Following Mario Draghi's statement the ECB would do whatever it takes to resolve the euro crisis and his vague hints regarding the bank's purchase of government bonds the conservative daily Naftemporiki hopes that he will keep his promise: "Draghi has acted as one would expect of a banker of his calibre. … Yesterday can be described as a victory for the defenders of the euro, but in the next few days the markets will test whether Draghi will really make good on his promise. … If the president of the European Central Bank doesn't have the courage and the resolve to either go against the will of leading European politicians or simply act alone, … the dark days will make a surprisingly quick and fulminating comeback and the European Central Bank will lose its credibility and also its ability to change the mood on the markets with a statement." (27/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Greece, » Europe
All available articles from » Nikos Frantzis
Who's saying what » Greece puts the Eurozone to the test, » Spain in the banking crisis, » The row over debt mutualisation

After Mario Draghi pledged that the ECB would do whatever it takes to resolve the euro crisis the Spanish share index rose by six percent on Thursday. The left-liberal daily El País asks why the eagerly awaited announcement was so long in coming: "If the mere promise of intervention was enough to halt the downwards spiral of Spanish and Italian bonds why didn't the ECB do it sooner? One broadly accepted explanation is that the bank wanted to punish the [Spanish] government for its poor handling of the financial crisis. But when the punishment started to impact Italy the ECB changed its course, ceding to the governments' demands and putting a stop to the speculation with sovereign debt. Another explanation is that Draghi didn't want to say anything until the bailout package for Spain's banks was in place and the new stability mechanism was in the offing."  (27/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Italy, » Spain, » Europe
Who's saying what » Spain in the banking crisis

An independent intervention by the ECB would allow for a solution to the euro crisis that goes against Angela Merkel without her losing face, the left-liberal daily La Repubblica concludes. "Draghi has apparently received the silent consent of the German leadership, which he can use to break the resistance of the hawks [the hardliners in the euro debate who take the German line]. If the ECB acts independently to deescalate the crisis, which even in Germany no one wants, it allows the chancellor to stick to her principles. This will enable the chancellor to prevent the conflict over how to save the common currency from turning into a full-on clash of governments, someting which was starting to seem inevitable at the last summit and which would mean a loss of face for her." (27/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Germany, » Italy, » Europe
All available articles from » Andrea Bonanni
Who's saying what » Spain in the banking crisis, » The row over debt mutualisation

The signals coming from the ECB about buying up government bonds of crisis-stricken countries are a source of concern for the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "It has moved into a grey area in monetary policy - dangerously close to indirect financing of sovereign debt. … It's understandable that the markets are celebrating. They are desperately seeking buyers for these risky bonds. Draghi may hope that the announcement will be enough to bring down the high yields. But how often have we seen both verbal and concrete interventions fall flat. Even Draghi's own "big Bertha", a three-year financing for banks, had only a fleeting impact. Draghi has shown that he's capable of anything. If the crisis continues to escalate he could quite conceivably fly in the face of Germany's euro protectors, think up a new name for a canon and intervene with full force. But this wouldn't solve the debt crisis. Only the states can do that by putting their budgets on the path to recovery and making their economies more competitive." (27/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Philip Plickert
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The bling-bling of the Sarkozy era has come to an end with the new government in France, the left-liberal weekly Le Jeudi writes. "The new government is sending out the message that common sense and pragmatism have replaced the grand gestures and arrogance of French politics and this is being greeted enthusiastically in the world's capitals. The state is taking account of the constraints on its political flexibility while trying to find solutions that are not just painful for its citizens. Naturally there will be unpopular measures, and people will accept them grudgingly. But they can tell that the rewards will be reaped not just by the rich, as was the case under Sarkozy. François Hollande and [Prime Minister] Jean-Marc Ayrault know only too well that they have few effective weapons against big business, and they are entitled to seek a solution in dialogue between the social partners." (26/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Danièle Fonck

Since last February's referendum on making Russian a second official language the whole subject of plebiscites has come under debate in Latvia. The politicians want to introduce a law preventing referendums on matters that rock the foundations of the state. The daily Neatkarīgā writes that Latvia is in danger of restricting its democracy: "Here in Latvia we are always being told that there are so many opportunities for democratic participation but no one takes advantage of them. All it takes is 10,000 signatures to launch a petition for a referendum, but so far none has been submitted. Why? Probably because democracy is being imposed on the people rather than allowing it to develop on its own. … Whey aren't the people being trained for voting on a national level with decisions at a local level, for example on where to put a bus stop or build a playground? It's tragic when the understanding of the coalition of the constitutional state [which is what the government claims to represent] ends in a fear of democracy." (27/07/2012)

