At their meeting in Brussels, the finance ministers of the Euro Group have taken further steps towards enabling the ESM to purchase the government bonds of countries encountering difficulties. Italy and Spain had pushed through this expansion of the euro bailout fund's powers at the EU summit at the end of June. The liberal daily La Stampa is delighted to see that Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's efforts have evidently borne fruit: "This is a bailout mechanism that can be applied in the interest of the Eurozone to mitigate problems caused by third parties. For this reason the mechanism has two main features: it is not the country in question that asks for assistance, but rather the fund responsible for the Eurozone's systemic stability that decides when this help is necessary. Moreover the mechanism does not depend on the fulfilment of austerity requirements because it is used by countries that adhere to the EU Stability Pact. … Monti's attempt to persuade his European colleagues to interpret the EU treaties in such a way that makes this new form of assistance possible appears to have been successful." (11/07/2012)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Italy, » Spain
All available articles from » Franco Bruni
Who's saying what » The row over debt mutualisation

The agreement on the bank bailout in Spain could serve as a model for bank supervision throughout the Eurozone, the business paper Cinco Días writes: "The memorandum regulating the EU's conditions for saving the struggling Spanish banks is the best guideline for the future common bank supervisory authority. This mechanism will facilitate the recapitalisation of banks in difficulties without the need to apply to the states, isolate the banks' risk so it doesn't contaminate government bonds, and harmonise the solvency and credit conditions for all financial institutes on the continent. Spain has been used as a guinea pig for taking the first steps towards something the northern countries had resisted, namely a European banking union and centralised supervision, as a precondition for the rescue of ailing Spanish banks, in particular the already nationalised savings banks." (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Banks, » Spain, » Europe
Who's saying what » Spain in the banking crisis, » The row over debt mutualisation

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker will remain the head of the Euro Group for the time being. The fact that the finance ministers couldn't agree on a replacement although Juncker wants to step down shows how at odds the Eurozone countries are, the left-liberal daily Der Standard comments: "The weary Junker is involuntarily becoming the symbol for what is most lacking in the countries of the Eurozone: mutual trust. But if a supposedly powerful Monetary Union can't manage to solve a simple personnel problem, how are its members supposed to agree on all the complex and horrifically expensive technical decisions required to master the crisis? ... The Eurozone comes across as a quarrelling, drifting community with leaders who show no backbone when it comes to making decisions. As long as things remain that way, you can fork out as many billions in bailout funds as you like - it'll hardly help at all." (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Luxembourg, » Europe
All available articles from » Thomas Mayer
Who's saying what » The row over debt mutualisation

Romania's Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that the referendum on the impeachment of President Traian Băsescu will only be valid if more than half of the approximately 18 million citizens eligible to vote take part in it. The left-liberal USL government plans to disregard the decision, pointing to the current rule whereby a simple majority of those who actually vote in the referendum would suffice for its result to be valid. The daily Adevărul sees this as an huge political mistake: "Allegations that the USL government is violating the law and the constitution will only gain momentum from this. And the Băsescu supporters for their part will become increasingly aggressive and reject the result of the referendum. The reactions from abroad, too - to a government that doesn't respect the decisions of the Constitutional Court - would be devastating. If it allows this scenario to become reality the government won't be able to hang on to power more than 24 hours after the referendum. … We are in a political crisis to which there is only one solution: as many citizens as possible must go to the polls. … And the people will go." (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Europe, » Romania
All available articles from » Ion M. Ionita

The impeachment proceeedings against Romanian President Traian Băsescu have met with some severe criticism in Romania and abroad. The publicist Attila Ara Kovács shows sympathy in the online edition of the weekly paper Magyar Narancs for the move by the social liberal coalition that has governed the country under Victor Ponta since the start of May: "In the past years Traian Băsescu shaped Romania's politics and the institutional system to suit his own tastes. He filled the most important positions in the state apparatus with people close to him - at times even against the will of his own party - the Democratic Liberal Party. ... The Constitutional Court practically eats out of his hand, as does the recently dismissed ombudsman. Under Băsescu, violations of rights were a day-to-day occurrence. Until now everything has happened according to his will: not only the recently dismissed president of the Senate and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies obeyed his wishes, but also former prime minister Emil Boc, Ponta's predecessor. ... Băsescu's long years in power have also deformed his personality, although his prejudiced way of thinking and primitive style were clearly visible right from the start." (09/07/2012)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » Attila Ara-Kovács

