Today's EU summit should finally put an end to the search for candidates for the new EU posts, writes the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore: "If … Europe could learn to react more strongly and more quickly to what happens in the globalised world it wouldn't have any doubts or hesitation this evening. It would immediately (because it has already lost too much time) select a strong and credible president and foreign minister. … After the difficult process of adoption by the 27 [EU member states] the Lisbon Treaty … was to provide Europe with an instrument to awaken it from its slumber. … The difficulties with the nomination [of the candidates], however, have once more confirmed that a treaty is not enough to clothe a naked king who, for lack of any prospect of common [European] interests, has long since pushed national interests into the foreground." (19/11/2009)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » Elections, » Europe
All available articles from » Adriana Cerretelli

The left-liberal daily El País criticises the way the search for fitting candidates for the newly created EU posts has been conducted, saying there has been a lack of transparency: "It is not a routine decision: the functions these two posts end up having will to a large extent be determined by the persons who occupy them for the first time. For weeks rumours have engulfed the transparent discussion. The logical approach would have been to first reach an agreement about the requirements for the post and then discuss the names of the selected politicians - whether male or female, because this is an opportunity to make the [growing] presence of women in European institutions visible, a process which has already begun within national governments." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Elections, » Europe

The problem with the new posts of EU president and foreign minister is the difference between their symbolic power and the political reality, writes the daily The Independent: "The European Union, along with the majority of its advocates and critics, long ago fell in love with symbols. It wanted a single figure for Europe that citizens could point to, a single figure whom President Obama could ring when he wanted to talk to Europe. The problem with symbols is that, by definition, they can never survive contact with reality. The dull facts of these jobs barely resemble the grandeur of their stated purpose. But, in the end, we simply do not want a single figure running a pan-European foreign policy, any more than we want a European head of state. This event was always likely to be hubristic. The disconnection between the symbol and the reality has made it a little unsettling, as well." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » Europe
All available articles from » Damian Chalmers

The new EU president must be strong but should not be called Tony Blair, writes the daily Les Echos: "The closer the deadline comes, the more it seems clear ... that the president of the European Council should be chosen according to the same model as the head of the European Commission: a facilitator, a man who doesn't make waves. In short an anti-Tony Blair. Apart from his attitude to the Iraq war and the knee-jerk opposition of the British to European integration, the former British prime minister apparently has too many handicaps for his old dream to come true. This should not serve as an excuse to put a second José Manuel Barroso in his place. ... To a large extent the person who finally is appointed will be obliged by the Treaty of Lisbon to invent the post. So regardless of who's the right person for the job ...  it does require a certain personal aura." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Henri Gibier

US President Barack Obama has for the first time admitted that he will not close the Guantánamo Bay prison on Cuba at the end of January, as promised, but probably later on in the year. The daily Diário de Notícias is confident that the closure will be postponed by just a few months: "The only thing you can criticise the US president for is for being too optimistic. His desire to distance himself from [former US-president] George W. Bush's government and remove the stain of Guantánamo ... led him to make a compromise that also depends on the will of the US Congress ... . Obama ... now refuses to name a new deadline ..., even though he says that it will be in 2010. We should concentrate on what's important here. President Obama had the courage to admit that Guantánamo is not in keeping with America's character. And we know: if Bush's successor gets his way it will only be a few months before this stain is removed." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » U.S.

Commenting on the EU-Russia summit which took place on Wednesday in Stockholm, the daily Dagens Nyheter writes that Russia must be pressured to introduce reforms: "Since [Russian President Dmitry] Medvedev took office Russia has adopted a friendlier tone. But it remains to be seen whether he will really push through democratic reforms. … Kremlinologists speculate on a schism between Prime Minister [Vladimir] Putin and the liberal president. Their differences, however, could simply be a show for the public in which Medvedev casts himself as a democrat to deflect criticism. … Certainly the EU - and Sweden - should try to normalise relations with Russia. But the promise of more intensive cooperation should be tied to the demand that the country truly respect human rights and carry out democratic and economic reforms." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Sweden, » Russia, » Europe

The daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung writes that nuclear armament in Iran and North Korea is a further topic Chinese leader Hu Jintao avoided during US President Barack Obama's visit to China: "Obama said that Tehran must reckon with the consequences if its leadership fails to convincingly show the world very soon that its nuclear programme is peaceful. Hu meanwhile only repeated that China believes the question of Iran must be solved 'through dialogue and negotiation'. Similarly on the issue of North Korea, concerning which the US feels Beijing, which has close economic ties with North Korea, should step up the pressure on Pyongyang, Hu merely said that both sides agree that North Korea must return to the six-party talks coordinated by China." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » U.S., » China
All available articles from » Peter Fischer

With around 70,000 employees and expenses of roughly 500 million euros per year, the Netherlands has one of the largest diplomatic services in Europe, roughly 25 percent larger than other countries of the same size. According to a parliamentary iniative the service should be down-sized and embassies transferred to the EU. Saving expenses is a good thing, writes the liberal-conservative news magazine Elsevier, but not at any price: "Cynics who say that the main thing is for Dutch diplomats and politicians to preen and secure themselves the best jobs are probably right. This could all be done much more cheaply. And that will be necessary. ... But that doesn't mean that our diplomatic services can be transferred to the European Union. ... That would be silly. It is very smart to work with the embassies of other European countries in certain areas. But relinquishing our diplomacy to Brussels would mean doing away with another little bit of the Netherlands. And that would not serve our country's interests in the slightest." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Netherlands, » Europe
All available articles from » Syp Wynia

Danish professor of philosophy Jens Morten Hansen criticises in the daily Jyllands-Posten the plans of Danish churches to ring their bells in celebration of the World Climate Summit that takes place in December in Copenhagen: "I'm all in favour of a climate agreement but I detest the idea that there is an infallible stance here. In particular ringing the bells for the climate is a dreadful way to embrace the sciences that discovered the climate changes, researched them and described them. … To sanctify the prevailing opinion among climate experts with a Catholic rite represents not only a break with a valuable tradition, but also repudiates conflicting opinions. This is a step in the direction of opinion terrorism and brings back the banned Inquisition which saw [Giordano] Bruno burn at the stake and [Galileo] Galilei sent to prison. Are we now to voluntarily jump into this quagmire on the other side of the narrow path of virtue and sanctify one particular scientific view? No, this way of creating heroes is wrong and undermines the independence of science, just as the proscriptions of the Middle Ages did." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Religion, » Denmark
All available articles from » Jens Morten Hansen

The European Court of Human Rights ruled recently that crucifixes have no place in Italian classromms. In 1995 the German Federal Constitutional Court came to a similar decision regarding schools in Bavaria. Charalambos Anthopoulos, professor at the Open University of Greece, comments on the two rulings in the liberal daily To Ethnos: "Both decisions overlook the fact that in Italy the crucifix is not only a religious (Christian) symbol, but also a cultural and historic one, deeply rooted in the national consciousness. And neither decision gives convincing arguments for the purportedly 'bad effects' of this religious symbol on the free development of the pupils' opinions. There are also Christian symbols in Greek schoolrooms. ... These symbols are an element of our national and cultural heritage, and do no harm to anyone. If a couple of parents take offence at them, the matter can be sorted out in the school, perhaps even by removing the symbol. ... But this topic should not be used for political, social or legal confrontation." (18/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Greek)
More from the press review on the subject » Education, » Religion, » Migration, » Weltanschauung, » Germany, » Italy, » Greece, » Europe
All available articles from » Charalambos Anthopoulos

A third of France's nuclear power stations are down for repairs, and French energy company EDF now plans to buy around a billion euros worth of electricity from abroad. Yet the myth of inexhaustible nuclear energy lives on, as the left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung points out disparagingly: "Instead of reducing nuclear consumption and diversifying supplies France is relying entirely on nuclear energy. With the backing of the state leadership it is presenting the 'new generation' of European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) as the only solution to ensuring power supplies. Energy company EDF is even cynically using the current production bottlenecks as an argument for speeding up the process of replacing the old nuclear power plants with EPRs. France is also very eager to defend its position as world leader in the area of 'civilian' nuclear technology." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » France
All available articles from » Rudolf Balmer

The Finnish parliament yesterday passed legislation allowing shops to stay open on Sundays all year round. The daily Savon Sanomat welcomes the decision, which it says was long overdue: "In recent times there was an unclear practice that certainly left the average consumer disgruntled. … According to the opinion polls the majority of consumers favoured the liberalisation of opening hours. Employees' and Employers' associations were also in favour. It's good that the majority of politicians have finally bowed to the inevitable. The ongoing recession has reduced the number of jobs. Unemployment is expected to continue rising right into the next year. The trade unions are happy that the liberalised shop opening hours will secure an additional 1,000 man-years approximately [equivalent to up to 2.000 jobs]. This means new full-time jobs and more hours for part-time employees. Why didn't we do this before now?" (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » Trade, » Economic Policy, » Finland

Bulgarian nationalism is extreme to the point of being funny, says Antoni Georgiev in an an interview with the weekly magazine Kapital: "[The minister without portfolio] Bozhidar Dimitrov, President Georgi Parvanov and their followers hardly miss a chance to be present when it's time to unveil a monument for heroes of the 19th century, kiss the hand of an aged ecclesiastic or move the bones of a Medieval saint to another grave. I get the feeling we honour heroes of the 19th century or saints from the Middle Ages because there's nothing in modern history - especially in connection with Europe - which can enhance our national self-consciousness. In fact it's hilarious how Bulgaria is the only country where churches, chapels and monuments to events that took place 150 years ago are being erected with such zeal. Meanwhile in Sofia there isn't a single museum for modern art." (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Weltanschauung, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Iva Rudnikova

The liberal daily Pražský Deník finds the end of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution Kafkaesque: "Exactly at midnight a garbage truck drove up to the commemorative plaque on Narodni street and scooped up hundreds of flowers and burning candles, simply dumping them into a container. Garbage men are only human, and they too wanted to go to bed sooner or later. Their reactions to the onlookers' protests cannot be quoted here. Only a few metres from where one illusion was ending in the container a new one was being born: A line of policemen stood at the National Theatre, while actors bearing banners from November 17, 1989 stood facing them. Three cameras were filming the action, leading one to presume it was a major production, no doubt from Hollywood. ... Václav Havel and Franz Kafka couldn't have thought up something like that together. Only life itself can write such absurd theatre in Prague." (19/11/2009)

» more information (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » Remembrance culture, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Lída Rakušanová

On December 21st Russian communists plan to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the birth of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. According to the Estonian daily Postimees this is not an isolated incident: "The Russian Communists are not a marginalised extremist group but the largest opposition party in the Duma [the Russian parliament]. And unlike other demonstrators they are not beaten up by militia but march openly through the centre of Moscow, blatantly holding up pictures of Stalin. … Of course there is not yet an all-embracing Stalin cult in Russia, and supporters and opponents more or less counterbalance each other. But one can certainly discern tendencies in Russia's public sphere that would not have existed in this form twenty years ago during the last days of the Soviet Union. And among them is the renovation of Moscow's Kurskaya tube station, in the course of which words glorifying Stalin were brought to light in October."    (19/11/2009)

» full article (external link, Estonian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Remembrance culture, » Russia
All available articles from » Igor Taro

The Slovenian national football team beat the Russian favourites 1-0 on Wednesday in front of a home crowd in a qualification match for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. A game that united Slovenians, writes the daily Delo: "The stadium in Maribor - and all of Slovenia - did the wave for a united, harmonious Slovenia. This Slovenian wave was set off by the fantastic game delivered by the Slovenian team, which played its strongest trumps at the decisive moments. The Slovenian players outshone the Russian favourites and their famous trainer Guus Hiddink with exquisite football. ... Thank you for uniting Slovenia, something no one has been able to do in recent times - and for helping young Slovenes to develop a sense of self-confidence with your performance." (19/11/2009)

» more information (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Franci Božič