The Spanish daily devotes its editorial to the conflict that arose between Malta and Spain after the island's authorities refused to allow a Spanish fishing trawler that had rescued 51 shipwrecked illegal immigrants to dock. An agreement was finally reached but "the episode underscores the need for authorities in Brussels to be more effectively involved on matters of illegal immigration. The attitude of Malta, an EU member which should have acted as such, raises doubts about its real determination to respect Community agreements. A resolution to the crisis was ultimately found on humanitarian grounds, even though strictly legal reasons should have sufficed. Malta should have taken in the illegal immigrants without delay because it was the nearest port. This situation could recur. It underscores the fragility of EU border-states." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Spain, » Malta

"The fewer newcomers the better, is the unashamed attitude of Austrian Interior Minister Liese Prokop," writes Irene Brickner criticising the country's new, stricter immigration policy. "The truth of the matter is much more complicated…. Those who haven't managed to obtain a resident's permit under the new laws can continue to live in Austria – but now they must live in constant fear of arrest and deportation, and this includes married couples where one of the partners is a foreigner…. Apparently the object of the game is to convince people that in the medium term Austria can mutate into an island inhabited only by natives, in the middle of a borderless Europe. It's to be feared that many will be fooled into believing this xenophobic strategy can work." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » Austria
All available articles from » Irene Brickner

"The European Union cannot proudly claim to be the world's leading defender of human rights even as it turns a deaf ear to the distress of immigrants crowding its doorstep, or those who have clandestinely crossed its borders," writes Thomas Ferenczi in his European column. "European leaders have finally become aware of this unacceptable divergence and of the need to respond to this immigrant influx in a 'humanitarian' way that goes beyond an exclusive focus on 'security', as Patrick Gaubert, a European parliamentarian, puts it. ... The Euro-African summit in Rabat, on July 10 and 11, may have signalled a start to the broad-based partnership that both sides have been seeking. ... One may see this advance as relatively modest, or speak, as some people have, of a missed opportunity, or opine that European aid falls far short of actual needs. Nonetheless, a first step has been taken, one that can lead to others." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Migration, » Europe
All available articles from » Thomas Ferenczi

What will Europe look like in the future? asks Polish journalist Andrzej Stasiuk. "Will certain regions, like eastern Poland or southern Italy, become completely depopulated? The poor are migrating to the rich cities of Western Europe. At the airport in Crakow, Stasiuk watched travellers to Paris and Munich cast suspicious looks at a group of young Poles headed for Dublin. "Perhaps they didn't like the idea that their fate is in the hands of these young people – that somewhere something had gone wrong and Western civilisation was now damned to eternal dependence on the barbarians of the east because its own powers are failing. Unless it could come up with some kind of humanoid robots, or import clones to work as slaves from China – because sooner or later China will start producing clones and selling them cheap." (20/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Europe
All available articles from » Andrzej Stasiuk

"The right monopolises patriotism in Poland," complains Jaroslaw Makowski, a journalist for the Polish newspaper Krytyka Polityczna, in a commentary. "The right has no qualms about using 'hot language.' By this I mean language that appeals to people's emotions and passions and cites national symbols. This kind of discourse is being used as an important weapon in ideological discussions, and at the same time it underscores the weakness of the opposition: neither the liberals nor the post-communist Left have found an effective alternative to the Right's nationalist discourse. Polish intellectuals feel uncomfortable about making reference to values like 'God, honour and the Fatherland'. Makowski calls on the Left to rethink its strategy: "In the current confrontation with the Right the Left and liberal intellectuals can't continue to just play the victim and complain about their immature or provincially-minded compatriots. To become an important force within society they must return to using fiery patriotic rhetoric, but giving it a new twist." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Jarosław Makowski

Eckhard Fuhr asks what exactly this European normality is to which Germany, in its reawakened patriotism, is supposed to have returned. "Republican France is seen as the point of reference for the coexistence of unity and freedom, nation and democracy. Poland, on the other hand, is the nation that heroically battles against foreign rule from within and without. Now, however, Germany is becoming increasingly aware that this normality it has strived for is nothing more than a historical myth. On closer inspection, the neighbours are not that normal after all, and perhaps even further from sharing a common national identity than the Germans themselves… The riots in France woke people up to the fact that the republican integration model has reached its limits… And disturbing nationalist voices can be heard from the Poland of the Kaczynski brothers next door." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social movements, » France, » Poland
All available articles from » Eckhard Fuhr

Belgium is celebrating the Belgian National Day, but there's little sign of a spirit of national unity, writes correspondent Rene Vautravers. "The monarch has taken this day as an opportunity to stress his desire for the unity of the country. It's no secret that the spread of Flemish separatism worries him… The Belgian royal family is without doubt one of the country's few truly national institutions. The king's predecessor, his dead brother Baudouin, was no friend of federalism either. He complained about the speed with which powers were passing from the centralised state to the constituent states. He feared this would weaken the power of the centralised state. Now the centralised state is almost a thing of the past. Flanders, Wallonia and bilingual Brussels now form three relatively independent constituent states, each with their own language community. Even the German-speaking minority has its own parliament." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Belgium
All available articles from » Rene Vautravers

During the cartoon controversy, Danish flags were burned in the Middle East. Now the Danish flag is being waved enthusiastically in the light of the evacuation of Danes of Lebanese and Palestinian descent. The newspaper comments with satisfaction: "Forgotten are the hysterical scenes in the midst of the Muhammad saga when Danish flags were spat and trampled on or demonstratively burned to great applause for the benefit of the foreign media. The Dannebrog represents the best of the Danish character and values: openness, tolerance, security and order. And in the midst of the personal tragedies in Lebanon, we can see now that the hate directed at Denmark was short-lived and transient simply because it was just a show." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Denmark, » Middle East

