Arab publishing houses, publishers and authors are acting against their "own best interests" with their boycott, German literary critic Tilman Krause points out. "If there's a country in Europe where there's continuous interest in Arab literature in general and North African literature in particular, then it's naturally France. To discontinue their official activities there and instead focus on making vitriolic attacks against the one stable democratic state in the Middle East, which is also home to one of the world's most lively literary landscapes is, to use Talleyrand's words, more than a crime; it's a mistake." (13/03/2008)

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"During violent periods, no space is left uninvaded by politics, its priorities, its moral values, its demands. Acts and gestures are over-symbolised and nobody appears able escape the implacable logic of political interpretation", explains Joëlle Kuntz. "The Paris Book Fair is experiencing a miniature, farcical version of what Middle Eastern citizens alas endure every day: there is no question of art, literature or constructive thinking, but only of 'positions', of 'legitimacy' and of 'justifications'. Writers there are not artists, but 'dissidents' or 'collaborators'. ... Boycotting is the political arm of the weak who are crushed by politics and only place their hope in the radicalism of a refusal. They have lost faith in a solution for peace. They have stopped looking for one." (14/03/2008)

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Christophe Kantcheff denounces "the selective criteria applied to the 39 writers invited, the use of Hebrew, which bypasses the diversity of Israeli literature, and in particular that which is written in Arab, the country's second official language. ... It is not surprising that most of the Arab states (Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia...) as well as Iran and the Palestinian Writers' Union are calling for a boycott. Some Arab writers will however be attending the book fair independently. ... To go or not to go? The debate is dividing Israeli writers and intellectuals. ... [Those who will be present] consider that their voices will be more efficient in the book fair than outside. This is the real dividing line that separates defenders of the boycott and those who will go to the book fair with a critical distance. Between questions of principle and the desire to be tactful, arguments from both sides are understandable. At the end of the day the choice is a question of conscience for each individual." (13/03/2008)

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Bernardo Valli is against the boycott of the Paris Book Fair. He hopes there will be no provocation at the book fair and that it will serve as an example this May for the Turin Book Fair, which has also invited Israel as guest of honour. "To boycott a cultural event such as the Book Fair is silly. Worse still, it is idiotic. It is basically an attempt to exercise censorship. It is even more serious when the boycott risks aggravating bloody divisions provoked by the Israel-Palestine conflict. In this case cultural activity should play a dissuasive role, in order to bring back reason and dialogue to the parties embroiled in hateful confrontation ... . To condemn a boycott does not mean withholding criticism of how the event has been organised and carried out. The diplomats who have had to deal with it have not shown much delicacy." (13/03/2008)

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During a ceremony marking the "Anschluss" on 12 March 1938 [Austria's annexation into greater Germany by Hitler's regime], the Vienna-based Bulgarian writer Dimitré Dinev delivered a speech on peace in Europe: "The last war [following the collapse of Yugoslavia] is not far behind us, and Europe hasn't exactly decked itself in glory. Its attempt to promote peace has failed. The situation has even worsened, because while those driven from their homes by the war were knocking on Europe's doors, the right-wing parties gained strength and the residency laws became stricter. The European behaved as if this war wasn't taking place in Europe, as if it had nothing to do with him. ... You yearn for peace, but we don't want to give you any of our peace, Europeans tell those who risk their lives to come here. Yet you can't own peace. It's not a thing, it's a state. I come across the word 'security', unlike the word 'peace', on a daily basis. ... The word 'security' is not a word that promotes peace. It's a word that excludes." (14/03/2008)

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In an article posted on Project Syndicate and published bu several European dailies, Robert Skidelsky, professor of political economy, notes that "today, there seems to be no coherent alternative to capitalism, yet anti-market feelings are alive and well. .. Because no social system can survive for long without a moral basis, the issues posed by anti-globalisation campaigners are urgent. ... The market economy is sustained by the stimulation of greed and envy through advertising. In a world of ubiquitous advertising, there is no natural limit to the hunger for goods and services. ... While the market today has no serious challenger, it is morally vulnerable. It has become dangerously dependent on economic success, so that any large-scale economic failure will expose the shallowness of its moral claims. The solution is not to abolish markets, but to re-moralise wants. The simplest way of doing this is to restrict advertising. This would prune the role of greed and envy in the operation of markets, and create room for the flourishing of other motives." (13/03/2008)