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Michelle Everson, a professor of law, questions the sense of establishing a centralised European bank supervisory authority. It would only increase the European Union's democratic deficit and bolster technocratic structures, she argues in the blog of the London School of Economics: "In the face of heightening sovereign and financial debt crises and loudly expressed fears of contagion within the Eurozone, its members, together with the European Commission, have drawn yet one more rabbit from their hat, committing themselves to the creation of a banking union by the end of this year. Certainly, this time around, remedial proposals designed to save the Euro and Union have been set in a broader political context, whereby immediate crisis-busting measures, so we are promised, will be complemented by a decade-spanning roadmap for deeper political integration within Europe. Nevertheless, given the currently rather sketchy nature of existing political-integration proposals - or, more importantly, their inherently 'commissarial' or technocratic nature - this rabbit, too, ... is also predicated upon a radical expansion in the technocratic governance structures of the EU." (27/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Michelle Everson
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis, » The row over debt mutualisation

In a surprise move on Thursday night, the Polish regional airline OTL, which had been running for just four months, shut down its operations after the investor Amber Gold, which has come under fire because of its speculative investments, announced that it would not take on the company's debts. This abrupt ending marks a turning point for the whole transport sector, claims the left-liberal news portal Polityka Online: "The sudden closure of all flight routes by this failed airline will come as a shock not only to the airline industry but to the entire transport sector. [The airlines] LOT, Eurolot and [the rail company] PKP Intercity can now breathe a sigh of relief because OLT represented a huge threat to regional connections. Some travellers will go back to using trains and busses again, wistfully remembering the days of fast, cheap air travel. Others will perhaps feel let down by the airlines and it may be a while before they consider buying another flight ticket." (27/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Services, » Economy, » Poland
All available articles from » Cezary Kowanda

Finnish manufacturer Valmet Automotive has been contracted to build Daimler-Benz A-Class cars from 2013 to 2016. Valmet has 40 years of experience but has been hit hard by market fluctuations. Finnish politics must start boosting the potential of such companies, the liberal daily Helsingin Sanomat urges: "The news from Uusikaupunki is music to our ears in these dark days of financial instability. Finland still has plenty of know-how and our industrial work is still held in high esteem by discerning customers. ... The news should serve to remind our politicians and social partners that they need to do something about the general conditions for industry. Finnish labour and finish know-how must be nurtured and protected. A consistent industrial policy will also give other tenacious enterprises space to do business and grow." (26/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Industry, » Finland

A referendum on Sunday will decide on whether Traian Băsescu is to remain president of Romania. When journalist Dan Talapage asked on Facebook whether the current situation in Romania was a reason for people to leave the country, he received many affirmative answers. On the news portal Hotnews he writes: "Quality of life has never been one of Romania's strengths. Since 2007 people have had the opportunity to travel more often and make comparisons. This has led to an automatic rise in standards. … Now people want higher living standards, more equal opportunities before the law, less corruption, a clean business environment, an independent judiciary, and an efficient government - all as quickly as possible. … Since the parliamentary putsch against the president, the prospect of substantial improvement has all but disappeared. Within two months Romania has become the black sheep of Europe. … The arbitrariness, the anarchy and the lack of respect for the rule of law have frightened not just Brussels, but also all those Romanians who are striving for more than just better pensions or bigger salaries." (27/07/2012)

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Who's saying what » Power struggle in Romania

More than ten years after the introduction of registered partnerships, this form of cohabitation is almost as popular as marriage in Belgium, according to a study published on Thursday by the University of Antwerp. The liberal daily De Standaard is delighted to see that Belgian citizens are confidently deciding for themselves which form of partnership is right for them, and examines where the state should intervene and where it shouldn't: "The state should have nothing to do with the partnerships of its citizens, is the general opinion - and quite rightly. We decide for ourselves whether and how we want to live with another person. But on the other hand the state can't avoid interfering to a certain extent, if only when it comes to decisions on calculating taxes or whether it should offer additional support to people living along or families. … Questions about the position of children also arise. In general the state seems to be taking care that the 'rights' of children are not affected by their parents' decision. But it must examine how, with all the various forms of cohabitation, it can guarantee an optimum climate for raising children. This question must be dealt with without resorting to misplaced nostalgia about the good old days." (27/07/2012)

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

According to reports in the Norwegian press, from behind bars the self-confessed mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik is conducting a lively correspondence in an attempt to build an international network of like-minded people. In the event that he is declared mentally unstable when his sentence is handed down at the end of August, Breivik would be allowed access to the Internet while in psychiatric treatment. Sanna Rayman questions the wisdom of Norway's concessions in the blog of the conservative daily Svenska Dagbladet. "In Breivik's case it's obvious that he was very active on the Internet. … To give him more scope to continue with this activity would be, to put it mildly, a bad idea. … Breivik has proven how patient he is. You can see this now in his doggedly attempt to realise his projects, if only by letter at present. If I had my way he would have neither Internet access nor the possibility to have correspondence with the outside world. A television with constant reruns of 'Sex and the City' seems to me more fitting." (27/07/2012)

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All available articles from » Sanna Rayman
Who's saying what » Consequences of an attack

The Olympic Summer Games open in London today, Friday. The left-liberal daily Libération fears that sport itself may get lost among all the sponsoring and anti-terror measures: "Britain is so old that it actually invented a number of sporting disciplines, including the length of the marathon. But this long tradition cannot guarantee the success of the Games, as the unpopular premier David Cameron wishes. ... The fear of a terrorist attack has assumed paranoid proportions, with missiles on roofs near the stadium, snipers in helicopters and a ban on Londoners going anywhere near the Olympic enclosures. Sponsors have taken over the stadiums and even athletes' bathrooms. A special control task force is on duty to prevent the use of soap and toilet paper from non-Olympic brands. What's all this got to do with sport?" (27/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Crises / War, » Olympics, » Economy, » United Kingdom
All available articles from » François Sergent

The Olympics have become so over-sized that the time will come when only countries like Azerbaijan or Qatar will be able to afford to host them to brush up their image, warns the liberal weekly Die Zeit: "Rome has already retracted its bid for the Summer Games in eight years time - it would never have had the backing of the population in the financial crisis. Madrid is still in the running but it will hardly be able to keep up under the continued threat of bankruptcy. The third candidate Tokyo is still suffering from the consequences of the Tsunami and the nuclear disaster. ... London was meant to counteract Chinese state gigantism with a stadium that can be dismantled after the Games and a recyclable basketball stadium as symbolic centrepieces. But these Games are costing around 12 billion euros and need an army of British soldiers to secure them. ... Olympia cannot be allowed to become so vast that it pushes even large, wealthy societies absurdly over the limits. This huge world festival will only have a future if it can resist megalomania." (26/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Olympics, » Economy, » United Kingdom, » Global
All available articles from » Christoph Siemes

If putting one's foot in it was an Olympic discipline, US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would surely have won gold on his recent visit to London, quips the daily Diário de Notícias: "His faux-pas are hardly likely to affect the elections in November ... But it won't have done him any good to show the world that his victory would put a dud diplomat at the helm of the world's most powerful nation. The problem was not that he forgot the name of the head of the Labour Party, Ed Milliband, or that he felt obliged to mention that he had met the chief of the British intelligence service. ... The real blunder was when he expressed doubts about the organisation of the Olympic Games as a guest in the country that is hosting them. He not only criticised the general security level and the strike by immigration staff, he even questioned the ability of the British to enjoy the Games. As a presidential candidate he should know that he has an obligation to lie for his country." (27/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Olympics, » Society, » United Kingdom, » U.S.
All available articles from » Ferreira Fernandes

In the Šumava National Park, the Czech part of the Bohemian Forest, a bitter argument has been raging for years over whether to fight the bark beetle or let nature takes its course. Now the director of the park has announced that the bark beetle plague is over. According to the conservative daily Lidové noviny, people are now arguing about why: "Tell me what you think about the bark beetle and I will tell you who you are. It's been this way for years. Now the fight is on about why the plague ended. Perhaps because every previous plague also died out after six or seven years? Or because the pest succumbed to the fight against it? Those who fought the battle are celebrating victory. Those who believe the forest should be left to nature say that the calamity ended just as they said it would. Tell me what you think about the bark beetle..." (27/07/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Natural disasters, » Natural disasters, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Zbyněk Petráček