The Estonian daily harshly criticises Russia: "The breaking up of the demonstrations in Russia on Saturday and Sunday is a further scandal as far as human rights in our neighbour are concerned. The attacks in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod hold up to the Western world a picture of a regime that is fighting to maintain its power rather than a Russia striving towards democracy. It may be that President Putin's opponents are increasingly operating only just within the law with their forms of expression but in today's Russia they have no other options for making their views public." (26/11/2007)

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The editorialist Pol Mathil considers that the results of elections in the Duma, to be held on December 2nd, are a foregone conclusion, which renders the wave of repression in Russia 'absurd'. For him, only one election is of importance: the presidential election on March 2nd. "While the deadline for closing the list of candidates is on December 21st, in less than a month, Russians don't know the name of a single person prepared to take over from Putin. ... There are some signs indicating the degeneration of strife between rival factions within the Kremlin and without. These factions oppose numerous former officers of the KGB, where Mr. Putin was trained, whom he placed in the upper echelons of the State. .. They are all seeking a way to protect their immense interests, whilst ensuring their place in and the continuity of the current system, which in fact depends on a single man." (26/11/2007)

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"The justice system in Russia has been reduced to an instrument of those in power. Laws are their weapons. It is in the nature of things that these weapons were used on the weekend against the former world chess champion Garry Kasparov," Daniel Brössler writes. "Kasparov has actually managed to capture the West's attention for a moment, but in Russia itself his voice if far too weak to be heard. This is why the state power's tough line may seem all the more surprising. It tells us that Russia's leadership no longer fears criticism from abroad but does fear anything that isn't under strict control in its own country. In reality Putin and his gang are those who have the least faith in the much-praised stability of the system. They're not willing to leave anything to chance - least of all free elections." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Daniel Brössler

The Russian parliament, the Duma, has been "condemned to silence", writes Eduard Steiner: "In the post-Soviet Russian parliament, and even during Vladimir Putin's first term in office, there was genuine talk in parliament, but once the Kremlin took control via its 'United Russia' party, it became quieter. After the upcoming elections there will be no need to bother with loudspeakers. ... But it's not only in parliament that there's a lack of discussion. Economists argue that only the free competition of ideas, fought out in free media, can correct the economic course and prevent potential negative trends, and that the increasing dominance of big companies as well as the monopolist tendencies on the Russian market are thwarting competition, which is the basis for innovation. So in the long term the economy, too, will suffer from the lack of discussion and freedom of opinion." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Eduard Steiner

The start-up founder Philippe Lemoine defends the creative potential of Internet users in an interview with Jean-Philippe Pisanias and Vincent Remy. "For elitist culture, if the floodgates are opened too wide, idiocy surfaces along with opinions. And yet, what is it that enthrals young Internet users? The knowledge that they are not alone in the world asking questions which have no answers in proven words, books and theories, that there's the possibility of meeting other people asking themselves the same questions. Without mentioning collective intelligence, this is a universe of encounters that is not exclusively a mouthpiece for opinion, but somewhere for feelings and desires for something different to be pooled. If you don't recognise that, you don't understand Internet." (24/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Philippe Lemoine, » Jean-Philippe Pisanias, » Vincent Remy

The writer and journalist Vicente Verdu lists all the signs of a "surprising increase of absence" in our societies: "In the same way as cancer and Aids symbolize an era, Alzheimers is clearly the manifestation of a new ailment. Contrasting with cancer's cellular multiplication and the viral invasion of Aids, we now have a cerebral evolution toward absence. ... Work, which in the 19th century represented practically everything, lost a good part of its identity-building function at the end of the 20th century. Citizens have gradually passed from the status of producers of material and spiritual goods to the consumers of these goods. ... [The reign of absence] is not as serious as the fall of a civilisation, but marks a cultural state of permanent anxiety that nothing can calm." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Vicente Verdú

The voter turnout for the election of Romania's 35 MEPs was very low, at 27 %. According to the preliminary results, the Democratic Party (PD) led by President Traian Basescu won the most votes - just under 30 %. In contrast, Basescu's proposal for a majority voting system was rejected in a referendum held at the same time. Simona Popescu comments: "Not even Romanians living abroad turned out in crowds to vote: no one knew what was going on and no one was prepared to travel far to vote for Romania's MEPs. There was also general ignorance about the majority voting system. It's clear that Romanians have no faith in their own vote; they don't believe they have the power to change things. ... The country's politicians have delivered yet another anti-democratic performance for Europe. Unfortunately, it won't be the last." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Simona Popescu

The Czechs are closely following reports according to which Germans living on Germany's border with Poland and the Czech Republic are concerned about the expansion of the Schengen area. Josef Šlerka comments: "We've been living with Germans for centuries, sometimes on our territory and sometimes on theirs, and now all together within the EU. In a couple of days the border controls will disappear, and once the euro has been introduced here we will hardly remember the border. Sixty years have passed since the last war, yet some people on both sides can't hide their fear of the 'others'. ... Mainly it's the older generation who can remember the two countries' dark common past. They are cautious and fear any kind of change. The younger generation, which has had different experiences, is therefore all the more a source of hope. For them, despite their different languages Europe's countries are much closer to each other than the disappearing borders would seem to indicate." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Josef Šlerka