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Poland's opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński (PiS) is threatening to block the EU reform treaty. The preamble to the polish ratification law is to contain a passage stipulating that the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights only has limited application in Poland. The government needs the votes of at least 14 PiS members of parliament to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary for parliamentary ratification of the document. Jarosław Kurski comments: "Jarosław Kaczyński is prepared to endanger all the joint efforts of the European Union and make a laughing stock out of Poland for the sake of ... preserving the moral and ideological unity of the PiS faction. Unfortunately, the conciliatory tactics of the [ruling] Civic Platform party have failed. To the dismay of most Poles, Donald Tusk refused to sign the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the hope that the president and the PiS would refrain from blocking the entire treaty in return. He gave Kaczyński a finger, but the latter took the whole hand. This is what he's always done. Why did Tusk believe this time would be any different?" (14/03/2008)

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The new plans for a Mediterranean Union have prevented a major dispute within the EU, writes Peter Winkler, but the question of why the Barcelona Process - which was supposed to strengthen cooperation with the countries bordering on the Mediterranean - was so unsuccessful was never mentioned during the discussion. "This would have raised awkward issues, such as the fact that some of the addressees are at war with each other, and others, while shying away from this last step, nonetheless have extremely difficult relations with their neighbours. Naturally the EU's influence is based on the 'soft power' of money as opposed to military power, for example. But Sarkozy, too, should have noticed that in recent years the interest of the Mediterranean states in the EU's offers of billions has dwindled. Instead of thinking up new ways for throwing billions of euros southwards across the Mediterranean, the causes for this lack of interest should be examined." (14/03/2008)

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"Flemish politicians have been scrambling to react to a United Nations report on the 'wooncode'. Much ado about nothing, in fact, for it has to be said that this report is not worthy of the front-page", considers Yves Desmet. "Even if it is crazy to have to meet more linguistic conditions to obtain social housing than to get into the royal palace. We can also be surprised by the image Flemish politicians are giving the Flanders region. It must not be forgotten that the Flanders region has the biggest far-right party in Europe [Vlaams Belang] and that its new leader considers the apartheid regime one of the best forms of state in the history of the world. In all large European towns you can see policemen and women with different coloured skins. Here, it is forbidden to wear a veil behind a cash register. Nowhere else in Europe is there such discrimination against immigrants and their children in employment and education." (14/03/2008)

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In Berlin the German Conference on Islam, an informal committee that discusses the integration of Muslims in Germany, convened for the third time under the chairmanship of German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. The conference recommended the introduction of Islam religion classes at German schools. Sabine am Orde comments: "One can't expect binding, practical solutions from the conference - and that's not just because for decades there simply hasn't been any dialogue with the Muslims and the process therefore requires more time. The continuous discussion about Islam religion classes can't really be regulated at a nation-wide level because school policy is in the hands of the individual states. It's also unlikely that the state's desire for a dialogue partner who speaks for all Muslims at the conference will be satisfied. The conservative groups represent only a small proportion of Germany's Muslims and the independent Muslims mostly only represent themselves. It's unlikely they will be able to form a representative body that speaks with one voice and is accepted by all Muslims here in Germany." (14/03/2008)

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Relations between the two neighbours Slovakia and Hungary are bad owing to historical differences, the treatment of their respective minorities in the other country and a dispute over a joint dam on the Danube which was built in the Socialist era. At the EU summit currently being held in Brussels, the two heads of government, Ferenc Gyurcsány and Robert Fico, inevitably bump into each other, but they have repeatedly postponed a long overdue bilateral meeting. Ivan Vilček sees this as proof that the "atmosphere between the two neighbouring states has been lastingly poisoned and that time doesn't heal all wounds. Paradoxically, both countries are led by left-wing governments. Fico would be having a much harder time if the right-wing populist Viktor Orban was in power in Hungary. However, Gyurcsány is under strong pressure from the right wing and this undermines his position and influences his stance in the negotiations with Bratislava." (14/03/2008)

