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Gamillscheg, Hannes
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5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Icelanders defy banks and EU
The Icelanders have for a second time rejected plans to recompense people from other countries who had deposited their savings with the bankrupt Icesave bank, thus blocking Iceland's path into the EU. The left-liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau nonetheless congratulates the nation on its decision: "A brave people, these Icelanders! For the second time they have ignored all the warnings and rejected a debt-settlement agreement they consider unfair - despite all the prophecies that this will cost them a long period of uncertainty, potentially a lot of money and ultimately EU membership. This is refreshingly democratic. That it shouldn't be the taxpayers who pay for the failures of the banks and the greed of customers lured by the promise of high interest is a view many people in other countries no doubt share. But they aren't being asked. ... As writer Einar Mar Gudmonson put it: a 'Yes' would have meant admitting to a crime that one hadn't committed for the sake of getting off more lightly."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Banks, » Politics, » Europe, » Iceland
Somalis beat Finns at their own game
Finland's national sport is called Mölkky and is a refined version of the lumberjacks' throwing game Kyykkä. The object of the game is to knock over wooden pins of different sizes with another block of wood according to complicated rules. But the Finns have long since ceased to be the only winners in this game, the left-liberal daily Berliner Zeitung notes: "Recently a group of older Somali immigrants challenged a team of Finnish seniors and, after an initial quarrel about the rules which put the local favourites in the lead for a while, achieved such a resounding victory that even Finland's biggest newspaper the Helsingin Sanomat reported on the event. Now the Somalis are considering taking on the elite next year. And the Finns must think about whether they should fret about losing yet another domain - or be glad that the integration of immigrants is advancing at such a pace that they have even become skilled in playing Mölkky."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Integration, » Finland, » Somalia
Denmark's immigrants hit hard by austerity measures
Denmark is currently discussing a comprehensive austerity package in answer to the euro crisis. The country would pare down its traditionally generous social welfare system with the package, the left-liberal Frankfurter Rundschau writes, and criticises that in particular families with many children would be affected by the measures: "The Nordic welfare model is based on the Robin Hood principle: You take from the rich (with high taxes for top earners) and give to the poor (through generous social benefits). The result is enviably harmonious social development. But now the Danish government has obviously chosen the Sheriff of Nottingham to be the lodestar. The crisis package with which the conservative majority in Copenhagen hopes to save 3.2 billion euros weighs most heavily on the shoulders of the weakest. It targets above all the unemployed, large families and immigrants, and because an above average number of immigrants have many children and are unemployed they are hit on all three counts. ... Demographic development is the main challenge for the future in Denmark, too, and it's not so long since the government was calling on families to have more children."
» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Denmark
The neglected Council of the Baltic Sea States
"When the summit of the Baltic Sea States begins in Riga today [Tuesday], the two most prominent participants, Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel, will not be here," writes Hannes Gamillscheg. "Cooperation in the Baltic is no longer particularly high on political agendas, and that is a pity. ... The planned Nord Stream gas pipeline from Wyborg to Greifswald is a case in point. The project of piping Russian gas to Europe could have benefited the entire region. ... And cooperation is lacking not only in the energy sector. The labour market is far from being integrated. Some countries are being drained of their best-qualified workers, while others try to protect themselves against inexpensive competition through dubious means. The Baltic itself is contaminated with fertilisers and other waste, and is threatened with asphyxiation. If the significance of the Council of the Baltic States is waning, it is not for lack of topics, but for lack of political will."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » Germany, » Poland, » Russia, » Europe, » Baltic States, » Northern Europe
How to draw Estonia's borders?
On 28 November, 2008, the Estonian government plans to erect a pillar celebrating the country's independence in Tallinn to mark the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Hannes Gamillscheg reports that the plans for the pillar have triggered a series of protests, primarily for aesthetic reasons, with critics complaining that the jury was composed of "people who had no clue about art". However according to Gamillscheg, the following question is more interesting from a political point of view: "How to depict Estonia's borders? Should the present borders be used or those which were valid under the Dorpat Peace Treaty back then? Two regions that belonged to Estonia at the time now belong to Russia. But if Estonia is drawn with its old borders Russia would no doubt accuse Estonia of making unwarranted territorial claims."
» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » History, » Estonia
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