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Giesen, Peter
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Prosecution strikes deal with murderer
According to media reports the prosecutor's office in Amsterdam on Monday offered a suspected murderer 1.4 million euros and a plea bargain for his testimony in a big trial against the Amsterdam crime world. This deal with the key witness endangers the entire trial, the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant admonishes: "You catch thieves with thieves and murderers with murderers, the prosecutor's office must have thought when it struck the deal with the chief witness Peter la S. ... On principle this is bad practice because it involves giving the criminal a reward to which he has absolutely no right. In practice it's a bad idea because it casts doubts on the reliability of the key witness. He has to 'deliver', otherwise he won't get his reward. ... There is a strong likelihood that there will be no conviction, and the prosecutor's office will have dirtied its hands for nothing."
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More from the press review on the subject » Justice, » Netherlands
Don't make Greeks pay for euro's failings
Even if EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte are speculating openly about a Greek withdrawal from the Eurozone, allowing Greece to go bankrupt is a risk move, warns the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "In the countries of the north the euro crisis is being represented as a matter of budget discipline, yet Spain, a problem country, has always strictly adhered to the rules. The fundamental problem of the Eurozone is the enormous gap between the productivity of the northern countries and that of the southern ones. Greece is an extreme case, but Spain and Portugal will have great difficulties bringing their economies up to northern European levels. ... This structural fault of the euro makes northern Europe responsible for the crisis. Greece is rightly being called on to make greater efforts to put its finances in order. But northern Europe can be expected to show solidarity. The Greeks cannot be left to pay the price of the crisis alone."
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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Greece
Abuse: bishops should resign
The Roman Catholic bishops of the Netherlands apologised on Sunday for the tens of thousand of cases of sexual abuse of children and adolescents, but refused to accept any personal consequences. According to the commission of enquiry the Church leadership had full knowledge of the extent of the abuse. Apologies are not enough, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "Archbishop Eijk cannot be held directly responsible for the abuses revealed by the commission. Nevertheless his resignation would be a gesture to the victims, a tangible sign of remorse. The analogy to the responsibility accepted by ministers suggests itself. They hand in their resignations when something goes fundamentally awry under their supervision, even if they don't bear any personal responsibility. The abuse scandal is serious enough for such a symbolic gesture."
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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Crime, » Netherlands
Dementia patients' right to assisted suicide
According to media reports, for the first time a woman suffering from dementia has died in the Netherlands after having recourse to assisted suicide. She had signed an advance directive before falling ill, although assisted suicide is banned in the country for people who can no longer exercise their will. This rule must be changed, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant, but very carefully: "Of course one must not talk flippantly about ending the life of someone who is perfectly healthy apart from having dementia. There are certainly risks. People could be put under pressure by their children, for example. The state could even encourage assisted suicide to cut costs. For that reason medically assisted suicide must be subject to clear rules. ... Ultimately, however, a person's self-determination must count most. Dementia patients' right to life is inalienable. At the same time, every individual must have the option of sparing themselves and their families the suffering caused by such an affliction late in life."
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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Ethics, » Netherlands
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