⊂ EUROPE ⊃
Struggle to find European solution: In a programme drafted with Slovakia and Malta, which will take the next two presidencies, the Netherlands focused on a number of priorities dictated more by the refugee crisis than Dutch politics. Sweden is demanding measures to block „the highway“ of migrants traversing across Europe, as the inflow of refugees to Germany has not slowed since September. German interior ministry official Ole Schröder said that European solutions to the crisis were important, but Germany could act single-handedly if the EU does not find a solution. Denmark started border checks on Monday.
euractiv.com, euobserver.com
German SPD calls for European economic government: As a consequence of the financial and debt crisis in the EU, the German SPD party wants to shift more economic policy competences to the eurozone. The party calls for a gradual convergence process towards an economic and social union in the euro area, according to draft position paper which the SPD intends to adopt on Thursday. The text calls for an expansion of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) to a European economic government.
euractiv.de
ECB outlines priorities for 2016: The European Central Bank identified how banks make money and their poor earnings as 2016’s main sources of risk in the sector. Outlining its priorities for the year, the ECB put banks‘ business models and low profits at the top of the list, pushing back concerns over capital adequacy which have preoccupied supervisors since the global financial crisis last decade. The ECB is also planning a 2016 EU-wide stress test that will be conducted by the European Banking Authority (EBA).
reuters.com
Cameron gives ministers free rein: British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that government ministers will be allowed to campaign both for and against staying in the EU during the forthcoming “Brexit” referendum campaign. This spares Cameron the embarrassment of sacking ministers who disagree with him, under Britain’s traditional convention of cabinet collective responsibility for government policy. It also follows the 1975 example of then prime minister Harold Wilson, who allowed ministers to campaign for either side during the UK’s previous, and only, referendum on the issue.
euractiv.com
Germany encouraged to support Commission’s toll proposals: Brussels expects more support from Berlin for a Europe-wide toll scheme. EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc wants to put an end to the EU’s various toll schemes, and has rejected German Minister for Transport Alexander Dobrindt’s proposed plans on the matter. Bulc said that it is possible that the EU Commission will present proposals this year that could serve as the basis for a European toll system for trucks and cars. Therefore, EU member states that have opted to toll their roadways would be organised into one single system.
euractiv.com
North Korea nuclear test: Phone calls between the High Representative Mogherini and the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Korea and of Japan eeas.europa.eu
Price development: Industrial producer prices down by 0.2 percent in eurozone, down by 0.3 percent in EU europa.eu
Inflation rate: Euro area annual inflation stable at 0.2 percent europa.eu
Oil price: Brent crude prices fall to 11-year low wsj.com
Investor protection: Germany implements new EU financial market regulations n-tv.de
Agricultural policy: Thousands of German farmers use EU aid faz.net
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„If you print enough money, you will always get inflation. Always.“
Senior ECB policymaker Peter Praet supports the central bank’s plan to kick-start inflation in the euro zone.
ecb.europa.eu
„Let European officials read the regulations passed by Poland in peace, which is something they have not a chance to do yet.“
Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski sees no basis for the application of EU control mechanisms over Poland.
derstandard.at
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
New Year attacks in Cologne: German politicians and media have reacted to the attacks on women in the center of Cologne on New Year’s Eve, with debate focusing on refugees entering the country. Many commentators see a challenge to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refugee policy. Germany has been shocked by the apparently coordinated crime wave, in which Cologne police received more than 100 criminal complaints from women who said they had been sexually assaulted or robbed by gangs of men of Arab or North African appearance during New Year’s Eve festivities.
dw.com, cnn.com
Greece presents new pension system: The Greek government has worked out a new pension system and presented it to the international creditors for approval. The proposal contains cuts and reductions of on average 15 percent. Reforming the country’s ailing pension system, which Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said is on the verge of collapse, is a prerequisite for the first review of Greece’s 86 billion-euro bailout agreed in July last year.
reuters.com
Brits want to ban Trump from the UK: An online citizen’s petition to ban the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from the United Kingdom garnered more than 568,000 signatures, well above the 100,000 threshold required for a measure to be considered for a debate. The petition says that because the country has banned entry to people for hate speech before, the same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter the UK. The British government reaffirmed that Home Secretary Theresa May has the power to exclude a non-European Economic Area national from the UK if she considers their presence in the UK to be nonconducive to the public good.
cnn.com
Erdogan critic Gülen goes on trial: A US-based Muslim cleric is being tried in absentia in Turkey, accused of attempting to overthrow the government by masterminding corruption inquiries in 2013 that targeted people close to the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Fethullah Gülen, a former ally turned rival of Erdogan, was not present at the start of the proceedings in Istanbul because Washington did not grant Turkish requests for his extradition. According to the pro-Kurdish HDP, three female Kurdish political activists have been killed in fighting in a curfew-hit town in southeast Turkey.
theguardian.com, yahoonews.com
Catalonia faces new elections: The acting president of the Spanish region of Catalonia, Artur Mas, has said he expects to call for new elections on Monday, although attempts to form a pro-independence coalition will continue until the last minute. He has been unable to break the deadlock that arose after the regional elections in September, which gave pro-independence parties a majority in the Catalan parliament. Centre-right leader Mas needs the support of a far-left party, with whose members he has little in common beyond the goal to break away from Spain.
euobserver.com
Germany: Social democratic party calls for surveillance on Pegida and AfD tagesspiegel.de
Belgium: Rail strike brings services to standstill bbc.com
France: Hollande unveils Charlie Hebdo memorial plaques bbc.com
Belgium: Nuclear reactor restarts after shutdown n-tv.de
⊂ DATA ⊃
40.9 percent of employees in Turkey work 50 or more hours a week, followed in a European comparison by Great Britain with 12.7 percent and France with 8.2 percent.
faz.net
⊂ JOB-BOARD ⊃
politjobs.eu: 350.org seeks campaigner *** Steltemeier & Rawe seeks Senior Associate (m/f) *** 1&1 sucht EU Public Affairs Manager VKU sucht Referentin/en *** Afore Consulting seeks Junior Consultants in European Public Affairs
politjobs.eu, politjobs.eu/submit (Inserat schalten)
⊂ MALFUNCTION ⊃
Coca-Cola offends Ukraine and Russia: Coca Cola has hastily backtracked after managing to offend both Russia and Ukraine with a social media post. An inital New Year’s message on the Russian account of popular social media network VK, the company published a map of Russia excluding Crimea. Following protests from its followers, it reissued the map with the territory added, sparking indignation from Ukrainians and an official complaint from Kyiv. Furious Ukrainians took to social media to vent their anger against Coca-Cola, and some threatened to boycott the company’s products.
euronews.com