"Sixty years of lies, just show how it is possible to be a great artist and greatly immoral," thunders French essayist Guy Sorman about Günter Grass. "In this affair, which is primarily German, if the artist is guilty, he is neither more nor less so than his readership and the idolatrous media ... To those, within and without Germany, who today confess their short-sightedness and errors of judgement and attempt to justify them, let us remember that it was possible not to wallow in the fetishism of Grass. ... We guard too much against the democratically elected politician because we see him coming his face plain to see. We do not guard enough, on the other hand, against the artist when his talent disguises him, and especially when that talent is great. We can never be distrustful enough of magicians made up as moralists." (21/08/2006)

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Fourteen Polish writers including Wislawa Szymborska, Stefan Chwin and Pawel Huelle have published an open letter in which they defend Günter Grass. "Grass's confession is a demonstration of courage, and illustrates the great tragedy of a person who admits that he has always perceived his guilt as a shameful thing. We are witnessing how his admission is being exploited by certain Polish politicians. We strongly object to the tragedy of this novelist being used for political games. We cannot allow politicians to play with people's destinies. We regard Grass's literary work and social commitment as efforts to compensate for his mistakes. We cannot and will not forget Günter Grass's friendship and the great services he has done Poland." (21/08/2006)

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British writer John Berger fails to understand the "macabre denunciations" being levelled today against Günter Grass. "About him as a man and about his great work as a writer, they totally miss the point, and might be dismissed as laughable, but, as an index of a certain recent moral climate in Europe, they are troubling. They are an example of moral judgments made in a carefully constructed vacuum of experience. They are what is left after the emptying out of lived experience, and they are a strident denial of what we know in our bones to be real ... The righteous moralists are proposing that Grass should renounce all the honours that his life's work has received. Their proposition only shows that, by systematically refusing to acknowledge his experience, they have forgotten what honour consists of. He has not." (21/08/2006)

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Jean-Luc De Meulemeester, professor at the Free University of Brussels (ULB), analyses the revelations of Günter Grass in the light of the history of his home town, Danzig. "It is hard to level accusations at a teenager indoctrinated by totalitarian system and living in a society which, for specific historical reasons, had embraced the Nazi cause more radically, probably, than many German non-border regions. This commitment does, however, show how deeply many were committed, and until the final hour ... His very German destiny illustrates two things: the most perverted ideologies can seduce even souls with potential for good and creativity. And fortunately it is also possible to be cured of the disease, individually and collectively." (21/08/2006)

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Israeli writer David Grossman, also a founder member of the Peace Now movement, lost Uri, one of his two sons, in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Three days after his death he wrote a piece in his memory published by several European newspapers. "At this time I will say nothing of the war in which you were killed. We, your family, have already lost it. Go now, Israel, examine your conscience, and we will turn in on our grief, surrounded by good friends, sheltered by the great love from so many people most of whom we do not know, and whom I thank for their endless support. I wish so much that we could give each other such love and such solidarity at other times, too. That is perhaps our most special national resource. That is our greatest natural wealth." (21/08/2006)

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"In the face of Israeli militarism, which responds to partisan action and acts of terrorism by veritable war crimes, Europe has not to be complacent," argue the philosopher Etienne Balibar and the physicist Jean-Marc Lévy-Leblond. "Europe must actively contribute to the construction of a Mediterranean space of cooperation and negotiation. The United States, Russia, and Iran could have observer status, but its natural members are those with shores on a common sea, from which they have wrought history. Such a regional council would certainly not offer an automatic guarantee of peace, but it is the sole antidote to the rationale of the clash of civilisations, the only one able to push back fundamentalism at the same time as postcolonial racism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia." (21/08/2006)

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Daniel Hamilton, director of the Centre for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, expresses fears that Europe and the US are becoming increasingly estranged politically. "There is a growing sense of disappointment with Europe in America, but the Europeans haven't noticed. All they know is that they've had enough of Bush's America. They don't see that Americans feel the same way about Europe. There's a growing lack of understanding, and a feeling that we're growing apart... In my opinion, the main reason is the widespread attitude in the US that we live in a world full of challenges and yet the Europeans are fussing about minor problems. Of course they should continue with their 'European project'. But why haven't they found an answer to the most important question for that project, namely what Europe wants to do in the world and how it wants to influence its fate?" (19/08/2006)

