Tuesday Morning Papers Summary
LA REPUBBLICA
-European Best Destinations is a Brussels-based organization that promotes travel in Europe. Each year the association draws up rankings based on real surveys conducted among the European population. This year, those surveyed have identified seven ‘dream beaches’ from the top 22 located throughout the European continent. Therefore, one in three of the most coveted and fascinating beaches in Europe is located in Italy. Due to waters, which have long been counted among the cleanest and richest in biodiversity in the world, Sardinia has three of the seven starting with Cala Goloritzé , in the province of Nuoro. Then there is Cala dei Gabbiani , a natural continuation of the very popular Cala Mariolu, also on the Gulf of Orosei, and Cala Cipolla, one of the pearls of the Chia bay, in the south of the island. In Tuscany there’s the island of Elba along with Cavoli beach and La Sorgente. Puglia could not be missing from the list, now a beloved destination by tourists from all over the world. Baia delle Zagare in the Gargano promontory was one of the top beaches. Last but not least, in the list of European Best Destinations there is Campania with the Cauco beach , of sand and gravel, unique for its crystalline sea and the sloping seabed towards the open sea. It is located less than half an hour southwest of Salerno.
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG
-In the Baltic States, Scholz will find little support for his and Paris's policies. The Baltics do not fear Putin's humiliation as much as they do humiliation from the West. After his Berlin meeting before the Russian invasion, Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet the heads of government from Latvia and Estonia and the Lithuanian President in Vilnius today. There has been a slightly different philosophy towards Russia than in Berlin for the past three decades. In this corner of Europe, experience has taught (them) not to underestimate Russia's will to expand.
-What does former Chancellor Angela Merkel say about her successor Chancellor Scholz and the war? Half a year after the end of her chancellorship, Angela Merkel has engaged in a ‘public discussion’ for the first time. She wants to face “the challenging questions of our time”.Relations with Russia: The conversation between Merkel and "Spiegel" editor Alexander Osang will take place on Tuesday at 8 pm in the Berliner Ensemble and will be broadcast live. In addition to the war in Ukraine, it should also be about Merkel's relationship with Russia and her view of the work of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the current political situation in Germany.
HANDELSBLATT
The software from Volkswagen should be groundbreaking according to the website of the subsidiary Cariad, which was founded in 2020. But after start-up investments valued at some EUR6B, the future project mainly produces trouble. The various programs are very slow and not compatible with each other, while the promised leaps in quality are not forthcoming. The cause of the ‘misery’ stems from a fundamental rift on the board. At the beginning of the year, VW CEO Herbert Diess took over responsibility for Cariad from Audi CEO Markus Duesmann. Today they both blame each other for the problems. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume is also upset, as the controversial software does not fit into the success story of the sports car manufacturer's planned IPO.
-As a result of the war in Ukraine, the current German government coalition (so-called ‘traffic light’) has had to change course on energy policy. Security of supply has become just as urgent as climate protection. The situation has forced consumers to reconsider their energy consumption: there are new arguments for electric cars or heat pumps.People are dramatically feeling the rising prices for electricity, oil and gas. Is it really realistic to extract 100% of a country’s energy needs from renewables? How will the CO2 price develop?
IL SOLE 24 ORE
-The European Union has reached an agreement on the minimum wage, announcing it through the Social Affairs Commission of the European Parliament’s Twitter account. The new directive on the European minimum wage now awaits the approval of the Plenary of the EU Parliament (which, however, can no longer amend the text) and the ratification of the EU Council. It will then be up to the member countries to implement it. According to the latest rumors about the agreement in the EU, there will be no maximum and minimum wages. Instead, the directive will aim to establish a framework for setting adequate and fair minimum wages. Italy is among the six EU countries without regulation on the subject: the issue is at the center of a political clash in the majority and it has fueled the debate between the social forces.
-Energy might be expensive for consumers, but it has made the state richer. In the first four months of the year, the Italian Treasury collected between VAT and excise duties on energy products, earning some EUR3.7B more than in the same period of 2021. Driving the higher revenue is above all the VAT on imports, which has grown by almost EUR2B, accounting for a 55.1% increase. An increase which, as the Finance Department explains, is largely attributable to the dynamics of the oil price. In the month of April alone, crude oil experienced a trend rise of 62 percent. Not least the excise duties, despite the government's actions to soften the increases in the bill and at the pump. On electricity and gas, for example, the highest overall revenues for the state amounted to over EUR1.3B.
LES ECHOS
-Inflation will give the budget management teams cold sweats this summer. The bill on purchasing power, which provides for new public spending (pensions, food, etc.), must be presented at the end of June but it will not end the problem. Far from that. The exceptionally high rise in prices that we have been seeing for months – the 5% bar was crossed in May – will also raise the question of the level of revaluation of the income tax scale. In its draft budget for 2023, will the finance minister maintain indexation to inflation? This would protect the purchasing power of taxpayers. But it would also be expensive for the state.
-Globalization has never been completely accepted even though it has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. It was also accompanied by a problem of redistribution of wealth between countries and within countries themselves. These inequalities in distribution gave rise to a second wave of recriminations from anti-globalists. Their movement has been fueled by a perception that China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) has led to job losses in Western countries, for example.
ABC
-During the gradual US rapprochement with Spain that should culminate in Joe Biden's trip to Madrid to participate in the Atlantic Alliance summit at the end of this month, there is an unresolved issue on which Pedro Sánchez's Executive has managed to convince his counterpart only partially: a series of harsh penalties for Spanish producers and companies, in the form of tariffs and sanctions that have lasted since the Trump era: Large Spanish companies continue to pay a high price for the sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela, and the harmful tariffs on black olives and wind towers have not been completely withdrawn, as the Spanish government expected after several ministerial visits to Washington. It is true that Repsol has now been allowed to send a limited amount of Venezuelan crude to Europe, but this is minimal and covers debt, and the company cannot, unlike the North American Chevron, explore new agreements with the Venezuelan government.