Marc Hoch believes that further negotiations on the Kosovo statute would be "pointless". "They would only serve to delay the urgent process of finding a solution to the Kosovo problem. The Ahtisaari plan proposes conditional independence, but the Russians have brushed it aside with the argument that it would set a precedent that would encourage the thousands of separatists on this earth to seek independence from their mother countries. But what do they mean by precedent? Nowhere else are conditions the same as in Kosovo, which since 1999 has been under UN administration and has been de facto independent for a long time now. There are two million Albanians with their own language, culture and government there, compared to 100,000 Serbs. But the Albanians have no ties with Serbia because for most of the 20th century Serbia, with its unjust policies, prevented the Albanians from expressing their culture and exercising their human rights. Kosovo is a unique case." (12/06/2007)

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"When the Atlantic Alliance, in the name of the international community, bombed Serbia in 1999 as a reprisal for attacks on Kosovo's Albanian community, nobody said the bombs would lead the way to independence", explains the daily. "And yet, eight years later, we have reached a point where independence is presented as the only possible option in an irresolvable situation. ... It is not however clear whether independence will be the best or worst option. It would automatically trigger the 'ethnic cleansing' of the Serbian minority who would have no hope of being defended by those who opted in favour of the Albanian-Kosovar community. Independence, especially if unilaterally proclaimed, may well clash with international law, for the  United Nations have never authorized part of a territory to secede against the will of an internationally recognised sovereign State." (12/06/2007)

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The daily questions the sustainability of the "exchange of good intentions" that the French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed to Russia, outside of the actual G8 summit. "Vladimir Putin will recognise that the independence of Kosovo is an 'ineluctable process'. In exchange, the declaration of independence will be postponed for another six months. Meanwhile, the Kosovars and Serbs will be incited to discuss the possibility of an agreement on a 'better' status. All things considered, the French proposition can only make sense if Russia withdraws its objections to the independence of Kosovo. If this fails to happen, it is very likely that time will not be of any help, since for months Serbs and Kosovars have already been going round in circles speaking at cross purposes under the supervision of Mr. Ahtisaari. Up until now, Russia has supported Belgrade's stringency. It will only change its mind if the Serbs themselves are prepared to sacrifice historical myths on the altar of EU accession." (12/06/2007)

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The government in Kosovo was disappointed by the failure of the G8 states to agree on a joint stance on the Kosovo problem at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm. According to Endre Aczél the outlook is bleak: "Russia insists on a resolution from the UN Security Council although Putin is perfectly aware that in the long-term the Kosovo-Albanians' struggle for independence will succeed. The reasons behind Russia's obstinacy are partly to do with domestic politics - the separatist movement in Chechnya - and partly do with strategic considerations: President Bush discussed the possibility of NATO membership for several Balkan countries with Albanian, Macedonian and Croat politicians in Tirana. Moscow interpreted this as evidence that the military and political ring around Russia created by the increasing number of NATO countries, US military bases on the Black Sea and the planned missile defence system is growing tighter and tighter." (12/06/2007)

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This year's "hot summer of art", with the Biennale arts festival, the Art Basel art show, the Documenta art exposition in Kassel and the sculpture show in Münster prompts Sebastian Preuss to ponder on why contemporary art has become a mass phenomenon. "More than classical music, the theatre or literature it is mobilising a broad spectrum - from culture vultures and salon punks to private equity millionaires and postmen. The grandmother, who was at the first Documenta in 1955, and the pop teenies all tag along on the family outing to Kassel. But what makes contemporary art, which aims to be nonconformist rather than agreeable, radical rather than conservative, so attractive to both young and old, to celebrities and the petit bourgeois alike? ... Whatever it is: the public can't get enough of the forms and messages of this type of art. It isn't even deterred by art that is ugly or incomprehensible or makes fun of the observer's curiosity. Contemporary art is part of everyday life for anyone who is interested in pop, fashion or style nowadays. ... This art embodies an unfulfilled desire for escape and insubordination, for personal fulfilment, but also for a sense of belonging to a sphere that is out of reach for most, locked as they are in their everyday lives." (12/06/2007)

