29/05 – Today’s headlines from across the EU

EUROPEAN HEADLINES

FT – Chipmakers agree biggest tech deal since dotcom boom. Singapore’s Avago to pay USD 37 billion for US rival Broadcom amid sector shake-up.

WSJE – Blatter bucks calls for his resignation. Amid a global probe of alleged corruption at FIFA, long-standing strains inside soccer’s top governing body intensified as corporate sponsors, governments and top soccer luminaries called Thursday for a major overhaul of the organisation.

INYT – Tunisian women break silence on abuses. Stigma of sexual assaults under two dictatorships continues to haunt many.

BALTIC STATES

Baltic Times –Lt. Gen Pavel: “Russia able to occupy Baltic States within two days. Czech Lieutenant General Petr Pavel told a conference on security affairs in Prague, he believes “Russia would be able to occupy the Baltic States within two days.”

FRANCE

Le Monde – Corruption probe: FIFA is on the verge of implosion. The international football federation is in the storm of a controversy after a scandal was revealed, involving dozens of officials.

Les Echos – FIFA: revelations regarding the scandal shaking foot-business. A corrupted system which also hits big sponsors. How American judges became sheriffs of world football.

GERMANY

Feankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) – European football governing body asks Blatter to resign. UEFA President Michel Platini reacts to the arrests of seven FIFA officials.

Suedeutsche Zeitung – Defiant Blatter runs for office. The ailing FIFA president ignores UEFA head Platini’s plea for his resignation due to a corruption scandal. European associations are threatening with a World Cup Boycott.

ITALY

La Republlica – The list of ineligible candidates goes on, Boschi defends De Luca. Regional candidates, today the anti-mafia commission publishes the list. Renzi declares that the single union exists and works in Germany.

Il Sole 24 Ore – “Industry is the key to recovery.” Giorgio Squinzi, the director of Confindustria (Italian employers’ Union) wants to increase competitiveness which is, according to him, the key to recovery. He exhorts the government not to lose the determination it has showed until now.

NETHERLANDS

APN – Three Dutch MPs banned from entering Russia: foreign ministry. The names are said to be on a list drawn up by Moscow of EU citizens who are no longer allowed into the country.

POLAND

Gazeta – Tempting voters. The PO party aims at regaining voters’ trust before Parliamentary elections due in autumn so it gears up for passing quickly the acts on youth employment, family benefits and supporting the companies’ innovations.

SPAIN

El Pais – The FIFA case triggers a political and economic war. Putin backs Blatter against the U.S. Corporate sponsors who threaten to leave the international soccer sector. Legitimacy of the next World Cup and the one in South Africa questioned.

Expansion – CaixaBank and Bankia are the most exposed to Madrid’s debt. The bank worries about Carmena’s willingness to renegotiate interest rates.

The Times – FIFA scandal triggers risk of World Cup boycott. Defiant Blatter dismisses calls to resign.

The Guardian – “We cannot allow the shame to go on any longer… so I’ll stay.” Threat to World Cup looms but Blatter refuses to quit as corruption scandal deepens.