Handelsblatt notes that European finance ministers are expected to agree a draft of the EU’s proposed AIFM Directive, aimed at regulating hedge fund and private equity managers, next Tuesday. The article notes that “even the British government…has given up its blockade.

The FT reports that German Bundesbank President Axel Weber has said that proposals, announced by the German Finance Ministry and backed by Chancellor Angela Merkel, for the creation of a European Monetary Fund (EMF) are “not helpful” and are “a sideshow that will distract from the necessary consolidation” of budget deficits in struggling countries such as Greece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed plans for an IMF-style European Monetary Fund to bailout struggling countries, but warned that establishing such a fund would require EU treaty change and the agreement of all 27 member states. “I find the idea good and interesting”, Merkel said, according to EUobserver.

The Weekend FT reported that, following her meeting with Greek PM George Papandreou on Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to do “everything in order to stabilise the euro, our common currency”, but stopped short of making any financial commitment to support Greece.

PA reports that the Government last night pledged to block European Commission plans for a mandatory minimum tax rate on carbon across the EU. The front page of the Telegraph reports that Algirdas Semeta, the new European Commissioner for Taxation has said that an EU carbon tax is a "priority" for him and indicated that he might table a concrete proposal as early as next month.

Europe Commission to table proposal for EU-wide €10 per tonne carbon tax European Voice reports that the new European Commissioner for Taxation, Algirdas Šemeta, is planning to propose a minimum rate of tax on carbon across the whole of the EU. The move, which was considered too controversial by the first Barroso commission, would mean that carbon tax is calculated according to the energy content of certain energy sources such as petrol, coal and natural gas, and the quantity of CO2 they emit.

In a Reuters poll of 47 economists, respondents estimated there to be median 55 percent chance of Greece seeking a bailout from the EU or International Monetary Fund this year. That was up from 30 percent as measured by a poll of foreign exchange strategists last month.

Handelsblatt reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday rejected a call from Spanish PM Jose Luis Zapatero for “EU-solidarity” for Greece. She also warned that the euro would not be stable without radical cuts in the budget deficits of member states: “Only if the financial markets evaluate that Greece can handle the reforms, will the euro be able to become stable again”.

The Telegraph reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has denied claims by other EU politicians that Germany has agreed to a bailout package for Greece. Reports over the weekend have speculated that Paris and Berlin are finalising a package that would see German government-owned bank KfW and French government-owned bank Caisse des Depots purchase around half a €30bn bond issue, with the other half going to private Euro debt investors.

The BBC reports that the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi has said that patients who receive hospital treatment in another EU member state should be fully reimbursed by their home country. Mr.Mengozzi made the comments in reference to a case involving a resident of Spain, who had unplanned hospital treatment in France and is pressing for Spain to reimburse him.

The Times reports that protesters and police clashed in Greece yesterday as a strike against government austerity measures turned violent amid signs that delegations from the European Commission and International Monetary Fund currently visiting Athens will demand extra cuts amounting to at least €2 billion (£1.

AFP reports that EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton will not be attending an important meeting of EU defence ministers in Spain today – the first to discuss EU defence cooperation under the new rules of the Lisbon Treaty. Lisbon allows a group of EU nations to work together in a particular military area – a move that cannot be vetoed by one member state.

The Times reports that Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso’s appointment of his former Chief of Staff as EU Ambassador to the US has sparked a “jobs for the boys” controversy. The Telegraph reports that President Barroso took the decision without any consultation and that news was leaked in the US 24 hours before EU Foreign Minister Cathy Ashton or any national government had been informed.

Spiegel magazine reported over the weekend that the German Finance Ministry has drafted a plan for eurozone countries to provide Greece with aid worth up to €25bn, with each country paying according to its proportion of capital in the European Central Bank.

FT Deutschland reports that a Commission document, seen by the paper, proposes to introduce new EU rules requiring banks to raise their contributions to deposit guarantee funds to 2 percent of deposits they hold, in a bid to boost protection for savers. Currently, banks contribute three to five times less, on average, than the 2 percent proposed by the new rules.

FT Deutschland reports that the European Commissioner for Taxation, Algirdas Šemeta, will propose plans in April for an EU-wide CO2 tax. The article notes that Brussels officials can be’ stubborn’, as this proposal has suffered several failed attempts in the last two decades.

The Telegraph reports that EU finance ministers have stripped Greece of its vote at the next meeting of the ministers on 16 March, with the article describing it as “the worst humiliation ever suffered by an EU member state.” Finance ministers will review a progress report on Greece’s measures to bring its deficit under control, and decide at the meeting whether or not Greece needs to introduce additional austerity measures.

DW reports that all 27 EU finance ministers are today expected to adopt a draft declaration on the current eurozone crisis, including an obligation for Greece to report its latest budget situation on 16 March and undertake additional austerity measures if necessary.

The front page of the FT reports that Greece is expected to resist pressure from Germany and the ECB today for added budget austerity measures in return for financial assistance, including a 1 to 2 percent increase in value-added tax and abolishing the ‘14th month’ salary for public sector workers at Christmas.

At yesterday’s one-day European summit EU leaders, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, refused to commit to any bailout of Greece. Instead, EU leaders made a general pledge to take “determined and co-ordinated action if needed” to prop up the euro. According to the Telegraph, Merkel said, “Greece is a part of the European Union and won't be left on its own, but there are rules and these rules need to be adhered to.