In Finland the first sentences in cases involving white slave trading have been pronounced. On the same day changes to the laws governing foreign nationals were proposed according to which victims would be given special residency permits and time to reflect on their cooperation with the authorities. Barbro Teir welcomes these developments. "Both the police investigations that led to the sentences and the new residency permits signalise that the Finnish authorities are taking these human rights violations seriously. This also counterbalances the at times childish debate on the sex trade conducted in parliament this spring." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Finland
All available articles from » Barbro Teir

"Turks are beginning to seriously sour on the idea of European membership," warns journalist Erdal Balci after seeing the European Commission's latest polls indicating that "only 35% of Turks believe the Union is pursuing positive goals with respect to Turkey. According to Cengiz Aktar, a specialist in European affairs at the University of Bahcesehir, a part of the Turkish population that is opposed to European membership thinks democratic reforms should be stopped because the EU will never accept Turkey into its fold. ... This paucity of support for the European idea may well be linked to recent developments in the Middle East and to the hypothesis according to which Turkey will have to dispense with the Turkish part of Cyprus if it wants to be granted admission to the EU." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Turkey
All available articles from » Erdal Balci

The daily is skeptical about a newly unveiled criminal justice review by Home Minister John Reid that calls for building more jails and handing down tougher sentences for serious crimes. "Dostoevsky reflected that 'the degree of civilisation in a society can be judged by entering its prisons'. This is a point that matters to victims as well as criminals. Conditions should encourage inmates to mend their ways, not make them worse. Yet yesterday's review was entirely silent on how sentences are spent. Ignoring the quality when the quantity is at a record high is a staggering omission. While prisoners languish instead of learn and are routinely bullied, jails will continue to churn out people who, more often than not, are reconvicted in two years. ... The overhaul the system really needs is to cut the use of prisons, and increase the quality and effectiveness of those that remain." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » United Kingdom

Journalist George Trefgarne heaps scorn on the Airbus A380 as a "superjumbo-sized monument to Euro folly" whose value lies not in its flawed business model, but political symbolism. "Conceived by French and German politicians; bureaucratic, expensive and dogged by scandal — the A380 is indeed a wonderful monument to the European Union. In fact, so short is this engineering marvel on market logic that there is a small but distinct risk that it could bring down not only Airbus and its Franco–German parent company EADS, but the struggling premiership of the bouffant-haired Dominique de Villepin. There have already been some nasty scenes in the French parliament. And if that is not enough, Airbus could even ignite a vicious transatlantic trade war [with the US]. ... No ordinary company, responsible to ordinary shareholders, would hazard its capital on such a risky project as the A380." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Germany, » France
All available articles from » George Trefgarne

"[Marcel] Bozonnet is paying a very heavy price for the Handke affair," affirms journalist René Solis, referring to the ministerial decision not to renew the contract of the director of the Comédie-Française. In April, the latter dropped a play by Peter Handke from the season schedule after the author attended Slobodan Milosevic's funeral. "It is impossible to ignore the spectacularly impulsive actions of the angry administrator and the shameful handshake between the minister [French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres] and the defender of revisionist arguments on the war in the ex-Yugoslavia." The minister had invited the author to his office when the controversy erupted. "Jacques Blanc, the initiator of the first petition in support of Marcel Bozonnet and director of the Quartz de Brest theatre, did not mince his words yesterday: 'All friends of Milosevic can rejoice today'." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Stage, » Cultural Policy, » France
All available articles from » René Solis

The first works by German painter Georg Baselitz go on display starting today at the Munich Gallery of Modern Art (Pinakothek der Moderne). For art critic Francisco Calvo Serraller, Georg Baselitz is "a central figure in German neoexpressionism. Today, at the age of 68, he remains one of the most respected German artists. ... Having left East Germany in 1956 to settle in the West after being expelled from the Academy of Fine Arts for 'political immaturity', Baselitz is a kind of internal exile. He found himself isolated, due to the dominance of the French and American currents at the time. He always managed to resist the pressure and influence of the prevailing trends in order to develop his art independently." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Exhibitions / Museums, » Fine Arts, » Germany
All available articles from » Francisco Calvo Serraller

The new British owners of Budapest's airport have taken up the battle against the Hungarian "taxi sharks." In future only taxi drivers who meet certain standards – such as charging fair prices – will be allowed to work at the airport. However, the public call for tenders was won by precisely the taxi firm that up to now had been the terror of travellers. Robert Romai comments: "The former management, the police, the city authorities and all those responsible for the antiquated system at the Budapest airport think perhaps that they can relax now. But appearances are deceptive... The call for tenders has resulted in charges against those in responsible positions who tolerated or silently supported the fact that a single taxi firm has kept all the business at the airport to itself without any competition." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Hungary
All available articles from » Róbert Római

Marie-Louise Coleiro, a Labour MP, is alarmed that "practically nothing has been done" to revive Malta's flagging tourism industry. "Whereas during these last years other countries have increased radically their advertising budgets and introduced innovative competitive packages, over these last two years the national authority for tourism has actually decreased its usual promotion campaigns. Moreover, the government has increasingly burdened the industry with more and more costs. ... While most countries in the Mediterranean region have seen a steady growth in the number of tourists, we have had a continuous drastic decrease, month after month. Maltese investors in the industry are seriously revisiting their business strategies and commitment in the sector. Some are actually and seriously thinking of closing down for the whole of the winter months." (21/07/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Malta
All available articles from » Marie-Louise Coleiro