Estonia ranks fifth in natural sciences in the latest Pisa study, just ahead of Japan and leaving its Baltic neighbours far behind. The newspaper expresses its satisfaction: "If this study and its methodology are to be believed, Estonia's school system surpasses levels in all Western European countries with the exception of the absolute leader Finland. But are Estonian pupils really so much cleverer and better at analysis than their European peers? At any rate, our school system certainly deserves a good grade, and even Education Minister Tonis Lukas points out that according to the Pisa study our syllabuses are nothing to be ashamed of. They have attained international standards." (30/11/2007)

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Michael Völker finds it worrying that Austria achieved only mediocre results in the Pisa study and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), which is designed to assess the reading skills of children in the fourth year of primary school: "Hooray, we don't have to repeat! ... We can be satisfied with our 'C' grade - or maybe not. We have long given up any hope of belonging to class of the good or best pupils, like the Finns. For us the name of the game is: it's enough not to be left behind. We are content to be mediocre. ... Austria should model itself on Finland; we should be trying to be among the best. And if we take Finland as our role model we have no choice but to start a debate about the Gesamtschule (comprehensive school) model." (30/11/2007)

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Laurent Moyse considers that despite Luxemburg's high ranking in the PIRLS rankings (sixth out of 45), "there remains a non-negligible number of students who consider reading a chore and textual interpretation an uncomfortable activity. ... The education system must find a way to balance the transmission of knowledge with a response to the difficulties of working with a diverse student body. One thing is certain: the education system has been sick for some years. If it is in this state, it is partly due to our society, which is sick as well, and which has delegated some of its responsibilities. Result: in reading, Luxemburg ranks last in student motivation." (30/11/2007)

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After England slid from 3rd to 15th in the PIRLS study, the education secretary Ed Balls blamed Playstation for the student's poor score. Columnist Martin Samuel disagrees. "It seems rather strange that naughty old computers are getting the blame from the Education Secretary because our children now trail Latvia and America in a global assessment of reading performance. What happened to education, education, education? ... The future is bleak. Bulgaria, a country in which a person was recently torn apart by a roaming pack of wild dogs, still manages to get basic literacy skills across in a more satisfactory manner than England. Even America - a country in which many children spend at least two lessons each day cowering beneath tables from loner gunmen wrongly empowered by nihilist websites, drag-act musicians and Charlton Heston - does it better than us. ... still Mr Balls speculates, identifying the root of the problem as the free time, not the school time." (30/11/2007)

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It was the advent of the Pisa study that internationalised education policy, write political scientists Kerstin Martens and Stephan Leibfried. With its Pisa study the international organisation [the OECD] developed an instrument for comparing national education systems. ... Even if a country wanted to it could no longer escape international competition - or the Pisa. ... The times of nation state-oriented policy are coming to an end, and no one is more aware of this than the closely interwoven EU member states. Internationalisation is inevitable - and also represents a great opportunity. This is another thing Pisa has taught us, because with its Pisa study the OECD triggered a long overdue debate about education, integration and family policy which up to that point had been inconceivable in Germany. ... Even our 'holy' triadic school system is now under discussion and has already been reformed in some German states. No matter how intense the debate becomes over the next few weeks, Pisa is not a curse but a blessing." (30/11/2007)

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Melissa Härtel, researcher and author of the work 'Erasmus or the construction of a European cultural sphere,' has released a report on the Erasmus program analysing the 20-year experience that has included more than 1.5 million participants. "The dazzling success of the Erasmus program has shown that it represents a strong force in the development of European identity. In mixing with students from all over Europe, participants develop in an international social environment, enriched by many different external influences, all while remaining in the 'Erasmus atmosphere'. Brought together under the aegis of a common program, for a determined period in a certain location, students don't think in terms of national identities, but in terms of their 'Erasmus' identity. The exchange trip is, for the former participants, a moment when they were able to create with other Europeans a common culture, which went beyond all physical and national borders. This notion thus allows a solid construction of a real European identity." (30/11/2007)

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In the lead-up to next week's climate change conference in Bali, the canadian activist Naomi Klein comments on statements by a high-power financial advisor, recommending armaments over green technology as a good investment. "The idea that capitalism can save us from climate catastrophe has powerful appeal. It gives politicians an excuse to subsidise corporations rather than to regulate them; and it neatly avoids a discussion about how the core market logic of endless growth landed us here in the first place. ... The market, however, appears to have other ideas about how to meet the challenges of an increasingly disaster-prone world. According to Douglas Lloyd [a financial analyst], the really big money - despite all the government incentives - is turning away from clean-energy technologies, and is banking instead on gadgets that promise to seal wealthy countries and individuals into hi-tech fortresses." (30/11/2007)

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"Do European states live up to their ambitions [in terms of human rights ? Nothing is less sure. The Council of Europe has just released a severe warning on this subject, via its commissioner of Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg," explains Thomas Ferenczi. The European states "tolerate racism and xenophobia which is responsible for the rise of extremist groups in many countries. They don't respect the rights of undocumented immigrants. They don't put enough effort into the fight against discrimination, which affects most notably the Roma population. They only act rarely against homophobia. They lack the will to fight inequality between men and women. ... We understand that European governments don't like hearing lectures from the Swedish diplomat. But Europe will only be loyal to itself if it can bring itself to listen to the man who wants to be 'the voice of conscience.'" (30/11/2007)

