The Catalonia Parliament passed a declaration on Wednesday which classes the region as “a political and judicial sovereign subject”, a first step to organising a self-determination referendum in 2014.
A total of 85 representatives out of 135 voted in favour and 41 voted against. Among the latter, five of the 20 Socialist’s Party of Catalonia’s representatives disobeyed party instructions by not participating to the vote.
The Bank of Italy has accused the nation’s third largest bank, Monte dei Paschi, of providing false documentation about its crisis, which was triggered by calamitous derivative operations under former chairman Giuseppe Mussari (2006-2010).
On Tuesday, Mussari resigned from the presidency of the Italian Banks Association and yesterday, trading in the Siena bank’s shares was suspended after their value dropped 9 per cent.
In his long-awaited speech on Europe, British PM David Cameron pledged to organise a referendum on UK membership of the EU if he’s re-elected in 2015. This referendum would be held before the end of 2017 and after a new deal is agreed between the UK and its EU partners.
This speech “unites Tories, delights business and even gets Germany on side”, writes the eurosceptic daily, referring to the fact that German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “prepared to talk about British wishes”.
L’Echo, Brussels – Cartoon. See more.
From now on, „MPs are more equal than other elected officials,“ states Romanian daily Adevărul. On January 22, Romanian senators and deputies approved a bill allowing them to ignore rulings concerning them issued by the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, the National Integrity Agency. The new law will apply even if the Agency rules that an MP’s legislative mandate is incompatible with another mandate or that a situation in which they find themselves causes a conflict of interest. The MPs will be able to keep their seats until a court rules on their case.
This bill puts deputies and senators in a privileged position relative to all other elected officials, the paper notes. The votes in favour came entirely from the ranks of the ruling coalition, the USL (Social-Liberal Union). For Adevărul –
That elected officials are more equal than the rest of us, the others, is not serious. What is serious is that the discussions, the arguments and the fears express but one thing: the Romanian judiciary is not independent. It seems to be following orders, far from Europe’s watchful eye. Its independence is a convention. Everybody knows that in court, people are not equal. The poor, the wretched and the disadvantaged have a greater chance of ending up in prison. […] Conversely, those privileged by fate enjoy a different regime; different treatment. They wield another kind of power.
“There is nothing inevitable about Britain’s departure from the EU. Yet history could well record that David Cameron has set the nation on this course”, [writes *Financial Times* columnist Philip Stephens](http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a0253242-6545-11e2-a3db-00144feab49a.html#axzz2Ib4v6LEZ) after the British PM spoke in London on January 23.
“Britain will get EU referendum”, headlines the *Daily Express* claiming a front page victory for its campaign to hold the vote. [Columnist Patrick O'Flynn observes](http://www.express.co.uk/ourcomments/view/372653) Cameron announced his intention to lead a pro-European vote, before knowing what concessions he can negotiate. He continues –
This decision to put EU membership to the people is “a high risk but ballsy call”, [writes *The Sun’s* political editor](http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/politics/4758144/In-or-Out-its-YOUR-shout.html), Tom Newton Dunn, comparing the move to putting “a loaded gun to EU leaders' heads and saying: give Britain back what it wants or we may walk.” Describing the PM’s forthcoming negotiations as “a poker game with Brussels of intense bluff, and for the highest stakes” he adds that –
[For the BBC’s political correspondent](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21148282), Iain Watson, the in-out referendum decision will delight the many Eurosceptics in Cameron’s party and unite the Conservatives ahead of the 2015 election, but the renegotiation process may ultimately trigger future splits.
[*The Economist’s* “*Blighty*” blog notes](http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2013/01/britains-drift-europe) that any renegotiation of the UK’s membership terms will be “minor and will carry a hefty diplomatic price tag.”
James Kirkup, deputy political editor at [*The Daily Telegraph*, says](http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100199618/david-cameron-wants-to-save-the-eu-from-itself-will-it-save-him-from-his-party/) Cameron’s speech pushed the focus of the European project back on an economic and market-based principle, which may be welcomed by the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland. However, others “will not react well to what will strike them as an attempt at blackmail by a leader too politically weak to resist his own party.” He adds –
Tygodnik Powszechny , Cracow – Modern and productive, the Tychy factory was once Fiat’s flagship site, but in the face of the debt crisis, the Italian automaker has decided to bring production of the popular Panda back to Naples. For the Polish workforce, this means a wave of redundancies in late January, and disillusionment is the order of the day. See more.
In 2012, more than 4,000 people from Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland applied for residency permits in Sweden.
According to the Swedish immigration service, this figure has doubled since 2010 as a result of the European economic crisis.
The 50th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty was celebrated in an atmosphere worthy of a 1980s romantic comedy, jokes the compact edition of Die Welt. On January 22, François Hollande and Angela Merkel put paid to suspicions that Franco-German friendship was in crisis.
The President and the Chancellor are on intimate terms, and the German leader has once again voiced her support for French intervention in Mali. However, the daily underlines, that the “unique selling point” of the Franco-German axis “appears increasingly weak”.
“Since 2005, the world’s 100 biggest multinationals have set up hundreds of tax structures in the Netherlands,” reports Volkskrant. The daily has studied the annual reports of corporations like Google, IBM and ENI to evaluate the tax breaks they have obtained through the use of Dutch shell companies.
Conclusion: In 2011, these multinationals routed €57bn through the Netherlands without paying very much tax. On January 23, the Secretary of State for Finance will be questioned by the second house of the Dutch parliament about the use of „tax routes“.