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Lanting, Bert
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Nato ignores corruption in Afghanistan
According to a report aired by the BBC on Tuesday, Nato has uncovered evidence of Pakistani security forces giving direct support to the Taliban. The report also sheds light on the web of complicity between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban. Nato has committed basic tactical errors, the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant writes: "Where will the Afghan soldiers and police officers stand once their major protector - Nato - has pulled out? According to the report, the Taliban have changed their strategy and are now above all exploiting the people's dissatisfaction with the government. In this way they are targeting the biggest weakness in Nato's strategy. While the allies have trained many police officers and soldiers, until now they have shown far too much tolerance for the corruption under President Karzai. One can hardly talk of a successful withdrawal strategy if Nato leaves a corrupt regime behind."
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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Afghanistan
Lack of progress on EU climate policy
While the EU is acting jointly to tackle the credit crunch it is getting nowhere as regards climate protection, the Dutch daily De Volkskrant writes: "The economic crisis that has followed hot on the heels of the financial one has made the EU member states jittery. East European countries like Poland, but also Italy and Germany have no interest in placing an additional burden on their stagnating industries with more stringent regulations for carbon emissions. After all, such measures cost money and this makes it more difficult for them to compete with non-European countries. And they also cost jobs. ... In recent years Europe has cranked up the pressure on the US and China to set the same climate targets as it has. The hesitant stance of certain member states undermines the EU's urgent appeals to its neighbours. ... The step forward the EU is making in the area of finances is thus slowed down by a limping leg."
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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Environmental Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Marc Peeperkorn
Inefficient EU policy
American financier and philanthropist George Soros has sharply criticised recent measures introduced in Italy to deal with its Roma population. With an eye to Soros' words, the Dutch national newspaper De Volkskrant stresses the inefficiency of Europe's Roma policy: "This stern criticism is embarrassing for the European Commission, which had anounced it had no objections to the Italian measures. ... In recent years the EU has put 275 million euros into programmes aimed at furthering the integration of the Roma, of whom roughly a quarter to a third live in Romania and Bulgaria. But the programmes were less successful than had been hoped. One of the problems is that the EU has little say in the decisive areas: the labour market, social institutions, health systems and eduction. These areas fall under the competence of national governments."
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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Minorities, » Europe
Brussels does not want to resuscitate the constitution
Bert Lanting, the daily's Brussels correspondent, previews the contents of a study on Europe's future that the European Commission is set to unveil on Wednesday, May 10. "The report concludes that there is no sense for the time being in trying to revive the European constitution, which was rejected last year by France and the Netherlands. ... In place of the constitution, [José Manuel] Barroso, the Commission's president, wants to introduce and gain approval for certain parts of the constitution, especially that concerning cooperation in the judicial sphere. The Commission suggests simply letting the constitution rest for the moment since there is no emerging consensus on which strategy to adopt. ... At the European parliament, not everyone shares the parliament's approach to this issue and some fear that the constitution may never see the light of day."
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More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » Europe
Doubts about European enlargement
"The EU should offer a sort of 'B' status to countries it cannot accept as members. This is the solution that the parliament opted for yesterday. Until now, the parliament has been a big supporter of the broadest enlargement possible, but the vote in Strasbourg showed that attitudes are changing," observes Bert Lanting, a correspondent for the daily. "The idea [of a B status] is a brainchild of Elmar Brok, a German MEP from the Christian Democrat party. It is similar to the proposal of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who wants to keeps Europe's doors shut to Turkey. ... The socialist faction also supported the resolution, but according to deputy Jan-Marinus Wiersma (PvdA), it would not apply to the Balkan countries or Turkey. B status would be an option for countries such as Ukraine, Moldova or Belarus."
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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe
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