The IMF is evading its responsibilities in demanding that the euro states relinquish their claims on Greece, writes the conservative daily Die Welt: "The Fund shouldered these responsibilities when it participated in the bailout. It could have - and should have - realised earlier that the road to the Greek bailout was generously paved with optimism: the second bailout package for the bankrupt country which was laboriously agreed on in March and whose ratification took a good deal of convincing not only for the German government, will possibly - probably even - be insufficient because it is based on the calculations of the IMF. Greece's creditors rightly demand that it should be reliable, but the same should go for them as well. ... The IMF cannot act as advisor, helper, rescuer and expert committee, depending on which role happens to suit it best at a given moment." (08/08/2012)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Greece, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Florian Eder
Who's saying what » Greece puts the Eurozone to the test

The demands of the IMF are an admission of the fact that Greece won't be able to repay its debts and will further diminish people's trust in the politicians, writes the liberal-conservative daily Die Presse pointing out that Austria's Finance Minister Maria Fekter once promoted the help for Greece as a "good business": "This statement by the Finance Minister can be seen as pretty much symbolic of the 'politics to markets to citizens' relationship. The politician puts herself above the markets, declares that burning money is a 'good business' and the citizens actually believe her - because the markets are bad and the politicians are good - right? Wrong. This faith in politicians is fast fading. And with every day that passes without a solution to the euro-debt-economic crisis it fades a little more. In the beginning it was just a few economists. Then it was more of them, and then the first citizens joined in. And ever since the right-wing populists jumped on the euroscepticism bandwagon there's been a big rush. 2013 brings elections in Germany and Greece. And it doesn't look like Greece will have paid back its debts by then." (08/08/2012)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Greece, » Austria, » Europe
All available articles from » Nikolaus Jilch
Who's saying what » Greece puts the Eurozone to the test

Euro Group boss Jean-Claude Juncker warned in an interview with the German broadcaster WDR on Tuesday of the risks of Athens exiting the Eurozone, but at the same time admitted that if it did so the process would be "manageable". The liberal business paper Diário Económico is annoyed and calls on EU politicians to be more prudent: "EU politicians simply talk too much. The crisis in Europe is essentially a crisis of confidence. ... And that confidence can only be restored if the creditors can see that there is a coherent strategy and discourse in the EU. The problem with EU politicians is that they express themselves in interviews on a daily basis, frequently to position themselves. … It makes you want to quote Spain's King Juan Carlos when he said: 'Why don't you just shut up?' Juncker was apparently aiming to counteract the effects of the recent statements about Greece by German Economics Minister Philipp Rösler. … But unfortunately his ploy failed completely. … Right now the markets are keeping their cool. … To conjure up the spectre of Athens pulling out of the euro at this point doesn't help one bit, even if such a scenario is being discussed behind the scenes." (08/08/2012)

» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Portugal
Who's saying what » Greece puts the Eurozone to the test

German politicians called statements made by the Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti undemocratic at the beginning of the week, while the Italian daily Il Giornale on Friday labelled the German Federal Republic a "Fourth Reich" seeking to dominate other countries. The tone of discourse in Europe is becoming increasingly aggressive, writes the conservative daily Lidové noviny: "Monti knew that he was provoking the Germans, whose Constitutional Court only endorsed the participation in the euro bailout with gritted teeth and on the condition of heightened parliamentary control. German politicians don't want to waive the rules of democracy just because of Italy's debts. So now we have the 'Fourth Reich'. ... And this is not the statement of some extremist anarchist current. The owner of the paper is the family of Silvio Berlusconi. ... France's president, in turn, is using the media to prompt Italy and Spain to relinquish part of their sovereignty. Parisian papers write about how the authorities in Naples have been paying retirement benefits to a woman who died nine years ago. With all these polemics, just where are the people of Europe?" (08/08/2012)

» more information (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Media, » Germany, » France, » Italy, » Europe
All available articles from » Lenka Zlámalová

