Internal paper from German finance ministry blasts French economy; FDP chancellor candidate: France is Europes big problem child Under a front-page headline Berlin declares France as a problematic case Handelsblatt reports on a working paper prepared by German Economy Minister Rösler's cabinet. The paper lists a number of French problems, including; strongly increased costs of labour, the second lowest annual working time in the EU and the highest tax burden in the eurozone. The newspaper notes that the love affair between Germany and France are over. The article adds that FDP-chief Rainer Brüderle is equally critical of Frances labour market and social policies in an internal analysis called France: Europes big problem child. Meanwhile, in France, opposition UMP politicians Jean-François Copé et François Fillon have accused the ruling Socialist Party of Germanophobie. Open Europes blogpost on the German reaction to the leaked French Socialist Party memo calling for greater confrontation with Chancellor Angela Merkel is quoted by the Guardians live blog. Open Europe blog Handelsblatt Die Presse FT Le Figaro Le Monde Guardian live blog
Open Europe blog Handelsblatt Die Presse FT Le Figaro Le Monde Guardian live blog
Economic data released by Eurostat this morning showed that unemployment in the eurozone reached another record in March of 12.1%. Meanwhile inflation fell to 1.2% in April.
Eurostat Eurostat 2
Handelsblatt has published a report by the ECB to the German Constitutional Court on its bond buying programme, the OMT. In response to the Bundesbank document, the report notes that the ECB will only publish the legal details of the OMT when its use is imminent, since the concrete conditions for the programme still need to be drawn up.
Handelsblatt: ECB document Die Presse Reuters
Treasury Committee Chairman: EUs Solvency II rules an object lesson in how not to make law;
UK to risk EU court challenge in order to impose tougher rules for insurers
The Treasury Committee has today published a series of letters between its Chairman, Andrew Tyrie MP, and the Executive Director of the Prudential Regulation Authority, Andrew Bailey, discussing EU insurance rules known as Solvency II. Commenting on the letters, the Chairman of the Treasury Committee, Andrew Tyrie MP, said: Mr Bailey describes the history of the EU decision-making process on Solvency II as shocking Solvency II is an object lesson in how not to make law. Meanwhile, Mr Bailey said the UK would accept the risk of EU challenge and implement tougher rules for its insurers.
Independent Politics Home Express City AM Reuters Telegraph Euractiv
Bloomberg quotes Open Europes Raoul Ruparel arguing, Its not impossible, but its very unlikely that Slovenia can manage to pull off the bank restructuring without any EU money And when it turns to official funds, the conditions will most likely include a bail-in of creditors, especially because banks are the main problem.
Open Europe research Bloomberg
New Italian Prime Minister Letta: We will die from fiscal rigour alone;
Government cancels 6bn worth of planned tax increases
In his inaugural address to parliament, the Prime Minister of Italys new grand coalition Enrico Letta argued that We will die of fiscal rigour alone. Growth policies cannot wait any longer. He also argued that Europe faced a crisis of legitimacy. Letta will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin today and will also visit Paris and Brussels later this week. Letta also announced that he would cancel the first instalment of a highly unpopular property tax and the planned increase in VAT which were agreed under Mario Monti, although he did not indicate how the government would make up the estimated 6bn cost. Markets yesterday responded positively to the appointment of the new government, with 3bn of Italian 10-year bonds selling at 3.94%, the lowest rate since 2010.
FT CityAM WSJ WSJ 2 FT: Sri-Kumar Telegraph Irish Times Le Figaro Le Figaro: Klossa FAZ Süddeutsche
Wall Street Italia quotes Open Europes Vincenzo Scarpetta as saying that the proposed EU financial transaction tax could hit eurozone countries borrowing costs.
Open Europe blog WSI
Cypriot opposition parties pledge to vote against the bailout deal
The opposition AKEL and EDEK parties in Cyprus said yesterday that they will vote against the eurozone bailout deal in this evenings vote, although governing coalition partner DIKO said it will back the deal. So far, 28 MPs have said they will vote in favour versus 24 against out of the 56 seat parliament. Meanwhile, AKEL presented a 30 page document spelling out its alternative vision for Cyprus outside the euro after a rejection of the bailout deal.
Famagusta Gazette Famagusta Gazette 2 Cyprus Mail Kathimerini Famagusta Gazette 3 FT Cyprus Mail 2
According to a proposal being discussed by EU countries and seen by Reuters, depositors should be the very last to suffer losses when a bank collapses, which would shield savers from the kind of losses they faced in Cyprus. Small savers, with less than 100,000, will, in any event, be protected.
Reuters Irish Independent FT
A new INSA poll for Bild has found that support for the new German anti-euro party Alternative für Deutschland has fallen to 3% from 5% in last weeks poll. Angela Merkels CDU/CSU leads on 38% followed by the SPD on 26%, the Greens on 16%, Die Linke on 7% and the FDP on 5%.
Bild
Kathimerini reports that eurozone officials agreed yesterday to release the next 2.8bn tranche of bailout funds for Greece following the approval of the law implementing the civil service cuts demanded by the EU/IMF/ECB Troika.
Kathimerini FT CityAM WSJ WSJ 2
15 of the EUs 27 member states voted for a two-year restriction on pesticides blamed for killing bees, despite opposition by countries including Britain. Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, said that they wanted to wait for the results of more trials before committing to the Europe-wide policy. The UK will, however, be bound by the EU ban.
Independent Times: Leader Times Guardian Telegraph Telegraph 2 European Voice Euractiv BBC
Spanish GDP contracted by 0.5% in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter the seventh straight quarter of contraction.
