Peter Rasonyi criticises Jürgen Rüttgers, Prime Minister of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia, who had called Nokia a "corporate raider of subsidies". "Strategic location decisions are always business decisions which the corporations must take. Public policy can make the framework conditions as attractive as possible by means of taxes, infrastructure, regulations and educational efforts. But if a company decides upon a different location anyway, then that is just as legitimate as it is necessary for an efficient, competitive economy... In fact, this case provides further evidence that state subsidies are nonsense. If the conditions at a particular location are structurally unfavourable, then, in a competitive situation, decline can at best be delayed. This impedes the emergence of new structures, and is ultimately disadvantageous to the workers whose layoff is just postponed." (18/01/2008)

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Even if shifting jobs from Bochum to the Romanian city of Cluj is painful for those affected, Daniela Weingärtner believes that we should not dismiss the EU's policy on subsidies: "Should the EU abandon its goal of harmonising the standard of living in all its Member States? That would mean that wages and working conditions would remain dreadful in Romania in the long term. That would be disastrous for the entire EU – not just from a moral perspective, but also from a social one. For in a single market, businesses are always attracted to the locations where wages and additional expenses are lowest. So it must be in the interest of German trade unions and German politicians that Eastern Europe can catch up as rapidly as possible – also with the support of European support programmes. It is self-evident that industry relocation must not be subsidised. In any case, the funding guidelines exclude it." (17/01/2008)

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The plant closure in Bochum will have consequences for the entire corporation, warns Björn Sundell. "Such decisions are problematic regarding morale in large international corporations. If profitable units are closed, even, as in the case of Nokia, highly-automated plants during a boom, then the employees will wonder whether it's even worth it to work hard and make sacrifices – if in the end, that still isn't enough. Corporations should deliberate such steps carefully, irrespective of the cost of wages. Insecurity doesn't exactly help boost motivation at other sites, and fear doesn't increase loyalty. After all, nobody knows who will be next." (18/01/2008)

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In an interview conducted by Gilles Anquetil, Abdelwahab Meddeb, the Frano-Tunisian poet and writer believes that "the return to the Mutazilites, these 9th Century rationalist theologians, is priceless. Didn't they defend the idea of a 'created Koran' against those literalists who took the Koran as 'received'? What is the 'created Koran' if not the belief in writings inspired by God and translated into the language of man? This human mediation implies the necessity to situate the text in the context of its proliferation and to go back to the time of its relevation, which is anthropologically outdated. Its meaning is thus relative. What happened with the Bible at the end of the 17th Century is happening with the Koran today. There are many Muslim researchers who are participating. Our role is to bring the results of this research to the largest number of people possible." (17/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Gilles Anquetil, » Abdelwahab Meddeb

Johan Schloemann analyses the address which Pope Benedict XVI intended to give at La Sapienza University. In response to protests, the university had withdrawn its invitation to the Pope – he did not deliver the lecture, but it was published online. Schloemann concludes, "This Pope's rhetorical trick is to use the concept of truth, employing formulas such as 'courage to speak the truth"' without differentiation on the scholarly questions of modernity and liberal society. He does so despite knowing better, as if 'truth' in the context of revelation and 'truth' in the context of critical reason, which is open to being falsified, were the same. That is brazen, conceptually speaking... Thwarted because of 'intolerance', the pope's academic lecture proclaims a concept of truth, veiled in a facile way, which is intolerant at its core. It is not that it is founded in Christian revelation alone – every one of the great religions must assert an 'intolerant' truth by its very nature –, but precisely also in the teaching office of the Church to which the Pope lays claim." (18/01/2008)

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The leftist nationalists in Basque country regularly demand a referendum on their self-determination. For Cesareo Aguilera, Spanish professor of political science, "as long as the separatist organisation ETA continues to exist, a public consultation of this sort is impossible. A referendum would require that the organisation is first dismantled, and that a period of time sufficiently long then passes so that all democratic opinions start to feel comfortable expressing themselves publicly. For the backers of a united Spain, a 'low intensity' ETA is the least worst option, because as long as the armed group stays active, it will be impossible to pursue negotiations on self-determination. It is interesting to note that the leftist nationalist electors don't realise that the persistence of ETA gives the opponents of a referendum their best argument against a democratic debate on the principle of self-determination." (18/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Cesáreo Aguilera

The British Council closed its offices in St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg on January 17 after repeated examples of Russian intimidation of its employees. "If anyone wants an example of the bankruptcy of conventional diplomacy (on both sides), it is here", writes. Simon Jenkins. ... The British Council ought to be the lead diplomatic department in all but the most politically sensitive countries, and be staffed appropriately. Politics, defence and commerce should be subsidiary activities. In an age of soft power, western democracies will do far better in propagating their values of freedom of speech and expression by the exchange of people and ideas than by the bullying diplomatic rhetoric of the war on terror. They should lead by example. That requires the diplomacy of human and cultural exchange." (18/01/2008)

