10/08 – Today’s headlines from across the EU

EUROPEAN HEADLINES

FT – Berlin faces isolation as Athens and creditors near €86bn accord. Greeks confident of outline deal this week.
Tsipras concessions win over sceptics.

WSJE – Berkshire on cusp of its biggest deal. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc is nearing a deal to buy Precision Castparts Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, in what could be the conglomerate’s largest takeover ever.

INYT – Kurds team with US to combat ISIS in Syria. But Turkey, concerned as they gain territory, attacks camps in Iraq.

FRANCE

Le Monde – Regional languages chart: Hollande wants to resume the battle. The Head of State plans to submit to the Parliament and the Congress, in 2016, the European Chart of Regional Languages for ratification.

Les Echos – France is still looking for a real recovery. Growth in the second quarter will be lower than that of the past three months. Trade deficit decreased by €5,3 billion during the first semester.

GERMANY

Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) – In July, 7,000 asylum applications for Albanians. This is about ten times more than a year earlier. A study confirms the drive to migrate from the Balkans.

Suedeutsche Zeitung – Car toll also to apply to long-distance buses. Transport politicians of almost all political levels consider the absence of road tolls for Deutsche Bahn’s competitors to be unfair. However, Federal Transport Minister Dobrindt has rejected the claim.

ITALY

La Repubblica – Recovery: the Treasury’s plan B, changes to pensions. Pension reform, the abolition of the IMU housing tax, a discount from Brussels worth 0.5% of GDP and the balancing of the budget postponed to next year. These are the key reforms the government will be focusing on this summer.

Il Sole 24 Ore – Trials’ map: fewer lawsuits but longer ones. The worst situation in the South, where the average length of trials is 800 days.

POLAND

Gazeta Wyborcza – Poland in a state of ruin? Election slogan of PiS party, meant to present Poland as a country ruined by PO-PSL Government, has backfired at PiS as outraged Internet users posted masses of photos to prove it wrong and show that Poland is developing.

SPAIN

El Pais – The PSOE’s “wise men” call for special treatment for Catalonia in the Constitution. The committee preparing a constitutional reform proposal considers that Catalonia’s “differential fact” and “singularity” should be recognised.

Expansion – €10 billion investment in public works. The budget for motorways and roads has increased by 8.6% (€2.38 billion). Investment in ports and airports rose 4%.

The Times – Rogue firms targeted in crackdown on migrants. Care, construction and cleaning industries face raids.

The Guardian – “Marauding migrants” threaten our standard of living, says Hammond. Europe can’t protect itself, says Foreign secretary. Strongest language yet from Conservatives. Labour replies with claims of scaremongering.