Deutsch
English
FrançaisSub menu: Home
Home / Index of Authors
Friedl, Walter
Subscribe to receive the texts of "Friedl, Walter" as RSS feeds
2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Badly timed Brussels pay rise
After lengthy litigation the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg has ruled that the roughly 44,000 EU officials will receive a pay rise of 3.7 percent to be paid retroactively for the period between July 2009 and June 2010. This decision comes at the worst possible time, the daily Kurier complains: "The only positive thing about this ruling: at least the rule of law functions at the European level. The rest leaves a catastrophic impression at best and, viewed objectively, is a slap in the face for EU citizens. They are expected to put up with one austerity package after another, even in the public sector salary cuts are not the exception (as they are in Austria) but the rule and social benefits are being slashed. Not that it would help the increasingly angry citizens if the Brussels leaders went around in sackcloth and ashes - which considering top salaries of over 20,000 euros a month they aren't doing anyway. But we could expect at least a minimal show of tact on the part of the EU decision makers."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe
Climate policy is mass murder
Two weeks before the World Climate Summit begins in Copenhagen the daily Kurier sees little chance of it being truly successful: "There are short and medium-term economic interests in play that put profit above everything else. Then there are politicians who are fond of making grandiloquent speeches but when it comes to the crunch turn all meek and mild and capitulate in the face of the powerful captains of industry and approaching elections. And then there's the all-pervasive (old Viennese) proverb according to which things won't get that bad - based on a few controversial studies. The consequence is a total standstill: So the climate conference in Copenhagen in December won't bring a breakthrough. And this is a true declaration of bankruptcy because the world has been preparing for this summit for four years now, and worse still, it is a slap in the face, especially for the coming generations. This attitude, which can be described as potential mass murder out of negligence, must be corrected as quickly as possible - but there's hardly any time left for that now."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Global
© 2005-2012