UK to publish first tranche of Balance of Competences audit of EU powers today;Cameron: EU renegotiation is going to be a menu that will be delivered over timeThe UK Government will today publish the first six reports of its Balance of Competences audit of EU powers. The reports will include those on the Single market, international aid and the NHS, and may form the basis of a renegotiation of the UKs EU membership terms.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, evidence to be published alongside the reports will show that 400 new EU laws have been passed since the Coalition was formed three years ago costing British business £676m a year. The evidence will also highlight that the EUs Agency Workers Directive costs British firms as much as £1.5bn a year and that less than half of foreign aid money paid by EU institutions goes to help worlds poorest people as Open Europe noted in a report published in 2011.
Open Europes Stephen Booth is quoted by the Sunday Telegraph, FT and Mail as saying the Balance of Competences review is a useful exercise that will inform the EU debate for years to come, but unless this review is complemented by a more political strategy to set out the parameters of a future EU renegotiation to secure more flexible UK membership terms, it will not be sufficient.
Hugo Dixon of Reuters Breakingviews cites Open Europes proposal to give national parliaments a veto over unwanted European Commission legislative plans the so-called red card system recently endorsed by the UK Government.
Meanwhile, questioned by the BBCs Andrew Marr on EU renegotiation, David Cameron said yesterday, Weve said some things already, but we need obviously to set out more Its going to be a menu that will be delivered over time.
Open Europe research: The case for European localism Open Europe research: Trading Places Open Europe research: EU aid FT Mail Sunday Telegraph Sun City AM Express Sunday Times Euractiv IHT BBC: Andrew Marr show
Portuguese President backs existing coalition after talks over national salvation pact break down
Portugals ruling coalition and the opposition Socialist Party failed to agree on the national salvation pact demanded by President Aníbal Cavaco Silva to help the country successfully complete its EU/IMF bailout programme. In a speech yesterday, Cavaco Silva ruled out snap elections and said the continuation of the existing centre-right coalition was the best solution. Following a reshuffle, the government led by Pedro Passos Coelho is now expected to request a vote of confidence in parliament on its future economic and social policy plans.
Open Europe Flash Analysis Jornal de Negócios Diário Económico Público Jornal de Negócios 2 Diário Económico 2 FT City AM WSJ BBC
German opposition SPDs Chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrück has accused Angela Merkel of deceit over eurozone bailouts warning that, if there were a fresh debt write-down in Greece, The illusion about not being a union of joint liability would burst like a bubble. He added that it cannot be excluded in any way that countries may need further aid after the German elections in September.
Reuters
Frances opposition leader Jean-François Copé told the Telegraph that he is deeply worried by the UKs EU referendum. Even in France, nobody can win a referendum on Europe The No wins out every time largely because people end up answering questions that are not the ones being posed, he argued.
Telegraph: Copé
De Telegraaf reports that, as a result of the ECBs low interest rates, Dutch pension funds may be forced to cut pay-outs for the second time in the space of a few years.
Telegraaf
A Sigma Dos poll published by El Mundo shows that, according to 79% of voters of his own party, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy should give explanations to parliament about the recent slush fund allegations against him and other senior fellow party members.
El Mundo FT
The ECBs former Chief Economist Otmar Issing told Handelsblatt that Germany should not become a scapegoat in the eurozone crisis, adding that the biggest risk by far at least politically is the impression that the regime of a stable euro and an independent central bank are German inventions.
Handelsblatt: Issing
The FT reports that, according to RBS, European banks must shed 2.7 trillion in assets from their balance sheets by 2016 if they are to be sustainable on top of the 2.4 trillion reduction which has already taken place.
FT FT 2
The Cyprus Mail reports that Cyprus and the EU/IMF/ECB Troika have agreed to discuss the possibility of splitting the Bank of Cyprus into two, with one side managing banking operations and the other handling real estate activities. Irrespective of the action taken, the restructuring of the bank must be completed by the end of September.
Cyprus Mail
EU member states could today agree to classify the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, following allegations the group was involved in the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year. The UK has long pushed for this course of action but some other member states are worried it could further destabilise the situation in Lebanon.
BBC Reuters Die Welt reports that the German coalition government is divided over whether to renew the solidarity levy whereby West German states subsidise the economic reconstruction of the Eastern states with Chancellor Angela Merkel describing it as essential, while the CSU and the FDP favour letting it expire at the end of 201 9.
Welt Welt 2 Welt 3
In an interview with Bild, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding argues that if the proposed EU directive on data protection had been in place, the recent NSA spying scandal would not have occurred, as the new rules are a European firewall against illegal grabs of EU citizens data by companies and officials.
