The Irish Examiner calls for irreproachable standards in food production: "Though it may be hard to imagine it this morning there is an opportunity in all of this. Despite all of the campaigns promoting a green and clean Ireland Irish farming has been about turning oil into food for many years. ... There must be some way that we can establish food production regimes that are economically, environmentally, ethically and socially beyond reproach. Methods that allow producers to earn a good living and produce food people can actually afford and would like to eat. Sadly we cannot claim that at the moment and, unless we put our rogue producers or processors out of business, we might never be able to. If we do this our farm and food processing sectors have a future. If we do not the prospect is too awful to contemplate." (09/12/2008)

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Carlo Petrini, father of the Slow Food Movement, writes in the left-liberal daily La Repubblica that food quality can only be protected by drastically reducing meat consumption. "The situation has gone out of control. Labels are no longer of any help. ... To regain control over meat quality we have to sink consumption. If we eat less, the production process will slow down, the cycles will slacken and the use of artificial feed will decline. ... The only thing that can help us is a demand for quality. Labels cannot protect us from all the offences the producers are capable of committing. There is a second option, not an alternative but a complementary measure: agricultural policy must become nutrition policy in the EU. It must recognise the particularities of the sector and protect its vulnerable side." (09/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Carlo Petrini

"The possibility of free and speedy trading of EU goods across national borders guarantees the effective functioning of the single market. But this unhindered flow of goods also has its disadvantages, as we are now witnessing with the Irish pork scandal," the Finnish daily Turun Sanomat writes. It praises the Finnish food agency Evira for removing products made using Irish pork from the market and urges consumers to buy national products instead. "Tracing contaminated meat back to its source in an open food market is extremely difficult, almost like looking for a needle in a haystack. Dioxin is invisible. ... Evira's course of action is without doubt justified, even if the health risk is apparently minimal. Dioxin is a chemical that increases the risk of cancer." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Health Policy, » Agriculture, » Finland, » Global

The daily Postimees cautions against panic: "Although we tend to associate European agricultural policy with subsidies for farming businesses, attention is now turning to the much more important issue of food safety. The majority of European standards governing production are aimed at guaranteeing that the food that lands on citizens' tables is indeed clean and safe. The dioxin panic that broke out on the weekend is more an example of what the hundreds if not thousands of complicated regulations are supposed to achieve. If manufacturers and processors were not subject to these restrictions the food we eat each day would contain many more contaminants and would therefore pose a greater threat to our health. Reports on scandals should therefore not be taken too seriously, particularly as according to experts the levels by which the limits were exceeded in the case of Irish pork do not pose a genuine threat." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health Policy, » Consumers, » Agriculture, » Ireland, » Estonia, » Europe
All available articles from » Indrek Riikoja

Following a long delay the European Union Rule of Law Mission EULEX is about to take up its work in Kosovo. The daily Dnevnik writes that its fight against organised crime will meet with resistance: "Millions have found their way into people's pockets [in Kosovo] and billions have been invested in the construction of roads that still haven't been properly surfaced. Apartments that are a mere figment of someone's imagination have been rented out. ... A report by the health fund according to which 11,000 Serbs have undergone operations at the hospital in Gračanica at the cost of the state is particularly telling. That would entail the highly unlikely scenario that every citizen of Serb origin over the age of 18 has had an operation. Apart from the subtle distinctions between the various criminal practices in Kosovo and whether the money comes from drug trafficking or is being printed by bureaucrats, it would appear that both ethnic groups [Albanians and Serbs] have their own strong lobbies which oppose the EULEX battle against organised crime. The establishment of law and order is a thorn in their side." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Violeta Simeonova

The protests triggered by the death of a 15-year-old boy in Greece have escalated, comments the daily I Kathimerini: "The behooded youths are without doubt the protagonists. They have all the necessary qualifications for a great career in our TV democracy. They are faceless, dark figures, ... daring and unfettered by a political platform or ideological restrictions. All this serves to create a very appealing model for the young, who perceive themselves as caught in a bleak present and faced with an insecure future. ... The government has lost control. Karamanlis waited to see whether things would calm down, but instead the situation has escalated. ... Athens' city centre has been destroyed. ... The state has collapsed." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Social movements, » Greece
All available articles from » Stavros Lygeros

Czech President Václav Klaus has resigned his honorary presidency of the liberal-conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS), of which he is the co-founder. In the wake of this move the founding of a new party is in the offing, prepared by friends of Klaus. The conservative daily Lidové noviny writes that the new anti-EU party barely stands a chance of survival: "The new party is meant to weaken the influence of the ODS. ... But its founder Petr Mach, director of a think tank close to President Klaus, risks the same fate as [Prague mayor] Pavel Bém in challenging the ODS leader Mirek Topolánek. For this reason Klaus has qualms about openly declaring himself as the new party's founding father. But that is exactly the crux of the matter. Projects by politicians who lack the courage to admit their patronship don't stand a chance in this country. Even Václav Havel [who co-founded the liberal Freedom Union, which has no seats in parliament] had to face up to that." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Jaroslav Plesl

