The Dutch finance minister “is almost the president of the Eurogroup”, announces the daily. The decision will be taken on January 21, but Labour politician Jeroen Dijsselbloem appears to represent “the right country and the right party at the right time”, says the Financial Times, which is quoted by the newspaper. France, Spain and Italy are opposed to his nomination but sources in Brussels have said they will accept it.
Political Europe looks at Dijsselbloem, ‘the second choice’ – NRC Handelsblad
The prime minister and the opposition leader have rejected accusations of illegal personal enrichment levelled by the parliament’s anti-corruption commission. Government leader Janez Janša, who threatened to resign, has the confidence of his party. And Mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Janković has affirmed that his fortune has not increased since he entered politics. Another demonstration against corruption among the political elite will be held in the Slovenian capital on January 11.
Janša and Janković’s conscience did not wake up overnight – Dnevnik
With support from Prime Minister Robert Fico, President Ivan Gašparovič has refused to appoint Jozef Čentéš to the post of attorney general and dismissed accusations levelled by opposition parties that he is in breach of the constitution. The attorney general received the backing of a majority of MPs in a vote on June 7, 2011, which was subsequently approved by the constitutional court. A petition demanding Gašparovič’s resignation has been signed by 26,000 people and a demonstration will shortly be held in Bratislava.
An attack against me, is an attack against the state – SME
The European Commission is to unveil the EU’s fourth railway package on January 23 or January 30. The business daily announces that it will include measures to open up national high-speed lines to unrestricted competition by 2019. The text in preparation aims to fully deregulate European railways, a change that has been on the cards for 10 years. European freight traffic has been deregulated since 2007.
TGV: Brussels wants to break SNCF monopoly – Les Echos
In the absence of a quorum, the superior Council of Magistrates (CSM) was unable to elect a vice-president. The Magistrates’ Association of Romania has called for the resignation of all of the members of the council, which has been at the centre of a number of scandals. The opposition daily suspects Minister for Justice Mona Pivniceru of plotting to take complete control of the country’s judicial system. CSM President Oana Hăineală said that the European Commission expects the country’s magistrates to remain “impartial”.
Blackmail in the battle for the CSM – Evenimentul zilei
Until his death, Walter Gabriel, the father of SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel, was a Nazi sympathiser who tormented his son by denouncing him in the extreme right press. Now the social democrat leader has decided to publicly tell his story. The weekly publishes a feature on Hitler’s legacy in German families.
My father’s guilt – Die Zeit
The government in-vitro co-payment programme to be launched in July may face constitutional obstacles. According to the conservative daily, the government wanted to avoid a political tug-of-war caused by the controversial in-vitro issue and decided to introduce co-payment for the procedure as a ministry of health programme rather than an act of law, which may raise constitutional questions.
In vitro vs. the Constitution – Rzeczpospolita
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