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Wagstyl, Stefan
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3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
The Kosovo Conundrum as difficult as ever
The latest round of international negotiations on Kosovo's future is scheduled for December 10th. Columnist Stefan Wagstyl analyses the situation. "Difficulties in imposing the Ahtisaari plan have prompted renewed consideration of other options, of which the most controversial is the partition of Kosovo. The idea was aired last week by Maxime Verhagen, the Dutch foreign Minister. ... Serbs in Serbia proper might react by trying to drive out ethnic Albanian neighbours living next to the Kosovo border. Those Albanians say they would react by demanding union with Kosovo. That in turn could trigger a host of other separatist claims, including from Bosnia's Serbs and Macedonia's ethnic Albanians. It is in this sense that a false move in Kosovo might cause the ground to shake somewhere else nearby that makes it difficult to achieve even an inch of progress."
» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Serbia
World War II ended in 1989 for Poland argues Stefan Wagstyl
Columnist Stefan Wagstyl condemns the Polish tactic of bringing up World War II casualties during EU negotiations, but attempts to explain why it is understandable. "In the west, the war finished in 1945. But many east Europeans believe that for them it did not end until the overthrow of communism in 1989. ... It is therefore too early for many east Europeans to treat the war with the same detachment as west Europeans. It should not be a surprise if the highly charged language used by some east Europeans in talking about it reminds the west Europeans of an older era. East Europeans must develop a more detached view of the war for themselves. But west Europeans can help by improving their own understanding of the war in eastern Europe. ... None of this justifies the Kaczynskis' absurdly hypothetical argument. But behind their crude sally lies the often-painful fact that the past is much closer to the present in the east than it is in the west."
» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » Europe
Poland's isolation in Europe
"The Kaczynskis [the Polish president Lech and his brother Jaroslaw, Polish Prime minister] are calling for nothing less than a new Polish state", write Jan Cienskiand and Stefan Wagstyl, in an article describing a deepening sense of isolation and a series of conflicts brought on by the two politicians in Poland and Europe. "At home, the twins have created a climate of concern - if not of fear - that is giving rise to new political divides. Abroad the Kaczynskis' nationalist rhetoric has irritated EU partners. ... The twins appeal to traditional values: their strong Catholicism, their negative view of homosexuality and their talk of reviving the death penalty are all at odds with mainstream western European opinion. The brothers are out to prove their theory that Poland has been hijacked by Communist-linked special interests at home and abroad."
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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Poland
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