Debt Crisis: German paper names Greek PM politician of the year 14.19 Russian president Vladimir Putin has chimed in on the Cyprus bail-out talks, saying Russa could join the effort. Speaking after an EU-Russia summit in Brussels, he said: We do not see it as comfortable for ourselves to meddle in this process. But, if... agreement is reached, we do not rule out the possibility to join in with the stabilisation of Cyprus' financial (position). 14.03 Sean FitzPatrick, the former CEO and chairman of the rescued Anglo Irish bank, has been arrested for the third time to face 12 more charges linked to Ireland's most expensive bank bail-out. The charges relate to loans worth €84m he received from Anglo during his time at the helm, which ended abruptly in December 2008, after he admitted repeatedly misleading shareholders about the bank's financial health. The 64-year-old is due to stand trial next year on 16 separate charges he was handed in July. Sean FItzPatrick was CEO of the former Anglo-Irish bank during its rapid rise, and chairman during its dramatic fall 13.40 Meanwhile, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has added his voice to the debate on who might head up the influential Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers when Luxembourgian premier Jean-Claude Juncker steps down in January. Mr Schauble said his Dutch counterpart Jeroen Dijsselbloem - widely tipped as the frontrunner - would make a good candidate. Speaking to a German news agency, he said: There's a lot to be said for a finance minister from a small country taking over," Schaeuble told the German news agency DPA in an interview. That could help finding a common line between different points of view. From that point of view, the Dutch colleague is certainly very suitable. Apart from that, he's highly competent and very respected. 13.11 But while their prime minister enjoys the 'politician of the year' accolade, Greek citizens are the most pessimistic population in the EU. According to a Eurobarometer survey published on Thursday, 77pc of Greeks described their household finances as "rather" or "very bad" - compared with an EU average of 35pc - with only 6pc expecting the situation to improve in the next year. You can read the entire report covering public opinion on a raft of EU issues here. 12.35 A German financial newspaper has named Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras as its politician of the year in Europe - Greek news website Kathimerini reports. Handelsblatt said it chose the conservative leader because "he realised what the interest of the country called for and responded to the challenge." The comment, written by Germany's former foreign minister Hans Dietrich Genscher, said: The challenge for Antonis Samaras was to speak of his own as well as the Greek mistakes of the past and to accept the necessary consequences. The clarity of his positions and his ability to enforce them have laid the groundwork of trust that the decision by the European partners required for the bailout package, the extent of which no one could have thought of a few years ago. Greek premier Antonis Samaras has been praised by a German newspaper for his courage and consistency 12.28 Returning to Cyprus bail-out negotiations, a spokesman for German chancellor Angela Merkel refused to rule out a debt haircut, saying all options remained on the table. This position pits the German government against Eurogroup leader Jean-Claude Juncker, who earlier said a Greek-style debt write down would threaten the credibility of the eurozone (see 08.30). 12.18 Brussels correspondent Bruno Waterfield has reported that leading French tycoon Alain Affelou has announced a move to Britain, following several of his other high-profile countrymen out of the country. However, Mr Affelou has refused to link his departure with the country's stern austerity budget paseed yesterday, which imposes 75pc tax on income over €1m. Actor Gerard Depardieu and the country's richest man, Bernard Arnault, are also planning to leave France. Alain Affelou, a French millionaire who runs a chain of opticians 12.00 After Italy's upper house voted through prime minister Mario Monti's 2013 budget yesterday, it is widely expected the bill will be given final approval this evening, paving the way for Mr Monti's resignation and what promises to be a colourful electoral campaign, very likely including the shamed former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. In his latest in a string of swipes at the current premier, Mr Berlusconi featured on Italian radio this morning, saying "Italy's technocrats have bowed to the demands of the EU - especially the 'German' and 'Northern' EU - which only lead to recession. It's not only my opinion, but also that of several Nobel Prize winners." (thanks Open Europe for the quote) It was also reported today Mario Monti is to hold his year-end press conference on December 23 at 11am, when he is hotly anticipated to annouce whether he will launch a leadership bid. Italian prime minister Mario Monti, who was appointed last December without an election after Silvio Berlusconi was forcibly ejected from office 11.44 Former Irish taoiseach (prime minister) John Bruton has struck out at British euroscepticism in the Irish Times. He said British popular opinion ignores the role in EU decisions of British MEPs, British ministers and a British commissioner, instead seeing Europe as a foreign country. He slated British expectations as "unrealistic," because "it will not be a negotiation with bureaucrats in "Brussels," but with all 26 other members of a club of which the UK has been a full member over 40 years." Read his full piece here. 11.11 Bucking the trend for northernly EU members to revise down their GDP growth figures (see 10.09 and 10.37), Denmark has revised up its third quarter - albeit slow - growth. Danish GDP grew 0.3pc in quarter three after estimates had pegged it at 0.1pc. But one economist warns watchers not to read too much into this. Steen Bocian, chief economist at Dankse Bank in Copenhagen, said: The revision stems from upgrades in public spending and inventory investments, which are the two most backward looking components of GDP. It says the least about future growth. The revision gives no indication that things are looking better in anyway. 11.00 UK public finances lurched deeper into deficit in November as spending surged and income tax receipts tumbled 12pc. The shortfall (excluding government support for banks) was £17.5bn, compared with £16.3bn last November. The rise in spending was partly down to a 5pc year-on-year increase in welfare spending, and increased capital investment. 10.46 Commissioner for EU economic and monetary affairs Olli Rehn has said France does not need further budget savings, saying the country already has a credible medium-term budget strategy. His comments, made in an interview with French daily newspaper Le Monde, came as President Francois Hollande's austerity budget was passed in parliament. Olli Rehn, Commissioner for EU Economic and Monetary Affairs 10.37 Sweden has revisited its GDP figures too, revising this year's economic growth down from 1.6pc to 0.9pc. Finance minister Anders Borg also cut the 2013 growth forecast to 1.1pc, from an earlier forecast of 2.7pc. Yesterday we reported downgraded Finnish GDP forecasts showing the economy shrunk 0.1pc this year, putting the Nordic nation into recession. 10.09 Back home, third quarter GDP growth disappointed as it got revised down to 0.9pc, after earlier estimations had pegged it at 1pc. And although it is still the strongest quarter-on-quarter GDP growth since 2007, this has largely been put down to the one-off Olympic effect.