CNBC Telegraph
A new YouGov poll for the Sun has UKIP on a record high of 14%. Labour leads on 39% followed by the Conservatives on 30% and the Liberal Democrats on 11%.
Sun
The FT reports that Luxembourgs finance minister Luc Frieden has said the Grand Duchy is willing to expand the number of accounts covered by new information-sharing agreements with the US and the EU to include global companies as well as individual taxpayers.
FT FT 2 Süddeutsche
Bron: politics.be
Open Europe blog Handelsblatt Die Presse FT Le Figaro Le Monde Guardian live blog
Economic data released by Eurostat this morning showed that unemployment in the eurozone reached another record in March of 12.1%. Meanwhile inflation fell to 1.2% in April.
Eurostat Eurostat 2
Handelsblatt has published a report by the ECB to the German Constitutional Court on its bond buying programme, the OMT. In response to the Bundesbank document, the report notes that the ECB will only publish the legal details of the OMT when its use is imminent, since the concrete conditions for the programme still need to be drawn up.
Handelsblatt: ECB document Die Presse Reuters
Treasury Committee Chairman: EUs Solvency II rules an object lesson in how not to make law;
UK to risk EU court challenge in order to impose tougher rules for insurers
The Treasury Committee has today published a series of letters between its Chairman, Andrew Tyrie MP, and the Executive Director of the Prudential Regulation Authority, Andrew Bailey, discussing EU insurance rules known as Solvency II. Commenting on the letters, the Chairman of the Treasury Committee, Andrew Tyrie MP, said: Mr Bailey describes the history of the EU decision-making process on Solvency II as shocking Solvency II is an object lesson in how not to make law. Meanwhile, Mr Bailey said the UK would accept the risk of EU challenge and implement tougher rules for its insurers.
Independent Politics Home Express City AM Reuters Telegraph Euractiv
Bloomberg quotes Open Europes Raoul Ruparel arguing, Its not impossible, but its very unlikely that Slovenia can manage to pull off the bank restructuring without any EU money And when it turns to official funds, the conditions will most likely include a bail-in of creditors, especially because banks are the main problem.
Open Europe research Bloomberg
New Italian Prime Minister Letta: We will die from fiscal rigour alone;
Government cancels 6bn worth of planned tax increases
In his inaugural address to parliament, the Prime Minister of Italys new grand coalition Enrico Letta argued that We will die of fiscal rigour alone. Growth policies cannot wait any longer. He also argued that Europe faced a crisis of legitimacy. Letta will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin today and will also visit Paris and Brussels later this week. Letta also announced that he would cancel the first instalment of a highly unpopular property tax and the planned increase in VAT which were agreed under Mario Monti, although he did not indicate how the government would make up the estimated 6bn cost. Markets yesterday responded positively to the appointment of the new government, with 3bn of Italian 10-year bonds selling at 3.94%, the lowest rate since 2010.
FT CityAM WSJ WSJ 2 FT: Sri-Kumar Telegraph Irish Times Le Figaro Le Figaro: Klossa FAZ Süddeutsche
Wall Street Italia quotes Open Europes Vincenzo Scarpetta as saying that the proposed EU financial transaction tax could hit eurozone countries borrowing costs.
Open Europe blog WSI
Cypriot opposition parties pledge to vote against the bailout deal
The opposition AKEL and EDEK parties in Cyprus said yesterday that they will vote against the eurozone bailout deal in this evenings vote, although governing coalition partner DIKO said it will back the deal. So far, 28 MPs have said they will vote in favour versus 24 against out of the 56 seat parliament. Meanwhile, AKEL presented a 30 page document spelling out its alternative vision for Cyprus outside the euro after a rejection of the bailout deal.
Famagusta Gazette Famagusta Gazette 2 Cyprus Mail Kathimerini Famagusta Gazette 3 FT Cyprus Mail 2
According to a proposal being discussed by EU countries and seen by Reuters, depositors should be the very last to suffer losses when a bank collapses, which would shield savers from the kind of losses they faced in Cyprus. Small savers, with less than 100,000, will, in any event, be protected.
Reuters Irish Independent FT
A new INSA poll for Bild has found that support for the new German anti-euro party Alternative für Deutschland has fallen to 3% from 5% in last weeks poll. Angela Merkels CDU/CSU leads on 38% followed by the SPD on 26%, the Greens on 16%, Die Linke on 7% and the FDP on 5%.
Bild
Kathimerini reports that eurozone officials agreed yesterday to release the next 2.8bn tranche of bailout funds for Greece following the approval of the law implementing the civil service cuts demanded by the EU/IMF/ECB Troika.
Kathimerini FT CityAM WSJ WSJ 2
15 of the EUs 27 member states voted for a two-year restriction on pesticides blamed for killing bees, despite opposition by countries including Britain. Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, said that they wanted to wait for the results of more trials before committing to the Europe-wide policy. The UK will, however, be bound by the EU ban.
Independent Times: Leader Times Guardian Telegraph Telegraph 2 European Voice Euractiv BBC
Spanish GDP contracted by 0.5% in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter the seventh straight quarter of contraction.
CNBC Telegraph
A new YouGov poll for the Sun has UKIP on a record high of 14%. Labour leads on 39% followed by the Conservatives on 30% and the Liberal Democrats on 11%.
Sun
The FT reports that Luxembourgs finance minister Luc Frieden has said the Grand Duchy is willing to expand the number of accounts covered by new information-sharing agreements with the US and the EU to include global companies as well as individual taxpayers.
FT FT 2 Süddeutsche
Bron: politics.be