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Vincent Calay, a professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, considers that initiatives aimed at rendering the Belgian capital even more European are not sufficient. "It doesn't seem to occur to anyone that to define Brussels as the capital of Europe does not simply imply keeping the declining federal capital alive, nor does it mean creating a sexy product with which to show caricatured tourists a saccharin image of relations between Brussels and Europe. ... To define Brussels as the European capital is to believe that a town can be appropriated by a European public from a distance, which means accepting that not only people from Brussels, but the whole of Europe should benefit from the right to decide on the future of the town ! ... It means opening the town up to a new and alternative appropriation that distances itself from the cliché of 'Brussels say-so'." (09/06/2007)

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On Monday, June 11, US President George Bush ended his tour of Europe with a visit to Sofia, where he was received by Bulgarian President, Georgi Parvanov. Both sides expressed the wish to integrate Bulgaria in America's plans for a missile defence shield on European soil. Boyco Lambovsky sees Bush's visit as a sign that Bulgaria is coming out of its isolation. "We entered the Second World War as allies of one power and came out of it as allies of another. During the Cold War we were allies of that other power and now we have emerged as allies of a third power whose president yesterday promised to support us in our efforts towards the release of the nurses in Libya and in trade. There is no cause for celebration, but also no cause to condemn this pragmatism. We can regard the visit as a symbol that we have passed the test of transition." (12/06/2007)

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Estonia's Prime Minister, Andrus Ansip, is visiting the Latvian capital, Riga. The talks are turning out to be somewhat laborious, writes Dainis Lemensonoks, because Latvia didn't immediately leap to support Estonia in the latter's dispute with Russia over the bronze statue. "Latvia was always an advocate of cooperation between the countries of the Baltic and was the country that most feared standing alone against Russia. The Estonians, on the other hand, hoped to obtain access to the Nordic community by drawing closer to Finland. The Lithuanians, for their part, hoped to become part of Central Europe by courting Poland. Since Latvia joined NATO and acquired new allies its fears have dissipated. The Baltic states are always united when their individual interests are not affected. The dispute over the bronze statue, which was precipitated by Ansip, posed a problem for all three countries. Not only were their relations with Moscow put to the test, but so were their relations with Brussels." (12/06/2007)

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The daily considers that the one-to-one discussion on Monday, June 11th, between the head of the Spanish government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and Mariano Rajoy, leader of the Populist Party (PP), can finally let us hope for a constructive dialogue on the question of Basque terrorism. "The time for reproach is over. It is time to build bridges between the government and the main opposition party. ... [The two men] seem to agree on one point: from now on the objective is to beat ETA [Basque separatist Movement]. This is what Spanish society has asked of them. The end of the ceasefire announced by the terrorist organisation [on June 5th] has led the socialists and members of the PP to put their differences aside in order to restore confidence and trust, once again establishing a dialogue to allow united action against ETA. ... ETA's attitude leaves no room for any alternative to police and legal action." (12/06/2007)

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On Sunday the former Polish President and labour leader Lech Walesa published 500 pages of his secret service files on his homepage. For two years he has been receiving the documents from the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). The former Polish secret police collected a total of 70 volumes on Walesa, but the most important documents were destroyed in August 1980. In an interview with Krzysztof Katka, he explains why he has taken this step. "I close my eyes and throw the papers to the world. People should read them and decide for themselves... I want to understand how my victory was possible. Was it an angel or a devil who helped me?" Walesa has declined to publish a list of the names of the estimated 1000 secret service agents who spied on him for now, "because each case is different. I haven't the energy to attack them or to injure them. Naturally I run the risk of being accused of being too soft on them, but what can I do? Priests and even a bishop are on that list." (12/06/2007)

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After the feeble score of the National Front in the first round of legislative elections in France (4.3 %), Sylvain Besson considers that Nicolas Sarkozy managed to weaken Jean-Marie Le Pen's party by taking over his favourite themes "delinquency, immigration, 'national identity' and the excessive weight of the State. ... This is an important lesson for other European countries, which are all confronted with more or less virulent forms of populism. It is better to take the preoccupations of citizens seriously, even when politically incorrect, than to seek refuge in verbal antifascism, no doubt full of good intention, but 'tragically inefficient on ground-level'. It is better to propose solutions, even if they are flawed and sometimes demagogic, than to presume that the far-right will disappear thanks to a few moral condemnations. It is by understanding this that Nicolas Sarkozy managed to become president.” (12/06/2007)