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The daily paper reacts to statements from Damian Green, Conservative Party's immigration spokesman, who has called for curbs to be placed on the numbers of workers entering the UK from Romania and Bulgaria when they join the EU. "Any attempt by Britain to impose restrictions on Bulgaria and Romania that were not imposed on the previous 10 newcomers will be found insulting and discriminatory by those countries ... Mobility is one of the greatest assets of the European Union and one that has been a boon to the British economy. Two years ago, Britain was one of only three existing EU countries - the others were Ireland and Sweden - not to introduce quotas for new EU citizens seeking work. This was a brave decision, but it was also a wise one. It is true that the number of workers from the 'new' Europe coming to Britain for work has vastly exceeded early estimates, but the great majority have been successfully absorbed into the economy. The benefit has been theirs, and ours." (21/08/2006)

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Columnist José Cutileiro believes that France still enjoys powerful influence in the Middle East. "The road to peace in the Middle East will be long, dangerous, and unsure. It will demand very complex deals between all the regional powers and will need to rely on skill and commitment from Washington, characteristics that sadly lack in the Bush administration. One thing, however, is clear after the events in Lebanon. After the United States, the outside power which will be able to exert the most influence on the region is neither Russia, nor China, nor the European Union - with its financial aid - but France ...". (19/08/2006)

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The arrest of a suspected terrorist in connection with a failed attempt to blow up regional trains has triggered renewed debate on the subject of internal security in Germany. Stefan Reinecke comments. "No one knows how exploded trains would have changed the mood here in Germany. That in itself is reason enough to praise the police. Now even leftist liberals will have to ask themselves whether video surveillance in public places is such a bad thing. But we shouldn't rush to conclusions, because much remain unclear, and there are also blatant attempts to create panic... The Interior Minstry's Pavlovian response has been to bring out all the tighter laws it had in planning. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble wants more powers for the Federal Intelligence Service and more exchange of information with the police. More, more, more. It's the typical response, and we should be sceptical about it despite this recent success." (21/08/2006)

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Leader writer Magdi Allam reacts to the appeal from the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy (UCOII) published on August 19 in several Italian dailies and which compared Israeli policies to those of the Nazis. "If an extremist left- or right-wing group had sought to buy a page in a newspaper to launch such an insane appeal, it would have been refused. As an organization legitimized by Italian institutions, the situation is different ... It matters little what the organization preaches ... it is up to us to realize that in Italy today it is permitted to preach and incite the masses to destroy Israel and that the national printing press can print free, or for payment, a piece that questions Israel's right to exist. And all that is considered evidence of the freedom of expression, whereas it is in fact all about the heart of the terror ideology of which we are witnesses and victims." (21/08/2006)

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A leading article in the online journal is devoted to the record numbers of illegal immigrants arriving on Spanish shores. "Every day we see the effects of the massive, extraordinary legalization of illegal immigrants in the shape of the constant arrivals of 'pateras' (makeshift boats). They do not come from nowhere, they are lured by this government and its rash, irresponsible policy of distributing work and residence permits. It has fired the imagination of mafia groups which organize larger and larger boatloads that are capable of longer sea voyages. It [the government] is incapable of keeping the Spain's illegal immigrant counter at zero. According to the latest estimate from the National Statistics Office, there are 1.3 million more, just one year after legalization." (21/08/2006)

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The terms "Estonia's economic miracle" and "Baltic tiger" were coined during former Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar's term in office (1999-2002). According to Vambola Paavo, this success story is now in danger of coming to an end. "It's no longer profitable for companies to produce in Estonia. It's increasingly expensive to employ people, and the best-qualified are going abroad. But this doesn't stop Prime Minster Andrus Ansip from talking about how well everything's going and how the annual growth rate is at eleven percent. You might excuse him because after all he got his degree in chemistry and he's not a financial expert. But at the moment our southern neighbours in Latvia and Lithuania are doing better than we are. Latvia's Ventspils is on the transit route for oil from the East to the West...". (21/08/2006)