The German news magazine Der Spiegel has published a list of Europe's ten most dangerous politicians which includes the chairman of the Finnish right-wing populist party the True Finns, Timo Juhani Soini. But the magazine is wrong in its assessment, writes the liberal daily Savon Sanomat: "It's true, Soini and his party have profited from the debt crisis. Thanks to the crisis the True Finns achieved a record result in last year's parliamentary elections. ... The list of politicians published by Der Spiegel bears the headline: 'The ten most dangerous European politicians'. Apart from Soini it includes the former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the chairwoman of the French far right Front National, Marine Le Pen, and the head of Greece's Syriza party, Alexis Tsipras. The headline is polemical and - at least as far as Soini is concerned - simply wrong. Soini isn't dangerous. The right word is annoying. Far more dangerous than him are the politicians in the EU states that have landed the euro in its present dilemma." (08/08/2012)

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Finland, » Europe

Pia Kjærsgaard on Tuesday announced her resignation as leader of the right-wing populist Danish People's Party which she co-founded in 1995. The party not only achieved record results in the elections but has also played a major role in Danish politics. The socio-liberal daily Politiken points out how much the 65-year-old politician has polarised the Danes: "Pia Kjærsgaard understood like few others how important it was to listen and she gave her voice to what she heard. Many people found their opinions echoed by her and gave Pia their votes in the belief that she stood as a guarantee for what they are familiar and secure with - and for all that is Danish. On the contrary many others heard something very different in the rhetoric of the Danish People's Party. They felt ashamed when Pia Kjærsgaard took the concerns of the voters and turned them into hateful rhetoric against minorities or individual persons. They saw how she restricted Denmark's horizon and how she attacked values which we had previously agreed on." (08/08/2012)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Weltanschauung, » Society, » Denmark

In the euro crisis above all Italy and Germany should be on guard against a revival of old prejudices, warns Giovanni di Lorenzo, editor-in-chief of the German weekly magazine Die Zeit. In the left-liberal daily La Repubblica he calls on politicians to take action against escalation in mutual insults: "In my view there is a fatal lack of mutual understanding both in general public opinion and unfortunately also at the government level. In Italy there is a tendency to blame Merkel for Italy's problems - and at best she is expected to remedy them. … It's childish to expect mama to solve problems that have their roots in Italy. In Germany, for its part, there is an exaggerated proneness to self-pity. As if Germany was the only country that pays the debts of others. … Fortunately, so far there is no danger that Germany will go its own way. But to prevent this it is necessary to explain to the citizens of our country why certain decisions are imperative. The populists' hour of glory has not yet arrived, but it will keep drawing closer unless we put an end to this trend." (08/08/2012)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Weltanschauung, » Society, » Germany, » Italy
All available articles from » Giovanni di Lorenzo

Despite the ongoing euro crisis Europe must continue to believe in its strengths, writes journalist Otto Ozols on the web portal tvnet.lv: "Yes, Europe is in a financial crisis right now. But other states like the US are too. And despite this Europe has a considerably more healthy and better educated society. … Right now Europe is ahead of other regions in terms of development and is also dealing with the problems more developed states have to contend with. Experience has shown that Europe has the power to solve its problems on its own. It has waded through financial, economic and political crises in the last ten years and survived them all. So there's no reason to get hysterical and panic. … Europe takes care of its people and is building its progress not on ruthless capitalism and brute external force like the US or the slavery of comparatively cheap labour as in China. It also doesn't have as many mineral resources as Russia. This is precisely why it makes sense to believe in this Europe." (08/08/2012)

» full article (external link, Latvian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Economy, » Latvia, » Europe
All available articles from » Otto Ozols
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The president of the Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann, was the only member of the ECB Governing Council to vote against the Central Bank purchasing more government bonds. The left-liberal daily El País condemns this as stubbornly clinging to theories that ignore reality: "No one doubts that the economic state of affairs is desolate, not even Weidmann and the Bundesbank. However Weidmann and the Bundesbank are almost the only ones who continue to claim that the desolation of the present economic situation doesn't call for a change of direction. ... To accept this change would be to admit that an empirical observation as glaring as the ruin of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, which may soon be followed by that of Spain and Italy and perhaps even all Europe, should weigh more heavily than the theoretical speculation about allowing the European Central Bank to play too great a role in solving the crisis. For all economists who think like Weidmann and the Bundesbank, a world in which economic decisions were a response to the coarse stimulus of facts rather than the sterile demands of theory would be an upside-down world." (08/08/2012)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Banks, » Germany, » Europe
All available articles from » José María Ridao
Who's saying what » Crisis countries pin their hopes on ECB

