Germany and Greece are losing their tempers in the dispute over new financial aid for the government in Athens and should exercise a little more restraint, the conservative daily Lidové noviny admonishes: "The German Minister of Finance, Wolfgang Schäuble, openly suggested in a radio interview that the Greek elections scheduled for April should be postponed and a technocratic government without politicians be installed in Athens, adding that no more money could be poured into a bottomless pit. This caused Greek President Karolos Papoulias to lose his temper. ... Patience is running out both in Berlin and Athens. … What next? Will the presidential elections in France be cancelled owing to the possibility that Nicolas Sarkozy could be replaced by the Socialist Hollande, who doesn't like Germany-style budget supervision?" (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Germany, » Greece
All available articles from » Lenka Zlámalová

Germany is not only home to politicians like Schäuble und Merkel, who are being cast as "the enemy" in Greece at present, but also to Goethe, Marx, Brecht and Thomas Mann, columnist Xenia Kounalaki reminds her compatriots in the conservative daily Kathimerini, warning them not to overgeneralise in their anger at the Germans: "Those who are familiar with German culture cannot understand this rage. To see the remarks of Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble or the annoying articles of the tabloid Bild as representing the attitude of the entire German people or the entire German press is just as unfair and overgeneralising as the stereotype of the lazy Greek who sits around in cafés all day and lives beyond his means. … The way some people are trying to reduce the tradition of an entire country to such unfortunate comparisons as: today's Germany - the fourth Reich, Goebbels - Scäuble, Hitler - Merkel is simply absurd." (16/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Germany, » Greece
All available articles from » Xenia Kounalaki
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The fact that even a friend of Germany like President Karolos Papoulias has attacked the German Minister of Finance worries the conservative daily ABC: "Of course it is also true that while Germany's popular press has committed barbarities like recommending that Greece 'sell its islands' or 'auction off the acropolis', the German politicians have always insisted on respect and circumspection. Meanwhile the Greek politicians have competed with the worst of the press in an orgy of anti-German hate tirades. The images of burning German flags or Merkel dressed in Nazi uniform certainly won't help to promote German solidarity with Greece. Primitive hatred is gaining the upper hand against the European friendship which few in Greece embody as President Papoulias does. The Union was forged after two major wars precisely to quash hatred. Let us not allow hatred to be exploited once more to pit us against each other and divert attention from our responsibilities and failures."  (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Social movements, » Society, » Germany, » Greece, » Europe
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The Bulgarian government intends to withdraw from the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement Acta. According to an official announcement the Minister for Economic Affairs Trajho Traikov did not know precisely what the agreement was about when he signed it in late January. A poor excuse, writes the opinion portal Svobodata. "It's not particularly moral for a government to lay all the blame on a minister because he didn't completely understand what he was signing. ... Nevertheless this is a multilateral agreement that has been debated at a European level for four years now. ... We could now heave a sigh of relief if it were not for the fact that the decision against Acta was taken on a 'trial and error' basis. Here we get a glimpse of the well-known trick from socialist days: wait to see which direction the wind is blowing. It would be highly interesting to see what Bulgaria would do if Germany or even the entire EU suddenly changed its mind and went along with the agreement." (16/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Edvin Sugarev

After the EU Commission initiated legal proceedings against Hungary for violating the EU treaties the European Parliament followed suit on Thursday by adopting a resolution against the country. However in the end it is up to the Hungarian voters to get rid of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, writes the left-liberal weekly Magyar Narancs: "The creative and cunning way in which the Orbán government has undermined the democratic institutions in Hungary will be hard to criticise from a legal point of view. … It is a long time since Brussels has had to deal with a government that combats European values so shamelessly. … On the other hand it is in the interest of the Hungarian government to continue its 'struggle for freedom' without falling out completely with Brussels. Therefore Orbán and his government will no doubt make concessions to the EU in future. But since Orbán thrives on conflict future tensions between Budapest and Brussels are inevitable. … In the end, however, the truth is that not the EU Commission but Hungary's democrats must defeat Orbán."  (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Hungary, » Europe
All available articles from » Mátyás Eörsi
Who's saying what » Resistance to Hungarian government

The Polish trade union NSZZ Solidarność on Thursday put a motion to parliament for a referendum on the plans to raise the retirement age by two years. Holding a referendum on such an issue is nonsense in the eyes of the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "The majority of Poles want to retire sooner rather than later and receive larger rather than smaller pensions. These two objectives conflict with each other - that much is obvious. … And if the retirement age is not raised by law, why should those who don't want to retire be subjected to examinations aimed at establishing whether they can continue to work? Many such questions arise, and grow increasingly complex. They should be discussed and the government should be obliged to present many different solutions from which the parliament, which is elected by the people, selects the best. It is highly questionable whether a referendum would produce this result."   (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Social affairs, » Poland
All available articles from » Witold Gadomski

For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, a request has been filed to lift the immunity of a German president while he is still in office. The state prosecutors in Hanover announced on Thursday plans to launch an official investigation into allegations that President Christian Wulff accepted and granted illicit favours. The political establishment has tolerated Wulff's immoral behaviour for far too long, the left-liberal daily Berliner Zeitung writes: "We have a president whose morality all upright citizens must doubt because their values don't match his. Shop assistants, customs officers, nurses, teachers, clerks, workers - none are allowed to do what Wulff did in his own interest. They have all been left in the lurch by politics - and by the chancellor - in recent months. No one made any serious attempt to free us of this president. Everyone was implicated in one way or another, helping to blur the distinction between what's right and what isn't - merely for reasons of political expediency. The consequences of this moral sullying of Germany's hearts and minds will remain with us for a long time to come." (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Politics, » Germany
All available articles from » Brigitte Fehrle