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For the first time since the Second World War the growth of labour productivity in Europe was lower than that of the US, notes Michael Moravec. He explains why: "Because there is less research and it's more difficult to put the results of research into practice here. ... If the European Commission demands that each EU country invest three percent of its economic performance in research and development it would be a huge waste of resources. It makes little sense to take the watering can approach and aim for the same level of research everywhere. Just as in Indiana or Nebraska there is very little in terms of top research in every area and at every university, it makes little sense to demand that Malta, Cyprus, Estonia or Bulgaria invest 'three percent' when there are still gaping holes in their infrastructures. ... However, it's difficult to restrict top research to the few member states where conditions and profits are optimal because top research is also a matter of prestige." (12/06/2007)

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After the publication of an article about the exploitation of Portuguese workers by temping agencies in the Netherlands, the daily deplores the lack of regulations to supervise the circulation of workers in Europe. "As there are always people who take advantage of the fragile situation immigrants logically find themselves in , counting on the latter's hesitancy to file complaints against those who exploit them, the States must act. ... Countries like ours or the Netherlands are obliged to do more. Thus they could oblige temping agencies to communicate the names of those recruited to the respective consulates, creating greater vigilance. If nothing is done, part of the free circulation of workers in the EU will inevitably lead to fraud." (12/06/2007)

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Film critic Christopher Bray comments on The Tate Modern's exhibition entitled 'Dali and Film', which explores the relationship between motion pictures and the work of the Andalusian surrealist. "Some of the most potent of Dalínian (the term is the great egotist's own) reveries are to be found in the cinema. Still images, even still images as drenched in psychic discharge as those by the young Dalí, can only ever be snapshots of a dream. For a conscious journey down Sigmund Freud's 'royal road to the unconscious' you need moving pictures. ... No other art form has ever been able to give such concrete expression to the abstract conjunctions of our sleeping lives. ... 'The best cinema,' he [Dali] once declaimed, 'is the kind that can be perceived with your eyes closed.' As anyone unfortunate enough to catch sight of Dalí's fawning Portrait of Laurence Olivier in the Role of Richard III (1955) at Tate Modern will attest, the same goes for the worst paintings." (12/06/2007)

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The newspaper examines the widely held belief among Danes that life in the neighbouring countries of Sweden, Finland and Norway is constrained and joyless because of their restrictive policies on alcohol and smoking. "But these policies which we Danes hold in such contempt do indeed have an advantage, a rather considerable advantage. Namely that around half of their population lives ten years longer. And they also have an advantage in terms of the number of years people live without serious illness. We Danes insist on our right to live worse lives; we insist on irresponsible smoking, drinking and eating. ... The alternative to the present situation is not the abolishment of personal freedoms. The Swedes smoke, drink and eat too. But unhealthy things are expensive and harder to get, the advertising for such products is less intrusive and healthy things are cheaper." (11/06/2007)

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"Please can I go in, look at the sea and stretch my legs on the beach a bit ? Certainly Sir, that'll be 14 euros." Jenner Melletti experienced this conversation while researching an inquiry into Italian beach access that he has published. "For one day on a beach near Genoa, a couple without children and without using a changing room, will spend 66 euros, and the place looks more like a cement factory than a beach: over a thousand changing cubicles strung together and white plastic seats everywhere, so close together that you can prop your newspaper up on your neighbour's shoulder ... . The law that demands free access from landowners is however unequivocal. Earth and sand belong to everyone." (12/06/2007)

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Roland Rudd, founding chairman of Business for New Europe (BNE), considers that "If you want an analogy that illustrates one particularly odd element of the EU, consider what it would be like to have a rotating editorship of 'The Daily Telegraph'. It would change every six months, to allow all the paper's journalists a shot at the top job. And while we are playing at equality, let's ensure the paper does not take a clear line on any big foreign issue of the day, and instead gives the title of foreign editor to anyone who wants it. 'Not a good way to run a newspaper,' I hear you say. And how right you are. Nor is it a blueprint to run a company, or any organisation, including the EU. So why are plans to end such an anachronism, by having a full-time president, being met with howls of protests ? Is not an elected presidency (renewable every 30 months) preferable to a six-month rotating one between all member states ?" (12/06/2007)

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