The UN special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, is visiting Moscow today, Monday, to negotiate a peace plan with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. A meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is planned for Tuesday. This is a pointless mission because the West has nothing to offer Putin in exchange for relaxing his position, writes the liberal daily La Stampa: "As cynical as the Russian position may seem to us, it's clear to the Kremlin that thanks precisely to its 'eccentric stance' on the Syria crisis it has been able to regain influence in the Middle East. Putin is aware that unconditional and indefinite support for Assad is not an option, but he is also aware that the fall of the regime will spell the end of Moscow's influence in the region. This is what makes reaching an agreement with the West so difficult. … But apart from the West's willingness to negotiate with Moscow so as not to humiliate Russia, as was the case with Libya, it can only offer Moscow the choice of either sticking to its position or accepting the loss of its power in a post-Assad Syria." (15/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Crises / War, » Russia, » Global, » Syria
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Who's saying what » Civil war raging in Syria

The recent massacre in the Syrian village of Tremseh, in which more than 150 people are said to have been killed, is further proof that a second Srebrenica is taking place in Syria, writes the conservative daily Večer: "Before his visit to Slovenia on Thursday, UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon promised that the international community would do everything in its power to prevent a repetition of Srebrenica (whose more than 8,000 victims were commemorated a few days ago). But Srebrenica is being repeated in Syria. The UN and its Security Council, in which every serious resolution against the Syrian regime is blocked by a veto from Russia and China, are nothing but ineffectual actors on the international stage. ... The presence of the UN observers in Syria is also increasingly reminiscent of the Balkan War, just as Assad's attitude is ever more reminiscent of that of Slobodan Milošević. As long as no Nato planes were circling over Bosnia and Serbia, Milošević couldn't have cared less about what the world thought, with the exception of Russia. ... If this Balkan scenario repeats itself, Syria is in for years of fighting and thousands of deaths." (16/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Civil war raging in Syria

Assad's system of governing is responsible for the fact that Syria has not been able to follow the example of Tunisia or Egypt, writes the left-liberal daily Libération: "The 'Arab Spring' is still eluding Syria. After sixteen months of rebellion and savage repression with thousands of deaths, Bashar is still in power. Diplomats talk of a Yemen-style solution where the abhorred dictator finally cedes power to his close associates after reaching an agreement with the opposition. But such a scenario seems very unlikely in today's Syria. First of all because of the very nature of the Bashar system, a perverse mix of absolute and clan-based dictatorship, massive corruption and communitarianism in which the Alawite minority controls all the levers of power: the army, the secret service, administration and militias. ... Any political resolution of the conflict continues to escape this country of minorities, where the regime has made clever use of hatred and fear. With his back to the wall, Bashar al-Assad is prepared to sacrifice his country to save his power." (16/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Civil war raging in Syria

Commenting on the power struggle between the government and the president in Romania, journalist Zoltán Szabó Tibori points out in the left-liberal weekly Élet és Irodalom that the Romanian constitution paves the way for conflicts between the prime minister and the head of state: "In Romania a so-called semi-presidential system is enshrined in the constitution. This means that executive power resides not just with the prime minister but also to a certain extent with the head of state. The president can participate in government meetings and even chair them, he oversees and heads the most important secret services and, not least, also has considerable say in the area of foreign policy and the social balancing of interests. The Romanian system is a hybrid form of the presidential system in France and the parliamentary system in Germany. … In this system conflicts between the prime minister and the president are pre-programmed even when they both belong to the same political camp. In the case of cohabitation [when the president and the parliamentary majority belong to different parties], the system is practically unworkable and can lead to months of paralysis." (16/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Power struggle in Romania

In an interview with news magazine Der Spiegel Euro Group chief Jean-Claude Juncker spoke out in favour of a directly elected EU president, saying this would promote integration. But even such a leader cannot take the place of lacking will of EU countries to cooperate productively, writes the left-liberal daily Der Standard: "New election systems would be just as ineffective as miracle cures [like the rapid introduction of the euro] for overcoming the citizens' distrust of European integration. Apart from the fact that most governments would never allow key positions in Brussels to be filled without having their say, the emotional and cultural preconditions for a pan-European election campaign are lacking. There is no doubt that the EU states - or at least the single currency states - need to pull together. But the path towards such integration remains stony and frustrating. Squabbling heads of government and laborious compromises are an ugly sight and only intensify euroscepticism. But there's no alternative to somehow muddling through and pulling together - and the dream of a powerful EU president won't change that." (16/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

After Portugal's Constitutional Court vetoed the government's austerity measures the latter sees itself forced to look for alternative solutions for balancing the country's budget deficit. The business paper Jornal de Negócios calls for swift action: "Finance Minister Gaspar has already given it to be understood that the current programme for reaching the deficit target must be adjusted, without calling the time plan into question. Our Prime Minister has promised that there are no plans for tax hikes. … Any solution will require difficult negotiations with the troika. The next inspection by the creditors isn't until August, but to wait with the plans that long would be a mistake because the financial markets will tolerate no uncertainty. … The government should head them off by negotiating a solution now that can be presented to the Portuguese and the markets." (16/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The US rating agency Moody's lowered Italy's credit rating from A3 to Baa2 on Friday, meaning the country is now just two notches above junk status. For the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita it is clear that the measures adopted by the EU summit two weeks ago have failed to take effect and that the Union cannot go on as it has: "There will be no radical reforms [of the EU] because huge differences exist between individual states, for example between France and Germany and Southern Europe. Germany will never agree to the debts of individual countries being shared by all, because that would increase its own liabilities. Nor does Germany want the ECB to become a money press for the euro. ... But now more is needed than bailout packages, stimulus measures or banks that are directed by the EU: we need structural changes and reforms of our economy, which is no match for the Asian competition. Without new taxation systems, without a flexible job market and without a rise in worker productivity, nothing is going to change." (16/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Paweł Rożyński

As of Sunday mandatory shop opening hours no longer apply in the Madrid region, meaning that stores can now stay open as long as they like. The conservative daily ABC is confident that this will create new jobs: "The flexibility on shop opening hours is a well-aimed measure towards overcoming the economic crisis. Instead of interventionism and red tape the goal is to increase the consumers' options and allow commerce to adjust its supply to concrete demands. The argument that this puts big shopping centres at an advantage regarding small businesses in residential areas is not compatible with the laws of the free market in a globalised world. … The more freedom, the better it is for everyone. Because it could lead to the creation of new jobs." (16/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Spain in the banking crisis

In the Netherlands an eleven-kilometer dyke was completed on July 11. The "Maasvlakte 2" project (second level in the Maas estuary area) will extend the Port of Rotterdam, already Europe's largest port, by 20 percent by 2015. Although the construction is a masterpiece of engineering its economic advantages remain questionable, writes the Christian-social daily Trouw: "It will be decades before the investments pay off. For the whole thing to be profitable the trend in global trade and container transport must remain positive at a time when commerce is increasingly shifting to the east. … It's also uncertain whether it's a good idea for the Netherlands to concentrate on this sector. The handling of goods generates profit, but there is no real increase in value in the logistics sector. … As a project, Maasvlakte 2 has been successful, but as a dyke against the huge economic competition all over the world it is simply too low." (16/07/2012)

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The Swedish police is increasingly using large-scale saliva sampling to aid its investigations. The liberal daily Dagens Nyheter warns of a trend in which people are suspects even before a crime has been committed: "The larger the net, the more suspicious fish will be caught up in it. But also many other fish. So far the rule for police work has been that first a crime is committed and then the perpetrator is sought. Now they have a suspect first and then they look for the crime. ... This is like a turn of tides - and it is not without problems. … We're talking about an attack on personal integrity that stands in no relation to the actual offence. Suspects also have the right to a certain protection of their personal sphere. The police regularly taking saliva samples reflects an 'us and them' mentality. Youthful misdeeds could come to light by chance, because information is stored in the database for 30 years." (16/07/2012)

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Commenting on the gaffes committed in the investigation of the series of murders committed by the right-wing terrorist "National Socialist Underground", or NSU cell, the data-driven journalist Lorenz Matzat criticises the quality of the journalistic research in the blog Carta: "For starters, apparently no investigative team in the past year ... so much as doubted the official story of the 'döner murders'. Journalists, who like to see themselves as a fourth estate, were needed here more than ever, yet they failed to fulfil their duty. The truly astonishing thing is that they didn't so much as cast doubt on the statements of the diverse authorities which have never stopped lying and covering up in the past. ... Yet civil society is also to blame. While plagiarism hunters spared no effort in bringing down (or trying to bring down) diverse politicians using crowdsourcing, the much-vaunted 'web community' didn't come up with a single platform worth the name to compile facts, evidence and rumours surrounding the NSU." (13/07/2012)

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The president of football association Fifa, Sepp Blatter, has implied that Germany paid for the privilege of hosting the World Cup 2006. The left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung calls for a thorough investigation of all Fifa's connections and sees Blatter's resignation as a possibility: "What went on behind the scenes in 2000 - when Germany was given the World Cup - needs to be clarified now. … There were indeed surprising sports and economic deals in and between countries whose votes were important for Germany's bid to host the competition. But it's also indisputable that with its lax competition rules for awarding World Cups to hosts, Fifa provides a breeding ground for corruption. … So it seems all the more absurd that Blatter's new reformer Mark Pieth is still conveying the impression that the whole swamp can be drained with committees and new rules. The compliance expert from Basel is still backing Blatter - the man who made the reform necessary in the first place. … Yet it is in Pieth's power to make a truly drastic change - by resigning his job with Fifa. This would leave Blatter with no alternative but to do something that is long overdue: resign." (16/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » The World Cup moves Europe

Two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in London the security firm G4S, which is in charge of security at the event, has admitted that not even half of its staff is ready for service. The conservative daily The Times talks of a fiasco and complains that now the military is having to be called in: "It was only three months ago that an internal Home Office memo warned of 'big shortfalls against planned numbers of security guards'. Who else knew? Not, it seems, Nick Buckles, the chief executive of G4S. On Saturday he said it was 'eight or nine days ago' that he knew there was a problem. If that is true, one must mournfully conclude that this company ... is not terribly well run. ... So 3,500 extra military personnel must step in at short notice, get barracked in some miserable warehouse and sacrifice planned leave time, families and welfare. Future training and arrangements will suffer, the services already being overstretched, and it will cost." (15/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Libby Purves