Greek debt landing Germany in “a very difficult situation”
23 December 2009
The FTDeutschland reports that Moody's has joined the other major ratings agencies in downgrading
Economics Editor Stephanie Flanders said: “It’s quite interesting though because in theory there is this ‘no bailout’ clause for the eurozone which actually the Germans insisted on when the single currency was getting started because they didn’t want countries like Greece and Italy always thinking they could come running to Brussels…but there has already been quite a lot of expectation that they would find a way round that clause and I’m sure that’s right…Germany in particular is going to face a very difficult situation.”
A poll commissioned by Open Europe of German voters in July found that 70% of Germans were against using public money to bail out other countries that had got into financial difficulties following the economic crisis.
A leader in German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung argues that “the EU should control
An article in Die Welt, looking at the potential accession of Serbia to the EU, argues, “Under the protective umbrella of EU membership, economic mismanagement and political corruption go unhindered and unpunished…The richer countries that have managed their economies more responsibly will always bail their desperate little brother out of the mess.”
Meanwhile, an article in the FT looks at recession-hit Latvia, noting that the price for an EU and IMF bail-out has “been painful tax increases and brutal spending cuts – including reductions of up to 40 per cent in public sector pay and a 10 per cent cut in pensions.”
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EU informed of global climate deal by text message;
Swedish Environment Minister blasts “great failure” of
Following a meeting of EU environment ministers, Swedish Environment Minister Andreas Carlgren called the agreement reached at the
The FT reports that the EU had believed its role as the first bloc to pass binding emissions reductions targets would give it a prime seat at the negotiating table, but it was not even invited to a final meeting at which leading developed countries struck the decisive deal with the
The article also reports that several nations blamed the unwieldy United Nations negotiating process for
European Voice reports that the ministers have asked the European Commission to produce a report of ‘what went wrong' at Copenhagen to help the EU reflect on its international climate strategy, to be discussed in Seville on 15-17 January.
Die Welt and Handelsblatt report that
Meanwhile, Les Echos reports that “businesses are alarmed” by calls among policymakers to increase the EU’s emissions reduction target from 20 percent to 30 percent by 2020.
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Open Europe’s research on the ‘Top 100’ EU regulations, which will cost the
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EU civil servants’ union: Member states are using pay dispute to deflect from their inability to combat the recession
EUobserver notes that national ministers are set to rubber-stamp a 1.85 percent pay rise for EU civil servants, rejecting a request by the European Commission for a 3.7 percent rise. However, Renzo Carpenito, the Council of Ministers' top delegate to the FFPE trade union, has said that national governments are using the pay dispute in a cynical ploy to improve their image. He said, "Member states can't solve the financial crisis, which is the real problem. The pay dispute is a good dossier to improve their image.” He added, “We regret that certain member states have created a media storm out of the issue.”
The article notes that the European Commission is still deciding whether to challenge the decision at the European Court of Justice, dragging the dispute into the New Year.
Opinion poll shows Spanish people think their country has little influence in EU
El Mundo reports on an opinion poll conducted by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas, an independent Spanish research body, which examines attitudes within
The poll also found that 38.1% of people think that
24.4% of people think that the Spanish government defends Spanish interests in
Corruption allegations surround minister appointed to oversee EU funds in
EUobserver reports that the Romanian Minister, Elena Udrea, appointed to oversee the spending of EU funds, has previously “been in the spotlight for corruption allegations.” The article notes that Ms Udrea is married to a
Ms Udrea was also the subject of a parliamentary inquiry in September, which recommended opening a criminal investigation into the way she had used public money to fund media campaigns. The article notes that Ms Udrea will be in charge of €3.7 billion of funds from the EU budget for 2007 to 2013, with the aim of improving housing, infrastructure and tourism.
Commissioner McCreevy obtained €1.6 million loan amid questionable lending practices
The front page of the Irish Independent reports that outgoing EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy is one of several Fianna Fail politicians who have been named by an RTE 'Prime Time Investigates' programme as having been given huge mortgages from Irish Nationwide with minimum paperwork involved. Commissioner McCreevy obtained a €1.6m Irish Nationwide loan to buy a luxury apartment in the K Club golf resort in
The Irish Financial Regulator's office has confirmed it would be carrying out an investigation into lending practices at the building society.
EU extends import duties on Asian footwear despite protests from the
Yesterday, EU ministers voted in favour of extending import duties on shoes imported from
The BBC quotes UK Business Secretary Lord Mandelson saying: "maintaining the duties damages trade, harms the reputation of
Telegraph European Voice BBC Independent Independent 2 FT El País
FT: The
A leader in the FT argues “Those who expect a transformation in European decisiveness now the
WSJ: Ashton shows foreign policy inexperience by “bashing”
A WSJ editorial criticises newly appointed EU Foreign Minister Baroness Ashton for using “her maiden speech in the European Parliament to fuel the Continent's No. 1 international-affairs obsession: trashing the Jewish state.” The article concludes, “Lady Ashton plans her first official visit to the region early next year. It's a shame that the good Baroness didn't go on such a fact-finding trip before bashing the
Jessica Reed: EU subsidies don't save real farmers
On the Guardian’s Comment is Free, Jessica Reed notes that funding from the EU's common agricultural policy rarely finds its way to smaller farmers but more often ends up in the hands of big producers. She argues that, “some of the funding recipients were found to be Haribo (hardly a company with strong ties to traditional farming), luxury cruise ship caterers exporting dairy and sugar sachets, and landowners such as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Albert II of Monaco. Somehow, I cannot imagine those two knee-deep in mud, cultivating vegetables on any real scale.”
The Telegraph reports that there is a growing rift between Gordon Brown and the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, who felt slighted when Mr Brown did not push him for the EU Foreign Minister job last month.
The Independent features a ‘Review of the Year’ for the EU and urges, “If David Cameron is the next UK prime minister, he may come to regret that he has pulled the Conservatives out of a rising force in the EU [the EPP]: even if that rising force is dedicated to the principle of Euro-muddle-through-as-usual.”
The Times carries a leader on
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An article in El Mundo discusses
EUobserver notes that German authorities have given permission for Russia to build a major new gas pipeline to the country, known as the Nord Stream, which will bypass eastern Europe.