On Friday the new Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, presented his cabinet's agenda in a government statement lasting three hours. He called for the prompt introduction of the euro and announced that the EU Fundamental Rights Charter would not be signed against President Lech Kaczynski's will. He was rather vague on the subject of domestic policies. Bronislaw Wildstein criticises Tusk for promising the impossible in his speech: "Generally speaking one could say that this was an attempt to lead Poland into a phase of 'post-politics' - a political style that was effectively executed by former US President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. ... 'Post-politics' means that politics is replaced by marketing and governance is replaced by administration. In reality we depend on politics, and all post- or anti-politics serve only to conceal their real contents. This approach covers up conflicts rather than solving them." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Bronislaw Wildstein

Valérie Niquet, director of the Asian department in the Institut Français des Relations Internationals (IFRI), underlines what China expects of France as Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in the country for a three day visit on Sunday, November 25th. "In Europe, there is the example, considered disastrous by Chinese leaders, of Germany, a long time pillar along with France in Chinese activity on the continent. The Chancellor, following the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan, has just received the Dalai Lama in an open act of defiance regarding the strong influence of Chinese authorities. ... Paris will be taking over the European presidency in 2008. Beijing would like to see France play a positive role for Chinese interests in two key fields: the suppression of the embargo on arms sales, which China has not given up, and the granting of market economy status [which the EU refused to give it in 2004]." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Valérie Niquet

The writer Claudio Magris considers the Dalai Lama's visit to Italy scheduled in December. He notes how the authorities are seeking to please Beijing. "Paris is well worth a mass, as the French King Henri IV [1533-1610] said to justify his conversion to Catholicism in the name of the State. ... With all due allowance, the same problem arises in today's Italy with the welcome being prepared for the Dalai Lama: at the risk of dishonouring their illustrious guest, the authorities have taken precautions to give this welcome a tone and measure that should be of minimal offence for Beijing. ... The Italian authorities will nonetheless be accused of behaving like Henri IV, giving precedence to their political objectives and thinking of the economic needs of their country before acting according to a sense of moral." (26/11/2007)

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Istvan Zsoldos, an economist from Goldman Sachs investment bank, highlights the rapid growth of the Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - and considers that current overheating is compromising their accession to the Eurozone. In the short term, these countries are "heading towards a rather confused period and perhaps a recession. Latvia is a small economy, but the bubble and burst phenomenon will have repercussions. ... The ECB and the current members will think that an increased convergence [between these countries] is necessary before converting to the euro. The Baltic States have behaved as if they already belong to it. The ECB and Europeans are concerned about their reputations. It will be said that they accept the accession of countries that are still unstable. At the moment, the accession of the Baltic States into the Eurozone is scheduled for 2010. But this scenario is becoming less and less likely." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Istvan Zsoldos

Denmark's re-elected Head of Government Anders Fogh Rasmussen wants to hold another referendum on the introduction of the euro. This has sparked a similar debate in Sweden, which like Denmark is not yet a member of the euro zone. "In Sweden the conservative government is still divided on this issue. But sooner or later - better sooner than later - Sweden will have to take the same step. It's highly likely that this will be a central issue in the 2010 election campaign. By then Denmark may already be on the way to converting to the euro, although one can't predict the outcome of a Danish referendum. But more important than Denmark's decision is the fact that the euro has managed to demonstrate its strength. The common currency is a central element of the EU project. To be left out of it is not a good alternative in the long term." (26/11/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Denmark, » Sweden

Columnist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown deplores how the BBC is swinging to the right. "The unique Dateline London (News 24 and BBC World), on which highly respected international journalists discuss world events, a programme watched by 78 million people, is to be axed. This act of vandalism was followed by an announcement of a season of programmes on the 'besieged' white working classes. Nick Griffin of the BNP [the far-right British National Party] could well be their consultant. ... Public-service broadcasters must make uncomfortable programmes on any group or on immigration – and there are excellent examples of responsible, critical journalism. But a whole series propagandising against multiracial Briton? To validate the race hate that sloshes all over our isles, from playgrounds to football pitches? ... The BBC we knew and trusted is no more." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Yasmin Alibhai-Brown

Literary critics from several European countries met last week in Munich to reflect on the future of their profession. As Roman Bucheli reports, the outlook varies greatly from country to country. "There were some embarrassed faces among the West European critics when Jan Icha from the Czech Republic, Jurko Prochasco from Ukraine and Istvan Margocsy from Hungary described with unbeatable sarcasm the work conditions in their home countries. They explained that a brief heyday did prevail after the fall of the Communist empire. The underground Samisdat publications and the return of exiles fostered a sharp critical intelligence. Yet the economic upheavals of the past few years have done away with their journals and magazines. Today, they concluded, literary criticism, where it still exists, has become entirely meaningless." (26/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Roman Bucheli

Under the new treaty, the European commission is due to shrink, so that only two-thirds of the union's members have a commissioner at any one time, with membership passing by rotation. This is causing some anxiety among individual states that fear their countries will be unequally represented, despite, as the weekly points out, the commissioners taking a "vow of supranational celibacy, they are barred from talking about 'my country' or 'my government'. ... Efficiency offers a strong argument for shrinking the commission. The EU could soon have 30 members, and employing 30 commissioners would do harm if all tried to create work with a flood of micro-managing directives. ... [It is not] a vice if top Eurocrats cannot forget their national origins: it is simply human nature. To adapt an old French aphorism, hypocrisy is the tribute paid by national interests to the (frankly Utopian) virtues of European union." (26/11/2007)

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