Brussels sends its annual progress report on political reform in Romania and Bulgaria to the EU member states today, Wednesday. According to the media, in the report on Romania the EU Commission expresses serious concerns about the failure to introduce democratic standards. The daily Adevărul is not surprised in view of the authoritarian behaviour of the new Ponta government: "This report holds up a mirror reflecting what has become of us in just 17 painful days: an incredible monstrosity. … But it will be too late by the time we grasp this. We will start all over again in the hope that the harm inflicted by this brainless attack on democracy can be repaired within a couple of years. Once again we are losing important years just because a couple of irresponsible politicians want to call the shots in the country. What has the [government coalition] Trio Ponta-Antonescu-Voiculescu achieved? It has shown Europe that our fragile democracy can be destroyed with one fell blow. And that the rule of law is an illusion that can be buried by a couple of emergency decrees." (18/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Justice, » Europe, » Romania, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Grigore Cartianu
Who's saying what » Power struggle in Romania

Under pressure from the EU, Romania's transition government has promised that the referendum on whether Traian Băsescu should remain president will only be valid if at least half of the Romanians eligible to vote take part in it - as stipulated in the Romanian constitution. This could work in Băsescu's favour, writes the conservative daily Magyar Nemzet: "The pressure on the new masters in Bucharest seems to be bearing fruit: the Ponta government has backtracked on the referendum slated for July 29. It has been forced to accept the condition stipulated by the constitutional court under which a fifty percent turnout is necessary for a referendum to be valid. This means that around nine million voters must be mobilised. If they aren't, Băsescu can return to the presidential office regardless of the outcome. But although he stands to benefit from the voters' lack of willingness to turn out, centre-right politician Băsescu is doing all he can to encourage the Romanians to go to the ballot." (18/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » István Pataky
Who's saying what » Power struggle in Romania

As was also the case when Greece joined the Eurozone, the EU was too lenient in allowing Romania to join the Union and failed to insist on adherence to certain criteria, writes the liberal daily Dagens Nyheter. It's time for Brussels to finally wake up, the paper urges: "The EU must try to prevent democracy from being undermined in several member countries. Romania and Bulgaria are special cases, but developments in recent years in Hungary make clear how reticent the Union already is. … The tame reaction from Brussels is justified by saying that only countries that violate the laws of the Union can be reprimanded, and those laws apply mainly to very limited subjects. Moreover there is the so-called 'nuclear bomb' (article 7 in the Lisbon treaty) which can be activated against a country that de facto jeopardises democracy. In such cases the voting rights of the country in question can be revoked. The EU must prepare to push this button." (18/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Hungary, » Europe, » Romania, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Annika Ström Melin
Who's saying what » Power struggle in Romania

Europe's politicians are quite rightly dismayed at the developments in Romania, but it's wrong for them to remain silent about the situation in Hungary at the same time, the left-liberal Berliner Zeitung writes, because "ever since the right-wing conservative Viktor Orbán took office a power struggle has been raging that is readjusting all the country's values. … Monuments to the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary [Miklós Horthy], who was in power between 1920 and 1944, are being erected in many places, and streets are being renamed. Horthy was partially responsible for the extermination of the Hungarian Jews, even if it was done systematically only after his fall. It was Horthy who signed the discriminatory anti-Jewish laws in 1938. … Protests against such historical revisionism are being voiced outside Europe. Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel returned his Hungarian order of merit. In a letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Laszlo Köver, he angrily accused the authorities of allowing the 'tragic and criminal episodes of Hungary's history to be glossed over'. Köver is now a persona non grata in Israel. … It would be good if Europe's politicians finally broke their silence on this." (18/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » History, » Hungary, » Europe, » Romania
All available articles from » Frank Herold

Against the backdrop of continued fighting in Syria and the failed attempts at mediation in Russia and China the daily Vilniaus diena warns of a potential scenario like that in Iraq: "A forced change of regime, as proposed by the so-called friends of Syria, or more precisely the 'friends of the Syrian opposition', is a dangerous affair. Because in such a case a repetition of the Iraq scenario is likely. … The fighting that is taking place in Syria right now is between different religious groups, and not, as was the case in Egypt and Libya, between the regime and society. … The change of regime in Syria could be effected in a controlled manner by using a diplomatic lever. … Both sides [Alawites and Sunnis] could deploy their representatives in a new compromise government to defuse the current confrontation. Bashar al-Assad? He could actually remain head of state, but with very limited powers." (17/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Valentinas Beržiūnas
Who's saying what » Civil war raging in Syria

Finland and Spain have agreed that Madrid will provide collateral to Finland in exchange for its participation in the planned EU bailout. With the understanding Helsinki's requirements have been met, so that nothing stands in the way of the bank bailout that the EU finance ministers want to finalise in a conference call on Friday. However Spain's guarantees are mainly relevant for Finnish domestic policy, writes the liberal daily Aamulehti: "The guarantees are above all a fig leaf for the government to protect itself against the surly opposition and population, which are angry about the aid for crisis countries. The government can now say that it has protected Finnish tax euros while shouldering responsibility for the European bailout. This political circus will continue on Thursday and Friday, when parliament convenes in the middle of the summer holidays to address the government's report on the Spanish bailout package. ... It's a good thing the agreement on Spain's guarantees is not being kept as secret as the agreement with Greece. Openness is one of the foundations of democracy, without which any debate on this package would be superfluous." (18/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Spain in the banking crisis