Telekom Austria used bribes to gain influence over all Austrian parties excepting the Greens, an inquiry committee concluded this week in Vienna. Legal loopholes in the country's party financing legislation are partly to blame for this sleazy affair, writes the Christian-liberal daily Salzburger Nachrichten: "The said banana republic legislation allows parties to do everything that should be forbidden in a democracy: they can accept donations from any company or from weapons lobbyists. They are not obliged to inform anyone (apart from the chairman of the audit office) about whom they got the donations from. … They can even lie to the chairman of the audit office with impunity since the latter is not allowed to check reports or investigate falsities. This disgraceful legal state of affairs paves the way for the quagmire that the parliamentary inquiry committee has now laid bare. It is thanks to these loopholes that we have corrupt officials, a legislative process besmirched by bribes and a number of former assistants and lackeys who have inexplicably turned into millionaires."     (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Politics, » Austria
All available articles from » Andreas Koller

The Flemish harbour pilots ended their go-slow strike on Friday after three days. A working group of unionists, harbour operators and the Flemish government is now tasked with finding a solution to the conflict over the planned raising of the retirement age. In view of the millions of euros in damages to the economy and the threat of lost contracts the liberal daily De Standaard denounces the strikes as irresponsible: "The strikers are well-educated, smart and informed about our economic situation. They know exactly how the international harbour and transport world ticks. They are sawing away at the branch of prosperity they themselves - and with them a large part of the population - are sitting on. They are speculating that their saw will force the government to panic and give in, and pay the unpayable, even though any child can see that the branch they are sawing at threatens to snap any minute now. From an economic point of view, that's a crime." (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Trade unions, » Belgium
All available articles from » Guy Tegenbos

Despite the rush for tickets, this years' Berlin International Film Festival gives audiences a chance to slow down and reflect more deeply on political matters, the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes in praise: "Competing topics that flash by in the media before making room for the next sensation, but which are nevertheless of immense significance for every individual, return to the limelight at the Berlinale - not just in one but in several films that adopt different perspectives. Topics are addressed and reflected upon, creating a moment of deceleration in the festival that is highly attractive for audiences. Slowness has become a cherished asset; this applies to how we treat current events - or events that were current just a short while ago - as well as to the stories we tell each other. ... Perhaps today the time has finally come to tell an aesthetically true story of a woman's fate in the communist Germany of the 1980s, a woman who wants to leave and yet remains, making the reasons for both crystal clear." (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Film, » Germany, » Global
All available articles from » Verena Lueken

The Latvians will vote in a referendum on Saturday on whether Russian should become a second official language. Yelena Avotiņa-Yekaterinitsheva, a Russian-born columnist for the daily Diena, criticises the nationalist goals of the initiators of the vote: "Many Latvian-Russians have long believed the cynical theories [of Russian MEP Tatjana] Zhdanok. … Instead of planning and working on their careers people are taking part in projects aimed at destroying Latvia's sovereignty. They are easy to manipulate because adults have difficulties changing beliefs they have held for many years. … I find it important to say that not all Russians in Latvia are prepared to put up with these abuses, these lies and this ingratitude towards the Latvians. My family, friends and colleagues love Latvia not just because of the pleasant work it offers us but as a whole. I love Latvia with all my heart, just as I love my home country Russia. Long live independent and sovereign Latvia with just one official language - Latvian!" (16/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Integration, » Minorities, » Lithuania, » Russia

According to a study by the think tank Fondapol, only 25 percent of French youths are optimistic about the future, compared with 34 percent in the UK and even even 63 percent in Sweden. Young people must be given the means to take charge of their own destinies, demands Fondapol staff member Rémi Hugues in the left-liberal daily Le Monde: "We are currently experiencing the division of French society. The dividing line is marked by a university degree, and it is traced by an institution which is essentially based on equality: the school. ... It is the youths without degrees, the outsiders, who suffer the most and the longest from poverty. As a result they lack faith in the future and in institutions like the state, companies or politicians. ... If we want the young French to be reconciled with their times and their difficulties - above all globalisation - we must make it possible for them to acquire economic, social and political responsibility far more quickly." (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Ethics, » Upbringing / Education, » Society, » France, » Europe
All available articles from » Rémi Hugues

The current crisis in Portugal isn't just about numbers, it's also about people's mentalities, writes the tabloid Correio da Manhã: "You've only got to look at the outraged reactions to the new system of geographic mobility in the public sector. The government's idea: if there's no work where they live, civil servants must move where they're needed. In fact there's nothing simpler: if you have to choose between moving and unemployment, especially in a country that's as small as a chamber pot, no reasonable person will give it a second thought. Particularly if you've got a family to feed. But in Portugal people have a unique take on things: the dream of the average Portuguese is to live on the first floor, work on the second, take your holidays on the third and retire to the old age home on the fourth. And when the time comes, to have the undertakers up on the fifth. ... Reforming the country isn't hard, but changing people's mentalities is all the more difficult." (17/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Society, » Portugal
All available articles from » João Pereira Coutinho
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis