The front page

Published on 29 November 2012 at 10:46

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has presented his blueprint for “genuine” Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which provides for the creation of a eurozone budget, ministry of finance and eurobonds. The plan, which will require changes to European treaties, will be debated at the European Council summit on the reform of the monetary union on December 13 and 14.

Cover

More Europe to ease the crisis – Luxemburger Wort

Brussels has approved €37 billion in financial aid for nationalised Spanish banks, which, in exchange, have pledged to slim down their operations by 60 per cent. Bankia (which will receive €17 billion from the package), Catalunya Caixa, Novagalicia Banco and Banco de Valencia will have until 2017 to complete a restructuring programme that notably involves the offloading of half of their subsidiaries. The banks will be required to cease lending to real estate developers and to focus on business in their regions. "Now credit should start to flow again," announces the daily.

Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday

Cover

€37 billion – La Gaceta

According to financial experts, the bilateral tax deal between Austria and Switzerland signed in April of this year will not generate the €1 billion for the Austrian exchequer which Vienna had expected and had counted on in its budget. Moreover, the Swiss money will arrive in the form of monthly bank transfers set to begin in August 2013, and not in a single payment. In 2010, it was estimated that there were €20 billion of undeclared Austrian funds in Swiss banks.

Cover

Swiss tax billions melting away – Die Presse

Lord Justice Leveson's report into the future of media regulation will be published today after a 16-month public inquiry that has seen the industry face unprecedented criticism. The report will announce whether reforms will involve a system of statutory regulation or a more robust model of the existing self-regulation. The ruling government coalition is threatened with a split as Conservatives are believed to back a strengthened independent complaints body, while the Liberal Democrats are thought to support state regulation.

Cover

Cameron and Clegg at odds on Leveson as D-day dawns – The Guardian

Today's demonstration by dockworkers in front of the Portuguese Parliament in Lisbon, where the bill reforming the ports will be discussed, has gained support at the European level. Many union leaders from abroad are in Lisbon and will join the protest. The dockers' strike in Portugal started in September and has almost completely paralysed the national ports.

Cover

Support to Portuguese dockworkers paralyses 200 ports in Europe – Diário de Notícias

The minister of defence, Alexandr Vondra, of the Civic Democratic Party, has resigned following a failed bid to gain election to the senate. According to a number of observers, he could replace Denmark’s Anders Fogh Rasmussen as NATO Secretary General next year. Close to Washington, the former dissident who played a key role in the Velvet Revolution, can count on the support of the American administration.

Cover

Vondra heads to NATO, and government heads for new reshuffle – Mladá Fronta DNES

Poland ranks 14th in the world in the latest OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranking, ahead of Germany, France, and Sweden, enthuses Gazeta Wyborcza. The study measures educational achievement of 15-year-old students in almost 70 countries around the world. The ranking is headed by Finland with two other EU countries, the UK and Holland, ranked among the first ten. Poland is the global leader in the category measuring the number of employees with secondary education active on the labour market.

Cover

Poles leave school smarter – Gazeta Wyborcza

Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!