The European Union must protect Bosnia Herzegovina from ultra-nationalist tendencies in Serbia, urges Benjamin Abtan, president of the European Grassroots Antiracist Movement, in the left-liberal daily Libération: "In Bosnia Herzegovina the painful past of the war, the siege of Sarajevo and the ethnic cleansing is still part of the present. ... The parties [in Serbia] that dominate politics are the same ones that existed during the war, and ultra-nationalist ideologies are just as prevalent today as they were back then. ... We expect from Europe that it will force the [new] Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić to respect human rights and keep the Serbian nationalists in check. ... To avoid jeopardising democracy in Bosnia Herzegovina and elsewhere, the European Union must reposition itself and once again back its common project of the construction of a political space defined by peace, equality, the distribution of wealth and a high standard of social rights." (18/07/2012)

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At an auction of Spanish bonds on Tuesday, conditions for state borrowing improved compared with the previous month. However fewer and fewer foreign investors are buying the country's debt, which is instead being purchased by Spanish banks, the business paper Cinco Días warns: "The Spanish public purse got through yesterday's encounter with the financial markets - the first since the announcement of the 65 billion austerity programme - pretty well. The demand for 12- and 18-month bonds was high and interest rates went down noticeably in comparison with last month. At first glance this would seem to indicate that the markets have calmed down and that the investors are reacting positively to Rajoy's austerity plans. But not everything that glitters is gold. The emissions were mostly bought by Spanish banks, while foreign investors were scarce. This is a further sign of growing mistrust regarding the budget situation and economic developments in Spain." (18/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Spain in the banking crisis

According to the Italian government, Sicily is facing financial collapse. Prime Minister Mario Monti holds the local authorities responsible for the state of affairs and called on Tuesday for the governor of the region, Raffaele Lombardo, to resign. The local politicians have unashamedly exploited the region and now the whole country must pay the price, the liberal daily La Stampa complains: "A region used by politicians as a cash dispenser - this is what has become of Sicily. Now it is on the brink of bankruptcy. … How could it come to this? Pretty easily: crazily high costs, the unsupervised and illogical appointment of officials, non-stop wasting of public money. … Its status as an autonomous region served as a protective shield for Sicily allowing it to do as it pleased. This is over now, because we have reached the point where the budget of the entire country is suffering. Now the situation must be clarified and unfortunately we will all have to bleed for this new emergency." (18/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Paolo Baroni

The Greek government wants to accelerate privatisation to raise state revenues. The troika estimated 50 billion euros in revenues from privatisations in 2011, while a current report by the Hellenic Republic Assets Development Fund puts the amount to be expected at just 7 billion euros. The conservative daily Kathimerini asks whether Greece should bother privatising at all: "Like many other calculations by the troika, the figures on privatisation have proved too optimistic and unrealistic. Unless, that is, it included the sale of latent property holdings like mineral or offshore resources in its calculations. ... The country must take a historical decision that could determine its fate for decades to come. Will it relinquish control over assets and resources that are of strategic importance - like for example the energy and water sector, harbours or airports - for the sake of reducing its debts by seven billion euros? To what extent will this debt reduction really help the devastated country and its citizens?" (18/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Greece puts the Eurozone to the test

Latvia's Minister for Social Affairs Ilze Viņķele has urged the state to help pay the relocation costs of unemployed people who find a job elsewhere. Noting that such a measure could promote migration from the countryside to the cities, the daily Neatkarīgā takes a critical view of the proposal: "Whether employed or unemployed, the people are the country's most important asset. Mostly people prefer to stay where they have their roots, their family and their friends anyway, and commute to work. For that reason government support for commuters is a desirable measure. But it, too, can be only a short-term solution. … In the long term companies must be given incentives to invest in rural areas and the government should support above all skilled workers who relocate from the city to the countryside. This applies particularly for the Latgale region [in eastern Latvia], where according to surveys the biggest obstacle to investment is the lack of qualified workers. And this brings us back to a familiar problem: the lack of a strategy for regional development." (18/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Baiba Lulle

Figures published on Monday on demographic trends in England and Wales reveal a massive seven percent surge in the population - the fastest growth since records began in 1801. A cause for concern, writes the conservative daily The Times: "This means that this is a country that needs to work out how to pay the growing price of healthcare. Just under half of the population growth derives from improved life expectancy, which is the result of better quality health care and higher fertility rates. It needs a solution to the costly chaos of social care. It needs to improve pension provision for those of its citizens who are poorly prepared for old age. It needs to get to grips with the unnecessary benefits that accrue to the elderly irrespective of their means. And it needs to find a way to harness the productive potential of people long past the traditional age for retirement." (18/07/2012)

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The mayor of the village of Hitrino (6,000 inhabitants) in the economically struggling region of north-eastern Bulgaria drives around in a Mercedes limousine worth 55,000 euros. He paid for the official car out of the municipal budget to make his fellow citizens happy, he told journalists. The socialist paper Duma lampoons the idea: "Of course the villagers are thrilled that their mayor can drive around in a luxury car even if they themselves can only afford a horse and cart. What do they care if that's all they have? Far more important to them is the joy they feel in their souls. What? The streets are full of potholes? There are no sewers, no schools, no retirement homes, no jobs? You have to rise above all that. Even if you can barely eke out a living, there is no real problem. Because despite all they lack, these people are blessed with true happiness." (17/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Ina Mihailova