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It looks like the Czech Republic won't be able to introduce the euro until after 2010 because it won't be able to meet the stability criteria before then. Tomas Nemecek vents his frustration at the delay: "We're not Hungary, which has so many debts that it won't be able to convert to the euro before 2016, and we're not Poland, where the government is letting itself be led by emotions rather than reason. The Czech Republic, with its wealth and its traditionally stable economy, should be just as ambitious as Slovenia, which will be the first post-communist country to adopt the euro. If the Czech budget has a deficit, it's not because we're going through a recession or a war, or because we're building the highest skyscrapers in the world or we want to fly to Mars. The problem is we want everything at the same time – increased benefits for families, larger pensions, new roads and higher salaries. But you can't have everything at the same time – and that's why we won't have the euro in 2010." (21/08/2006)

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Christiane Schlötzer reports that the Greek Cypriot government wants to prevent "Akamas", the first Cypriot film ever to be chosen for the Venice film festival, from being shown at the festival. In the film director Panicos Chrysanthou tells the tale of a romance between a Turk Cypriot and a Greek Cypriot and takes a critical view of the Eoka resistance movement. "Basically the whole story doesn't fit in with a heroic picture of the island's history where it's always those on the other side of the dividing line who are to blame for the division of the island. Moreover, Chrysanthou has a Turkish co-producer, Dervis Zaim, with whom he has done several other projects. For him, the island's conflict is like a prism through which he observes the world. The terms 'Hybris', with their original Greek meaning (injured honour) and 'Metro' (measure) are his leitmotifs. He says: 'I'm interested in the question of how far an individual can go to free his country or defend his honour. Is it permissible for him to blow himself and others up to achieve this?'." (21/08/2006)

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"The joy felt by Greek Cypriots when the Venice Film Festival announced it had for the first time selected a movie by a compatriot ['Akamas' by Panicos Chrysanthou] soon turned into concern that swept the whole county," writes leader writer Takis Kounafis. "The controversy focuses on a scene showing the murder of a Greek Cypriot by the Cypriot resistance in a church during Good Friday mass. The Cypriot authorities are entitled to censure the scene, because the Culture and Education Ministry has co-produced the film and put up 150,000 Cypriot lire [over 200,000 euros], but primarily because, by showing the scene on-screen, the director adopts Turkish and British positions on the independence struggle in 1955 and the Turkish Cypriot revolt. The organizers of the Venice Film Festival must take into consideration the ministry's opposition." (21/08/2006)

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Designers like Arne Jacobsen, Hans J. Wegner, Borge Mogensen and Poul Kjaerholm brought international renown to Danish design. But according to Mark Isitt, editor in chief of Forum design magazine, this success has its downside. He points out that Danish designers who were once renowned for their innovative creations are now content to busy themselves with managing the results of their success. "Sweden has left Denmark far behind as far as furniture and product design are concerned. Its products are much more dynamic and colourful, whereas Danish design is dominated by fear and anxiety. Danish designers are trying too hard, getting lost in details and technicalities and forgetting their creativity. Perhaps this is because Denmark has such a strong tradition in furniture design. All Sweden has, on the other hand, is Ikea – so things could only get better." (21/08/2006)

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"There are few places in the world where you have such a confusion of back courtyards as in Erzsebetvaros, Budapest's Jewish district," Paul Jandl writes of the old Jewish quarter, which is threatened by demolition and luxury renovations. "When houses are demolished in Budapest's 7th district, profit margins go up. There is a continuous process of erosion in which the demolition of one house often leads to that of the next." Jandl reports that the citizen's initiative "vas!" is battling against the destruction of Budapest's oldest district with "subversive jokes, city tours and professional media campaigns". "In spring, there was a major dispute about the planned demolition of house at number 40 in Kiraly street. As a result of the 'vas!' protests, the authorities stopped the demolition. For months now the scaffolding has been draped in black plastic sheets – as if it had been wrapped up by Christo. The house serves as a kind of warning in this increasingly chic area where designer boutiques and smart shops herald the arrival of a new urbanity." (21/08/2006)

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