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On January 8, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that he wanted to give Europe immigration, defence, energy and environmental policies during France's EU Presidency in the second half of 2008. The European Affairs columnist Thomas Ferenczi is sceptical. "You need to have a certain presumptuousness in order to dare imagine that six months of French presidency will be enough to install communal policies that EU has been trying to laboriously develop for years. ... The state that acts as president doesn't have absolute power. Its margin of manoeuvre is limited by the condition of the issues that it wishes to put on the table and by the positions of other states. ... The best presidencies, explains an official of the Commission, are those not using too much spin. This isn't exactly Sarkozy's style." (18/01/2008)

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The post of Romanian Justice Minister has still not been filled. Writer Mircea Cartarescu calls for a reappointment of former minister Monica Macovei and a fight against corruption. "Romanian society vehemently demands an end to spectacles and the introduction of justice. It desires that corruption trials finally start in Romania. But without a determined and strong judiciary, we will only go on nourishing the abject system that ... sucks our energy from us. For years, the system has been nurtured by the alliance between the former nomenklatura and the Securitate. These people are primarily active in the Greater Romania Party, the Conservative Party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and among the new liberal oligarchs and became rich under dubious circumstances. The 322 representatives who today dominate and cripple the Romanian parliament are the epitome of corruption." (18/01/2008)

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"In Britain today, you can stuff yourself on deep-fried Mars Bars, drink 20 pints a night, inject yourself with heroin, smoke 60 cigarettes a day or decide to change your sex - and the NHS [National Healthcare System] has an obligation to treat you. ... But if you have bad teeth, forget it," writes Alice Thomson. "It is now virtually impossible for many people to find an NHS dentist, and if they do manage to squeeze on to a list, they could still be charged 80 per cent of the cost of treatment ... But there are increasingly two dental nations in Britain and those who can't afford the fees have worse teeth than ever before. With bad teeth, you are less likely to find a good job or a successful relationship. ... Healthy teeth used to be seen as a sign of a modern society. Now because of our first-world diets and third-world dental care, we have 19th-century teeth. Britain has to take its teeth seriously again or we will soon be back to wooden dentures." (18/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Alice Thomson

For the editorialist Thierry Labro, "the choice of Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun as the first guest at the European Parliament doesn't bode well for the European year of intercultural dialogue (EYID). Hans-Gert Pottering, the President of the EP is the target of this criticism for several reasons. With a ten million euro budget, the EYID should mean something to Europeans. Even though the Mufti's very moderate speech [given on January 15] on the uniqueness of civilisation, ... was very well received, holding it in Strasburg didn't allow us to know anything about his community, and his low profile didn't allow it to reach the youth the EYID is targeting. No, the visit was clearly political at a moment when many discussions get bogged down in Syrian interference, like the resolution of the situation in Lebanon or Iranian nuclear development." (18/01/2008)

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Little new is happening in theatre nowadays, believes Romanian director Andrei Serban, who has directed productions on numerous stages in Western Europe and the USA. If we look at what is going on in the world of film, for instance the rebirth of Romanian film by a young generation which is expressing some strong and rather discomforting ideas, then in comparison, theatre is in a phase of stagnation. It has not yet found its place at the beginning of the century. We theatre-makers are afraid, semi-desperate, as it were, that film could overtake us. We try to copy film, to employ means of film in the theatre... But the attempt at modernisation by incorporating elements of multimedia technology weakens the art of theatre." (18/01/2008)

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Long queues formed this year in Latvia as parents waited to register their children for the new school year, especially in front of desirable schools. Juris Paiders considers this a good sign: "Whether or not you get a place in a school no longer depends on money handed over in an envelope, but on waiting in a queue. If we want to have a society without corruption, then people who accept such bribes must be arrested – even if it results in inconveniences such as queuing. Queuing is not pointless, but rather a sign that the extent of corruption has decreased. How can we fight these queues? We would have to return to the old system where students' admission to an elite school depended on the magnitude of their parents' 'expression of thanks'." (17/01/2008)

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"In Switzerland and the rest of the world, we celebrate this hundredth anniversary of the famous triangular 'schoggi' from Bern," Benjamin Luis writes about the Toblerone chocolate bar. "Nobody knows exactly why the triangular shape was chosen. ... Many rumours circulate on the subject. Around the year 1900, [Toblerone's] creator, the naughty Theodor Tobler often went to Paris on business. On night, at the [cabaret the] Folies Bergere, a revelation came to him during the finale that featured a pyramid of dancers. It wasn't very much later, according to marketing evidence from the period, that Mount Cervin began to appear on Toblerone advertisments. ... Over the years, Toblerone has become so popular that it sells more than alcohol and tobacco. Why? 'Ask a Chinese tourist what memories they'll hold on to when they go home, and they'll tell you Toblerone,' explains Edith Zweifel, spokesperson for Swiss tourism." (18/01/2008)

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Estonian sculptor Mati Karmin's new statue has attracted attention: he placed a bronze pig in front of Tartu's covered market. Raimu Hanson writes, "The Estonian capital of sculptures is doubtless Tartu. Do Tallinn, Pärnu, Narva or any other city have a bronze pig in front of their covered markets? No... The pig has such a mischievous expression on its face that you can recognise in it quiet ridicule that Tallinn is supposed to be the most intelligent city in the world. Is it not also a symbol if one Estonian city dismantles its bronze statues while another sets up new ones?" (18/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Raimu Hanson