Today's front pages

UNITED KINGDOM

Ambush over Europe

British PM David Cameron will come under attack from all sides over Europe today as Labour and a senior figure in his own Conservative party urge him to push for a cut to the European Union’s budget. The European Commission proposes raising it by 5 per cent to €146 billion annually over the next seven-year period (2014-2020), or €1.025 trillion in total. The Prime Minister is opposed to such an increase but has indicated that he will agree to an increase in line with inflation, at 2%.

THE TIMES LONDON

EUROPEAN UNION

Final sprint in battle for EU funds

Negotiations for the 2014-2020 budget have entered a crucial phase. Net contributor countries such as Austria, Germany, Sweden and Denmark want to limit the increase proposed by the European Commission and are seeking rebates. 

KURIER VIENNE

POLAND

Ukraine still divided

Partial results for this Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Ukraine show that ruling President Victor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, together with the Communist party, have won some 40-45% of the vote. Three opposition parties, including Yulia Tymoshenko’s Democratic Alliance for the Fatherland and former boxer Vitali Klitschko’s UDAR party have won 48-52%. International observers have praised the organization of Ukraine’s election, thus paving the way for agreement between Kiev and Brussels. 

POLSKA THE TIMES WARSAW

LITHUANIA

Politicians and gamblers await their winner

Lithuania's Social Democratic Party, led by Algirdas Butkevicius, are the largest party in the second round of parliamentary elections, winning 38 seats out of a total of 141. Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius' Patriotic Union (centre-right) have won 33 seats, a result that is to consideredn to be a sign of the electorate's anger with austerity. President Dalia Grybauskaite must now decide which politician she should invite to form a coalition government. 

LIETUVOS RYTAS VILNIUS

GERMANY

Debt relief? Without Schäuble!

Der Spiegel revealed this weekend that the EU-IMF-ECB troika in its November report may propose for the first time that Greece's eurozone partners waive reimbursement on loans they have extended to the crisis stricken country. German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble reacted by categorically rejecting the idea of any further restructuring of Greek debt. 

DIE WELT BERLIN

SPAIN

Mas includes creation of state in his programme

Catalan regional president Artur Mas, and leader of the nationalist Convergencia i Unió, has included in his manifesto for the regional elections of 25 November a referendum on independence for Catalonia and the creation of a state independent of Spain within the EU.

LA VANGUARDIA BARCELONA

ITALY

Berlusconi vs Monti, PdL split

After being sentenced to 4 years in jail for tax evasion, ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who has just announced his decision not to run in the 2013 election, says he may withdraw his support for Italy’s ruling technocratic government led by Mario Monti. His strategy is dividing his People of Liberty (PdL) party, and a number political and economic figures fear this could lead to more instability and debt financing problems. 

LA REPUBBLICA ROME