07/08 – Today’s headlines from across the EU

EUROPEAN HEADLINES

FT – US crackdown on tax-cut M&A fails to stem corporate exodus. Coke’s bottlers and CF industries seal inversions. Moves exploit congressional paralysis

WSJE – BOE signals no imminent rate increase. UK central bank cools speculation it will follow Fed.

INYT – Some see hype in hopes for “New Suez.” Heralded as cornerstone of Egypt recovery, project fails to reassure investors.

BALTIC STATES

Baltic Times –New Polish President Duda will seek closer ties with Baltic States. “[Under Duda], there will be more concerns about the threats from Russia, and more active work with regional partners,” said Ramunas Vilpisauskas, the director of Vilnius University’s International Relations and Political Sciences Institute.

FRANCE

Le Monde – Paris repays Moscow and retrieves ownership of its Mistral warships. François Hollande and Vladimir Putin have reached an agreement on Wednesday after the sale of the two Mistral warships to Moscow was cancelled.

Les Echos – Tax exile: the concerning increases in departures. The departure of the richest taxpayers has increased by 40%. More than 700 people subjected to the French wealth tax (+15%) have left France

GERMANY

Frankfurter Allgemeine – Low milk prices threaten economic livelihood of farmers. Farmers’ Association sees Russian import ban as the cause.

Suedeutsche Zeitung – EU sees no guilt in boat accident. Dozens of people died off the Libyan coast, despite rapidly arriving sea rescue. It would be unfair to blame Europe, says Luxembourg’s Foreign Affairs Minister.

ITALY

La Repubblica – Mezzogiorno: a €100 billion investment without EU conditions. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi sets up a €100 billion plan for the South of Italy and projects to separate EU funds from national ones in the Stability Pact

Il Sole 24 Ore – Broadband, the first 2.2 billion released. The inter-ministry committee for economic planning (CIPE) has approved the financing of broadband in areas where there would otherwise be no incentive to install it by private operators. This will affect 6,800 towns until 2020.

NETHERLANDS

De Volkskrant –Dutch millionaire plans to become world’s biggest dairy farmer. The paper says Kees Koolen, who was one of the founders of Booking.com and has invested in taxi platform Uber, plans to become the ‘world’s biggest farmer’. He has already planning to build a massive dairy farm in Gelderland and has bought the ammonia release rights to keep almost 1,500 cow

POLAND

Gazeta Wyborcza – President Andrzej Duda: We must begin to repair Poland. Report on the new President’s oath ceremony and address. Comment by editor-in-chief.

SPAIN

El Pais – Spanish government suggests redefining the State’s powers. Justice Minister defends a Constitutional reform in order to correct the autonomous region system

Expansion – Mega-merger in Coca-Cola. Sol Daurella will be the President and his family will own 19% of the capital. Coca-Cola European will be listed in Madrid, New York and Amsterdam.

The Times – Revealed: Labour’s hard-left infiltrators. Dozens dodge vetting for leadership contest.

The Guardian – Kids Company chiefs ignored cash warning. Finance bosses told charity’s trustees to build up funds or risk catastrophe.