After the first day of hearing on Tuesday the German Constitutional Court plans to spend several weeks examining the urgent appeals against the fiscal compact and ESM bailout fund, which have already been approved by the German parliament. A risky delay in the name of democracy, writes the liberal-conservative business paper Il Sole 24 Ore, and hopes that the result will be worth waiting for: "The idea that the euro countries are financially interdependent, that the very existence of the EU is under threat and that sovereignty is relative obviously hasn't yet got through to Karlsruhe [where the Constitutional Court is based]. The Constitutional Court allows the principle of democracy to apply only within the confines of a politically homogeneous community. … The tug of war is understandable given that Germany and all the countries of the Eurozone have come to a crossroads, faced with the choice between national democracy with its increasingly obvious limits and Europe's political unity. A well deliberated decision from the constitutional judges in favour of the euro would be a decisive testimony to political and institutional maturity. Such a decision would be well worth the wait." (11/07/2012)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Germany
All available articles from » Carlo Bastasin
Who's saying what » The row over debt mutualisation

After being found guilty last March of using child soldiers in his army, the former Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Tuesday by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The sentence, the first in the court's ten year history, recognises the severity of the crime, the liberal daily Le Temps praises, warning: "As well as punishing this first convict, the court still has to make an important decision. As the first international institution allowing victims to be represented during the trial and offering them the prospect of compensation through a special fund, it must rule on their demands and fix a sum as compensation for damages suffered. This step could spark more disappointment, as no doubt there will never be enough money made available - either to ease the victims' grief or to reconstruct a region that continues to be ravaged by conflict." (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Crises / War, » Human rights, » Justice, » Netherlands, » Africa, » Global
All available articles from » Fati Mansour

Indonesia wants to buy 100 decomissioned tanks from Germany, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono confirmed on Tuesday to German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to Jakarta. The left-leaning daily taz is outraged at the planned arms deal and urges Germany to follow the example of the Netherlands: "It is a perfidious spectacle. ... Once again the German public has learned through foreign media that the government is planning major arms exports to a country with serious human rights issues. ... The Dutch recently showed us and our parliamentarians the proper course of action: there the parliament rejected by a majority the delivery of used Leopard tanks to Indonesia. The main argument was their reservations about the human rights situation, for example in the province of Papua where peaceful independence movements are brutally quashed by the military. ... The Bundestag must stop this tank shipment!" (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Crises / War, » Trade, » Human rights, » Germany, » Asia
All available articles from » Sven Hansen

Reactions to the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Franco-German reconciliation last weekend in Reims were luke warm indeed, the philosopher André Glucksmann laments in the conservative daily Le Figaro, and pins the blame for the lack of interest on the short-sightedness of today's politicians: "De Gaulle and Adenauer took a long-term view of things. They had three wars behind them, two of them world wars, and ahead of them the long-term project of a continent reunited in democracy. Their heirs of today are victims of the sickness - shared with most elites - of 'short-termism'. ... They can see no further than the next election campaign, no farther afield than their national territory, no higher than their approval rating. They are day-to-day managers. Not exceptionally good, not exceptionally talented. They dismiss the major challenges out of hand. A joint military defence? No progress in 50 years. Nothing but hazy institutional drafts and paltry initiatives. 'Short-termism' is nothing more than old prejudices wrapped up in this season's technical jargon." (10/07/2012)

» more information (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Germany, » France, » Europe
All available articles from » André Glucksmann