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Only two days ahead of Russia's parliamentary elections on Sunday Jan Rybář writes that the memory of the suppression of the Prague Spring uprising has made Czechs too sceptical about Vladimir Putin's policies. "Putin is extremely popular in his home country. Even if Russia were to magically change into a replica of Great Britain tomorrow - with exemplary democracy, objective media and comfortable prosperity, Putin would still win on Sunday. A couple of years ago one had to see the stability Putin achieved for Russia as a miracle, as a panacea that made it possible for Russia to move forwards. Today that stability has become dangerous because Putin's Russia is controlled by a small group and the omnipresent secret services. But this doesn't necessarily mean things will turn out badly for Russia. It's possible that with a growing economic boom Putin will increasingly turn towards freedom." (30/11/2007)

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Latvia's constitutional court has pronounced the border treaty with Russia constitutional even though this means the country will lose territory to Russia. Aivard Ozolins expresses his relief: "The debate about whether the border treaty is in accordance with the basic law will now be supplanted by a debate over this ruling. But this won't affect the treaty itself, so we can now hope it will be ratified by the end of the year. This will finally draw a line under the ten-year struggle over the ratification: Latvia and Russia drew up the text back in 1997. At last this tiresome matter will disappear from the agenda of bilateral relations and relations between the EU and Russia." (30/11/2007)

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All available articles from » Aivars Ozolins

The European Parliament agreed yesterday to introduce stricter gun laws in 2010. Up to now Finland's laws have permitted youths to possess sporting guns from age fifteen. But following the school massacre in Jokela the Finnish government has decided not to continue blocking the pan-European law raising the minimum age for possession of weapons to 18. Björn Mansson comments: "When the European Parliament addressed the issue yesterday, the Finnish MEPs had the bad taste to stress that shooting should continue to be a hobby open to minors in Finland - and this just three weeks after the Jokela tragedy. It's true, the perpetrator would have turned 18 a short time after the shooting, but he purchased the weapon under the very pretext that he would use it as a sporting gun." (30/11/2007)

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A woman was recently killed in Spain by her ex-boyfriend who had appeared on television several days in an attempt to win her back. Juan Cueto thinks that this story should push Spain to reflect on the content of its television programs. "It is absolutely false to say that our tele-garbage - morning, day and night - has any equivalent on the mainstream networks in Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany or the Eastern European countries who have yet to see much liberty of expression on the screen. ... Those who are opposed to all forms of censorship have put a lot of hope in the self-regulatory code signed a few months ago by the private stations. But the main Spanish television networks are following the global trend toward a 'garbage space' [as it is defined by Rem Koolhaas] and they have arranged it so that they can ignore the signed document without any afterthoughts." (30/11/2007)

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Danish filmmaker Morten Hartz Kaplers' satirical film 'AFR' recently made a splash at the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. The film, which features Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen playing himself, has received both praise and criticism, but remains a must-see, writes Maria Katsounaki. "Kaplers seems to have no moral inhibitions whatsoever. ... [He] reconstructs reality with surgical precision. He places the element of imagination at the service of satire and reveals what goes on behind the scenes in politics by using its own weapons against it. Sarcastic, bold and on the mark, 'AFR' has but one aim: to create a sense of unease, revelation and questioning. 'The subject of the film is deception,' noted the director. 'It's about how politicians can misguide the media and how the media can, in turn, misguide politicians. And, finally, how both can misguide the public.'" (29/11/2007)

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Austria is slowly getting used to the idea that it's now a country of immigration and has started a debate about Islam, Paul Jandl reports: "Whereas in 2001 around 14 percent of the population had an immigrant background, now it's over 16 percent. Most immigrants live in Vienna, where a third of the current residents were not born in Austria. However those who fear the Balkanisation of the country can rest assured: the majority of the newcomers don't come from the classic guest worker countries but from the EU. Germans still constitute the largest group. Could it be that the clash of the cultures has been less intense in Austria than elsewhere? There hasn't even been a discussion about the headscarf so far. On the contrary, when the city of Vienna recently presented the new official uniform for its cleaning staff, a headscarf to be worn by Muslim women was also included in the ensemble." (30/11/2007)

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"With his curious eyes and his little snout, the large European Hamster of Alsace is a friendly wild rodent. ... With a cute look and a three colour coat (a black belly, white paws and a reddy-beige back), he looks like a guinea pig, a living teddy bear, everything but a threat to the country. However, thanks to him, France could be hit with an astronomical fine - 17 million euros according to Brussels - for failing to protect him and those like him," writes Laure Noualhat. "The large hamster is not in the best shape. There are only 600 of them left. ... When he wakes up [after hibernation] in March, nothing can be taken for granted. He will have to travel long distances on an empty stomach to find others and reproduce as quickly as possible. On his way, there are highways where drivers would run him over without a second thought. Roads, houses, in short all urban expansion taken together, threatens this rodent." (30/11/2007)

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