaul of the public sector, bank mergers and the size of the fiscal shortfall. Separately, former SYRIZA leader Alekos Alavanos has launched a new party in Greece called Plan B which calls for Greece to leave the euro.
Kathimerini Kathimerini 2 FT Euractiv
The Guardian reports that the UKs Ministry of Justice is opposed to the European Commissions proposals on online data privacy and the right to be forgotten. The MoJ said, The reasonable steps required by the draft regulation would promise much, but deliver little.
Guardian
Portuguese Parliamentary Affairs Minister Miguel Relvas, a key ally of Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, resigned yesterday amid growing questions over how he gained his university degree.
Portugal News RTE
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, a German MEP of Greek origin from the German Free Democratic Party, has said he will resign saying It's difficult to work with people who started a campaign against Greece.
European Voice
Euractiv reports that José Manuel Barroso has not ruled out a third term as EU Commission President saying "My mandate runs until October 2014, then I will make a decision about myself."
Euractiv
Bron: politics.be