The camp site of the Occupy movement in front of the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt was peaceably cleared on Monday following roughly ten months of protests after the administrative court upheld the city's ban on the encampment. Although the global protest movement was doomed to failure from the start due to its lack of clear goals and leaders, it has nevertheless had an enduring impact on society, writes the Catholic-oriented daily La Croix: "No one today can pretend that the disappearance of the tents in front of the ECB has put an end to the debate. The 'indignant' of all stripes have already left their mark. It is plain to all that their moral demands play an ever more pertinent role in orienting political choices in numerous countries. And it is equally clear that tolerance for the cynicism of the markets is dwindling. Of course the 'indignant' didn't have a monopoly on the idea, nevertheless thanks to them a growing number of people believe that the crisis policy needs to be scrutinised and that the burdens necessary to solve the crisis must be distributed more fairly." (07/08/2012)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Social movements, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Germany, » Global
All available articles from » François Ernenwein

The Greek government has launched a large police operation against illegal immigrants. Around 6,000 people without valid papers were taken into provisional custody on the weekend, roughly 1,600 of whom will be sent back to their countries of origin, the police announced on Monday. A dangerous initiative, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "The government in Athens is witnessing growing frustration among the population and the increased popularity of right-wing extremist groups like the neo-Nazi organisation Chrysi Avgi. ... According to the Minister for Public Order Nikos Dendias, the operation was necessary to counter the 'incredible invasion' that menaced the country's stability. He said that immigration was possibly a bigger problem for Greece than the lack of money. With such rhetoric the minister turned immigrants into scapegoats for Greece's plight. Such words can be dangerous, especially as the mood in the country is becoming ever more dismal. They don't help - on the contrary they only strengthen feelings of unease and are misleading to boot: Greece's financial woes are not caused by its immigrants, but by its politicians." (08/08/2012)

» more information (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Greece
All available articles from » Cor Speksnijder
Who's saying what » Greece in dire straits

Several CDU members of the German parliament have started an initiative to put homosexual and married couples on an equal footing regarding taxes. The chances for success are good, but even better would be to discuss massive tax cuts for families with children, writes the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "In the next twelve months the German Constitutional Court plans to decide whether the fiscal inequality of married and [homosexual] partners violates the Basic Law. If the government wants to avoid another embarrassing defeat, it must now extend the standard marital status tax relief to same-sex married couples. ... Unfortunately the best solution has barely been discussed at all by the conservative CDU and CSU: replacing tax relief for married couples with tax relief for families. The standard marital status relief costs the state more than 15 billion euros a year. In addition to families, it also supports millions of childless couples. Instead of extending this benefit to homosexual couples, the government should restrict it to those couples with children. That would also be equal treatment." (08/08/2012)

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Tax Policy, » Society, » Germany
All available articles from » Robert Rossmann

The exploration rover Curiosity broadcast the first photos of Mars on Tuesday. In the left-liberal daily De Morgen science philosopher Gustaaf Cornelis questions the value of the operation: "Manned space travel to other planets and all the preparatory research this requires should not be justified with multi-generational ethics. The solutions to the problems of future generations lie not on the moon or Mars. We must and will find other ways for life on Earth to remain humane - and if not, nature will lend a hand. It has always been this way. To justify unmanned space travel with the argument that it paves the way for the 'necessary' manned space travel is pure populism and therefore inappropriate. Space travel is far too expensive and fantastical for it to solve our problems in the distant future. Today there are genuinely sensible options on which this research funding could be better spent." (07/08/2012)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Science / Research, » Global
All available articles from » Gustaaf C. Cornelis

Slovenia has so far won five medals at the 2012 Olympic Games. The winners are all over 30, and the oldest is 49. They are all old-school athletes, the leftist daily Dnevnik stresses: "The years of hard training have matured them. They grew up in an environment in which their parents didn't ferry them to training sessions in cars and where work was valued in and of itself. … The Slovenian heroes in London recognised at an early age that victories were not to be won just by hard training. They went beyond what the trainer told them to do or the sports association made possible. They sought new approaches for themselves and were willing to pay for them out of their own pocket. All this year's winners have already won medals before. And this proves that only the most experienced attain success. All the champions are lone wolves with strong personalities, mental resilience and intellectual potential. It is these factors that make several victories possible." (08/08/2012)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » Olympics, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Joze Okorn