The EU's structural policy is completely flawed in its approach, which is why it has failed to achieve its most important objective, writes Žygimantas Mauricas, an economist with the Nordea Bank Lietuva, in the monthly magazine Valstybė: "An old Chinese proverb goes: 'Give a man a fish and he has food for a day. Give him a fishing rod and he will always have a full stomach.' … But the EU bureaucrats came up with something better: We'll give the man a ship, kit him out with brand new fishing gear and give him a few fish as well, so the whole thing looks a bit more authentic. And then they are face to face with a real European fisherman! But the problem is that they forgot the fishing rod. … The most important goal of EU structural funds is to reduce the economic gap between the richest and the poorest regions of the EU. It was conceived as a kind of second phase of the Marshall Plan. … But EU support has in many cases actually prevented the poorer countries from catching up with Europe's forerunners, because their inhabitants are not using their creativity and energy to develop industry, but rather to compete with each other to use (or appropriate) EU structural funds." (11/07/2012)

» more information (external link, Lithunian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Industry, » Economy, » Europe
All available articles from » Žygimantas Mauricas

The comment by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša to the effect that his country is potentially facing a Greek scenario is feeding speculation that Slovenia will become the sixth country in the Monetary Union to apply for EU bailout funds. The Slovenian Finance Minister Janez Šušteršič stressed at the meeting with his colleagues in Brussels that things won't go that far, but the left-liberal daily Delo sees the whole episode as a major gaffe: "The question is whether the political elite is competent enough to launch the country's reform agenda. In times of crisis the head of government bears a responsibility to avoid dangerous ideological statements and actions. The coalition partners bear the responsibility of setting his limits in this respect. And the opposition has the responsibility to enter a dialogue with those parties that are willing to save Slovenia and not to lose sight of the country's best interests. Something similar to what is happening with the banks is also happening with Slovenia. This could convey the impression that someone wants to turn the state into a 'bad bank' simply to open up the last remaining hunting ground for the oligarchs." (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economy, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Janez markež
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The Polish Ministry of Economy indicated on Tuesday that the state may possibly assume control of construction companies that are on the verge of bankruptcy after miscalculating the profits they would turn with the Euro 2012 football championship. The conservative daily Rzeczpospolita says this is the wrong approach. "In the capitalist system, insolvency doesn't put you at a disadvantage. On the contrary: it's an advantage! The wealth of the insolvent businesses isn't lost, but is auctioned off by the bailiff. And it is bought up by businesses that are on a sounder financial footing than the bankrupt firms. These buyers are more careful with their assets, and have therefore managed to avoid bankruptcy. That means they will use this new wealth more wisely and create jobs with it. Perhaps they too will also make mistakes, and in turn declare insolvency. If so, they will be bought up in turn by the next firms that have avoided making such mistakes and that will put their assets once again to better use. And precisely this continual development is what brings progress." (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Economy, » Poland
All available articles from » Robert Gwiazdowski
Who's saying what » Kick-off in Eastern Europe

Shortly before the Olympic Games kick off in London on July 27, the left-liberal daily The Guardian criticises the exaggerated security measures and the complete commercialisation of this sport event. It's time Olympia returned to its roots, the newspaper admonishes: "It's too late for London to have such a Games for all – though not for Rio de Janeiro in 2016, currently heading down the same road. ... But the Olympics, as with sport in general, holds up a mirror to society. What is being played out in London reflects a legacy of the war on terror and deregulation of unbridled corporate power - both elite blunders that have ended in failure. If those disasters can be overcome, why should it be impossible to end the corporate grip on the Olympics - and create a Games that lives up to its billing?" (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Crises / War, » Olympics, » Economy, » United Kingdom
All available articles from » Seumas Milne

Bulgaria's Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov wore cufflinks bearing the logo of the US secret service to a public event on Monday. The daily newspaper Duma is appalled: "What next? Perhaps a sports jacket with the embroidered monogram of the British secret service, or a tie with the Interpol logo? … True, there's no accounting for taste, but Tsvetanov needs to learn that it's not normal for a Bulgarian interior minister or any other government official to show himself in public wearing the symbols of foreign states. That's just not on, Mr Tsvetanov. It's not in good taste and it's annoying - for the state and for its citizens, and for those who led the Interior Ministry before you and who will lead it after you. At home, you can wear a Batman costume if you like. … But please not in public." (11/07/2012)

» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Georgi Georgiev