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For the British architect Norman Foster, interviewed by Keren Lentschner, "Paris on the whole is going through a renaissance at the moment, as it was the case for London ten years ago. ... Paris is a very compact city with a very strong urban centre fringed with green spaces. The town-planning of its suburbs has neglected the essential principles of good communication. The social problems that have agitated the suburbs are due to their isolation and the absence of links. These are problems that Paris can overcome by investing first and foremost in transport, a key factor in social balance. France, which has been a precursor with high-speed trains, should attain the standard of transport found in Hong-Kong. Paris should also bring diversity to its suburbs, by attracting companies and providing top quality public space." (13/03/2008)

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Costel Busuioc is one of two million immigrants from Romania. In his new homeland, Spain, he's making a career for himself as a singer and being hailed as the "Romanian Pavarotti". On Wednesday (March 12) he won a talent competition in Madrid. Diana Popescu comments: "President Basescu called him two days after his victory (Did he ring him up beforehand to wish him good luck?). Prime Minister Tariceanu explained how a modest worker was doing wonders to improve the Romanians' image in Spain. For certain branches of work he could be a good advertisement. Tourist services are hoping Costel Busuioc will become a trademark that attracts foreigners to the Romanian coast. For Busuioc, Romania seemed empty - a country where no one saw him, listened to him or helped him. That's why he left. Now Romania worships him. ... Defeated in his own country Costel has now become a winner abroad." (14/03/2008)

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"Maps were once the preserve of an elite, an expression of power, control and, latterly, of minute scientific measurement. Today map-making has been democratised by the internet, where digital technology is spawning an astonishing array of maps", notes columnist Ben Macintyre. "Almost any measurable human activity can be projected, using a computer 'mash-up': a map of New Jersey based on episodes of The Sopranos; the spread of graffiti in a single town; the progress of the Tour de France; traffic accidents; the CO2 emissions for any given flight; or exactly how many people have been gored in the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. ... The new generation of amateur map-makers are doing for the traditional atlas what Wikipedia has already done to the encyclopaedia, adding layer upon layer of new information, some that is fascinating and useful, much that is pointless and misleading, and almost all from a distinctly personal perspective." (14/03/2008)

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For 10 years Marshrutkas, a combination of a bus and a taxi, have been circulating on Bulgaria's roads. They operate on a certain route but stop anywhere to pick up passengers. Assen Zonev explains how to build a Marshrutka: "You buy a Ford or Renault van ... and take out the seats and put in benches instead. That creates 20 places. ... Then straps are installed to provide an additional 10 to 20 places for standing passengers. Finally, you install a methane gas engine to make transport less costly, but this doesn't stop the companies from hiking up the ticket prices every time the price of petrol goes up. What else do you need? Red stickers on the outside showing the route and a self-installed lamp to light up the bus number. And of course, drivers who drive as if they were taking part in a race and, if necessary, have no qualms about driving up pavements to get out of a traffic jam." (13/03/2008)

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"European deputies didn't wait for the anniversary of the European Parliament to celebrate the 50th year since its creation on March 19th, 1958", explains Laurent Moyse two days after a ceremony organised in Strasbourg. "The European Parliament plays a capital role in the democratic functioning of the EU, even if we did have to wait 20 years for the election of deputies through universal suffrage. It may seem surprising that since 1979, the European elections fail to instigate passionate feeling in crowds, despite the fact that this institution's role has continuously grown and European legislation has become a cornerstone for various national policies. This lack of interest is not only due to the technical character of debates, or to the complexity of the EU's institutional machinery: a number of governments don't hesitate to discredit Europe when trying to find a way out of problems that come up on a national level." (14/03/2008)

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