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Hall, Aleksander
2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Europe's place in French political debate
French President Jacques Chirac's term in office is coming to an end after 14 years. Polish journalist Aleksander Hall focuses on Chirac's Europolitics in his assessment: "Jacques Chirac wanted power for France. This is no doubt about why - despite his initially Eurosceptical stance and his moves to hinder Spain and Portugal on their path to Europe - he eventually converted to the 'European faith.' He tried to use Europe to boost France's position in the world... Chirac wanted the EU to become a political power in its own right. That was the right path. However, if you take a closer look at France's policies under Chirac you have to ask yourself exactly what role he had in mind for united Europe in the world. Sometimes you get the impression that it was to play the role of a counterweight to the US rather than a bastion of Western civilisation that would be the second great pillar of the West alongside America."
» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » France
Europe's left and Poland
According to historian Aleksander Hall it's not only Poland's eurosceptical governing parties but also Europe's left that have tarnished the country's image within the EU. In a guest commentary Hall argues that Poland's poor image "is reinforced by several leftist and ultra-left lobbies for whom being European means full state recognition of homosexual rights or condemnation of the death penalty. The reaction of representatives of the European Commission and the Council of Europe to President Lech Kaczynski's personal comment in a radio interview that in certain cases he would favour imposing the death penalty can only be described as hysterical… Such incidents tell us a lot about the current state of European civilisation. In influential and opinion-forming circles, same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia are considered normal while any kind of discussion about the justifiability of imposing the death penalty for the most serious crimes is regarded as scandalous."
» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Religion, » Weltanschauung, » Poland, » Europe
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