The EU has eventually reached a budget compromise, say sources in Brussels quoted by the economic daily. The deal rules out further cuts in cohesive funds and the Common Agricultural Policy, which is “a success from Poland’s point of view.”
The budget deal is to be sealed at the EU summit taking place at the beginning of February.
Jean-Claude Juncker said at the European finance ministers meeting, on January 21, that the Eurogroup is evaluating an extension of the repayment terms of the troika`s loan and interest, and confirmed that the country will be granted a new tranche of €800m in February.
At the end of the Eurogroup meeting, the Portuguese Finance Minister Vítor Gaspar also confirmed a return the markets soon.
On January 21, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, 46, was appointed President of Eurogroup. He takes over from Luxembourg’s prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, who has occupied the post since 2005.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Elysée Treaty that sealed the post-war reconciliation between France and Germany, two major dailies from both countries, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Le Monde (see front page opposite) have published a common edition. For its part, SZ, the only German daily to devote its front page to the topic, explains that the cooperation between the newspapers was inspired by Konrad Adenauer who remarked that “the image of the other has to be rediscovered again and again”.
Prince Harry, the Queen’s grandson, admitted that he killed Taliban fighters in Afghanistan during his 20-week tour of duty, which ended on January 22, saying his role was to “take a life to save a life”. The 28-year-old Apache helicopter co-pilot said he had taken insurgents “out of the game” during missions to destroy Taliban targets and protect British servicemen on the ground.
The government expects today’s eurozone finance minister meeting to ease the conditions of the Portuguese bailout, which will facilitate a gradual return to markets. In the best case scenario, relief could mean repayments would begin later, or approval of an extension to the payment deadline, the newspaper writes.
“With industrial production shrinking by 10.6 per cent in December and unemployment likely to reach 15 per cent, the beginning of the year brought news of a looming employment crisis,” leads the daily, highlighting that 2013 may be “more difficult for the Polish economy compared to other crisis years.”
One of the reasons is a ”dramatic” economic slowdown in Germany which is Poland’s main economic partner. Latest estimates put Germany’s GDP growth in 2013 at 0.4 per cent and not 1 per cent as previously predicted.
De Volkskrant, Amsterdam – Cartoon. See more.
After months of discussions, eurozone finance ministers eventually found a successor as Eurogroup chairman to Luxemburg’s prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker. During the January 21 meeting in Brussels, they are expected to appoint Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem (labour party PvdA), reports De Volkskrant. The newspaper adds that the only critic of the Dutch candidate, French finance minister Pierre Moscovici, announced on French TV channel TV5 that he has dropped his opposition to the appointment.
De Volkskrant columnist Martin Sommer, is pleased to report that Dijsselbloem will prove more eurosceptic than his predecessor, saying –
Juncker […] thought the European leaders knew exactly what to do, and that it’s just a pity that the electorate is hard to convince. This has been the heart of the European way of thinking for ages, and if my feeling about Dijsselbloem is correct, his attitude is completely different.
Sommer thinks Dijsselbloem will be a welcome counterbalance to the other three presidents of the EU –
Dijsselbloem is […] an advocate of evidence based policy, which seems to me to be a good guiding principle in Europe. It’s also close to the views of [prime minister] Mark Rutte, who doesn’t want any long term visions [of the EU]. This is exactly what we need in the company of [EU Commission president] Barroso, [ECB president] Draghi and [EU Council] Van Rompuy. All three of them are heading full speed towards a ‘total Union’. Besides, all three all three catholics from the south.
Público has a radically different opinion. The Lisbon daily states that “the departure of Jean-Claude Juncker from the Eurogroup marks the end of a cycle and it is negative for Portugal.”
This is not a good news for Portugal, for the single currency and European integration. He has always been an ally of Portugal and never stopped warning about the excesses of a „punitive“ culture that rich countries of the north, impose on a south beset by crisis.
Público also finds Dijsselbloem’s capacity for negotiation matches that of his predecessor –
Jean-Claude Juncker was always able to create a bridge between the two extremes of the Paris-Berlin axis. This capacity for dialogue is also recognised in his successor. But Jeroen Dijsselbloem will assume this role as representative of the wealthy and without the political weight of his predecessor. He is a man of another Europe, where EU institutions have lost power and where integration is done not in the name of federalism, but as part of a power struggle in which the EU’s centre shifts from Brussels to Berlin.