Bild
Bron: politics.be
According to the Sunday Telegraph, evidence to be published alongside the reports will show that 400 new EU laws have been passed since the Coalition was formed three years ago costing British business £676m a year. The evidence will also highlight that the EUs Agency Workers Directive costs British firms as much as £1.5bn a year and that less than half of foreign aid money paid by EU institutions goes to help worlds poorest people as Open Europe noted in a report published in 2011.
Open Europes Stephen Booth is quoted by the Sunday Telegraph, FT and Mail as saying the Balance of Competences review is a useful exercise that will inform the EU debate for years to come, but unless this review is complemented by a more political strategy to set out the parameters of a future EU renegotiation to secure more flexible UK membership terms, it will not be sufficient.
Hugo Dixon of Reuters Breakingviews cites Open Europes proposal to give national parliaments a veto over unwanted European Commission legislative plans the so-called red card system recently endorsed by the UK Government.
Meanwhile, questioned by the BBCs Andrew Marr on EU renegotiation, David Cameron said yesterday, Weve said some things already, but we need obviously to set out more Its going to be a menu that will be delivered over time.
Open Europe research: The case for European localism Open Europe research: Trading Places Open Europe research: EU aid FT Mail Sunday Telegraph Sun City AM Express Sunday Times Euractiv IHT BBC: Andrew Marr show
Portuguese President backs existing coalition after talks over national salvation pact break down
Portugals ruling coalition and the opposition Socialist Party failed to agree on the national salvation pact demanded by President Aníbal Cavaco Silva to help the country successfully complete its EU/IMF bailout programme. In a speech yesterday, Cavaco Silva ruled out snap elections and said the continuation of the existing centre-right coalition was the best solution. Following a reshuffle, the government led by Pedro Passos Coelho is now expected to request a vote of confidence in parliament on its future economic and social policy plans.
Open Europe Flash Analysis Jornal de Negócios Diário Económico Público Jornal de Negócios 2 Diário Económico 2 FT City AM WSJ BBC
German opposition SPDs Chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrück has accused Angela Merkel of deceit over eurozone bailouts warning that, if there were a fresh debt write-down in Greece, The illusion about not being a union of joint liability would burst like a bubble. He added that it cannot be excluded in any way that countries may need further aid after the German elections in September.
Reuters
Frances opposition leader Jean-François Copé told the Telegraph that he is deeply worried by the UKs EU referendum. Even in France, nobody can win a referendum on Europe The No wins out every time largely because people end up answering questions that are not the ones being posed, he argued.
Telegraph: Copé
De Telegraaf reports that, as a result of the ECBs low interest rates, Dutch pension funds may be forced to cut pay-outs for the second time in the space of a few years.
Telegraaf
A Sigma Dos poll published by El Mundo shows that, according to 79% of voters of his own party, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy should give explanations to parliament about the recent slush fund allegations against him and other senior fellow party members.
El Mundo FT
The ECBs former Chief Economist Otmar Issing told Handelsblatt that Germany should not become a scapegoat in the eurozone crisis, adding that the biggest risk by far at least politically is the impression that the regime of a stable euro and an independent central bank are German inventions.
Handelsblatt: Issing
The FT reports that, according to RBS, European banks must shed 2.7 trillion in assets from their balance sheets by 2016 if they are to be sustainable on top of the 2.4 trillion reduction which has already taken place.
FT FT 2
The Cyprus Mail reports that Cyprus and the EU/IMF/ECB Troika have agreed to discuss the possibility of splitting the Bank of Cyprus into two, with one side managing banking operations and the other handling real estate activities. Irrespective of the action taken, the restructuring of the bank must be completed by the end of September.
Cyprus Mail
EU member states could today agree to classify the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, following allegations the group was involved in the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year. The UK has long pushed for this course of action but some other member states are worried it could further destabilise the situation in Lebanon.
BBC Reuters Die Welt reports that the German coalition government is divided over whether to renew the solidarity levy whereby West German states subsidise the economic reconstruction of the Eastern states with Chancellor Angela Merkel describing it as essential, while the CSU and the FDP favour letting it expire at the end of 201 9.
Welt Welt 2 Welt 3
In an interview with Bild, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding argues that if the proposed EU directive on data protection had been in place, the recent NSA spying scandal would not have occurred, as the new rules are a European firewall against illegal grabs of EU citizens data by companies and officials.
Bild
Bron: politics.be