In view of the upcoming European Parliament elections the Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter reflects on the relationship between Sweden's citizens and the EU: "While the large number of member states is testimony to the success of the EU project, it has also wrought a decisive change in the character of the EU. Yet in what exactly this change consists is not yet clear - not least for the member states and their citizens. The nation state remains the political arena in which citizens feel more at home. The mental gap between them and Brussels is greater than the geographical gap. ... This natural scepticism becomes all the more apparent when it comes to the EU's regulatory body. Most people understand that it needs to be reformed in order to adapt to a continually growing Union which wants ever closer cooperation in an increasing number of areas. But people only want reform if it doesn't come at their expense - this is the general reaction. That's why the Treaty of Lisbon has come to a standstill - temporarily, we must hope. But now that crisis has struck the reaction is entirely different. In the midst of serious economic crisis the EU is called upon to act, the ability to act of the Eurozone countries is praised and heads of government see the EU as a mainstay for their own crisis policies. Many citizens are now saying that the EU is 'doing the right thing'. But these very same citizens are liable to turn around the next minute and complain about the lack of national freedom of action." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Sweden

Interest is booming in the Netherlands in the country's history, culture and traditions. The government is building a national historical museum, and the latest TV hit is a quiz show entitled "I Love Holland". Esther Wittemann discusses the phenomenon of national nostalgia in the daily NRC Handelsblad. "What we are observing is that people feel insecure because the world around them is changing so rapidly. Through the credit crisis, through international terrorism and sometimes through migrants who are different from themselves. For this reason they seek a sense of security in a group. They want to belong, they want a safety net. It is important for them to pinpoint who belongs to their group and what it stands for. They need to stress what the people in their group have in common. Tales of their shared history help, as do old symbols. Ultimately they use this country, the Netherlands, as their reference, and that imparts a feeling of solidarity. When people want to oppose changes that frighten them, they retreat into their own group. But in delimiting and adulating their own group they should beware of falling into extremes." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Social movements, » History, » Netherlands
All available articles from » Esther Wittenberg

The Romanian government has failed to meet the deadline for making use of funding made available to it by the EU. The daily Evenimentul Zilei criticises the government for these omissions. "How can we justify before the European Commission the loss of around 20 to 30 million euros in PHARE funding made available in 2006 which were to have been withdrawn by December 1 of this year - a deadline which was missed because of negligence and narrow- mindedness. The sum is not great in comparison with the national budget, but the absurdity of this problem is typical of Romanian administration: While all Europe is trying to get hold of money we are throwing it out the window because a few dignitaries in finances were incapable of issuing tenders in time, with the result that they missed the EU's deadlines for submissions or for legal competition procedures. ... The politicians responsible for this will pass on their mandate today or tomorrow. Therefore no one will feel responsible [for missing the deadlines]." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Europe, » Romania
All available articles from » Sorin Ionita

The administrators of the estate of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize, have lost money in the financial crisis due to speculation. This could lead to a major reduction in the prize money, writes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "If the bosses of the American car industry are ready to work for one dollar a year, perhaps Nobel Prize winners will also have to settle for less in the future. ... This would not be the first time that the golden Nobel Prize belt has had to be tightened. Two world wars and the depression of the 1930s caused prize sums to sink by up to two thirds in some years. The low point was in 1920, when [author] Knut Hamsun had to make do with a measly 134,100 crowns - measured in terms of buying power that represented just 28 percent of the original sum from the year 1901. Knowing Horace Engdahl, the Academy's clever general secretary and a declared enemy of American culture, the emergency plan has already been drawn up. If the foundation's tills are empty the Nobel Prize in Literature can finally go to the United States. The estimated prize money: one dollar." (09/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Hubert Spiegel

According to Slovenian writer and publisher Mitja Čander, the current economic crisis will also have an impact on culture. "The question is what proportion of the state budget will be left over for culture, because all the different ministries will fight for their piece of the cake. ... Moreover the government must implement a fiscal policy that opens up the market for additional funding for the culture sector. The state must finally create effective tax incentives for economic players who invest in culture. And tax relief must be used to compel citizens to consume cultural goods. ... Finally, it must offer producers in the culture sector more help in applying for European funding. ... We must stop ... focusing all our attention on the minister of culture. The government and the Slovenian head of government are the main bearers of responsibility for all good and evil in the area of cultural and educational policy." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Mitja Čander

The business paper Les Echos analyses the difficulties faced by publishing houses and print media in view of the rise of the Internet. "At the press summit in Lyon at the end of October, the distress of French publishers was palpable. ... They have understood that the Internet, although it has become indispensable, cannot solve their economic woes. ... And the same is true at a global level. Faced with the oversupply of free content on the Web, printed newspapers are no longer able to convince readers to buy their product regularly at what many consider too high a price. ... Banal information can no longer be sold. By contrast, readers are still ready to pay for what they see as valuable information. ... Then there are the other solutions such as patronage or public money. But at what cost to editorial independence?" (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Publishing houses, » Print media, » Online media, » France
All available articles from » Nathalie Silbert

The European Commission wants to force Spain before the European Court of Justice to adhere to the regulations stipulated in the "Television without Borders" directive on the broadcasting of television advertising. Maurizio Carlotti, president of Spanish private station Antena 3, criticises in El País Viviane Reding, the EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media: "The strength of democracy goes hand in hand with the strength of mass media, which depends on its independence and autonomy, which in turn depends on economic power. Therefore it is not wrong to say that democracy is partially dependent on the economic strength of the media groups. To attack television advertising without taking measures to reform the public TV broadcasters in their form and content is a way of weakening democracy." (09/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Audiovisual Media, » Media policy, » Crime and Law, » Spain, » Europe
All available articles from » Maurizio Carlotti