The daily regrets that despite repeated cries for help, Spain "will not be able to count on much help from European institutions. Because of the absence of all necessary competence [in this dossier] and neither sufficient funding nor political will from Brussels - elements to which should be added Spain's political weakness in the EU during the last two years-, it is very unlikely that a problem with a real trans-national dimension can be rendered European. ... As a logical consequence, Spain is beginning to toughen the tone of its declarations facing the clandestine immigration problem. But this won't change anything if these declarations are not supported by a consideration of the efficiency of policies and measures applied." (05/09/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Migration, » Spain

"The continual flow of African immigrants in the Canary Islands, as well as in Malta and Sicily, constitutes a brutal baptism by fire for the new European agency Frontex", notes Philippe Ricard, who attended the EU conference of foreign ministers on Saturday, September 2nd, in Lapeenranta, Finland. "The Frontex mission is to coordinate efforts of cooperation between the 25 Member states on the outer borders of the Union. Funding, however, has yet to be made available. ... For the time being, the agency will have to commit most of its manpower - 65 people - to the two missions carried out in the Mediterranean. ... Those in charge of Frontex regret that only a handful of State members - Italy, Portugal, Germany, Finland and France - responded to their appeals to come to aid Spanish authorities". (05/09/2006)

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According to Brunson McKiney, general director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) interviewed by Aude Markovitch, "this is not an explosion of the number of immigrants, but a clear view of their attempts to enter Europe. Little by little, the EU has closed the traditional avenues for entering its territory [notably the Strait of Gibraltar], leading smugglers along more perilous routes. With the dramatic consequences we know. ... The majority of these migrant workers do not wish to settle in their host countries, they want to earn money, save up and go home. ... We think that we should head towards system of chosen migration. There are empty spaces to be filled in the manpower of numerous economic sectors: health, construction, agriculture, catering. It is thus a question of organising migration in accordance with the needs of host countries." (05/09/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Migration, » Spain
All available articles from » Brunson McKinley

Two Hollywood films are being released to coincide with the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001: 'United 93' by Paul Greengrass and Oliver Stone's 'World Trade Center'. This prompts the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek to ask where we stand five years later. Both films hold back, he says, "not only in their political attitude but also in how they present the political context. Neither the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 nor the policemen in 'WTC' grasp the connection - they suddenly find themselves in a horrific situation and have to make the best of it. This lack of 'cognitive assignment' is decisive: both films show ordinary people affected by the brutal intrusion of a story into their lives that is presented as the absent cause, the invisible but painful real world... The combined ideological and political message of these films is precisely that they abstain from any kind of political message. And this abstention is founded on unconditional trust in one's own government - 'when the enemy strikes, everybody only has to do his duty...'.” (05/09/2006)

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During a speech delivered before members of his party, the French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy severely criticised the generation of 1968, who he accuses of being at the bottom of the school debacle. Diovanni De Luna, History professor at the University of Turin, accuses the French political leader of cynically manipulating the ideology of the time: sexual freedom, support for Mao and Castro, care-free behaviour. He explains what this generation has become in Italy. "For 'sixty-eighters', youth had an existential dimension, free from the constraints imposed by the register. ... Militants of 68 never knew how to bid farewell to their youth. As a result they are somewhat spell-bound to their youth, remaining young, as if imprisoned in a past that does not past. This eternal past renders any rupture more difficult and risks stalling transmission from old to young." (05/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Giovanni De Luna

The role of the USA is now coming under examination in the Hungarian debate on the 1956 uprising. In his new book, 'Lost Illusions', Charles Gati, a historian at Johns Hopkins University, argues that the USA didn't want to do anything against the division of Europe in the Cold War. John Lukacs, a US historian of Hungarian origin, agrees: "The government headed by Eisenhower and Dulles was openly, often exaggeratedly anti-Communist. Nevertheless it didn't intend to change anything in the division of Europe. Quite the opposite: the Soviet Union's brutal suppression of the 1956 Hungarian uprising actually suited them." Lukacs writes that a possible diplomatic solution could have been for the US to propose to Moscow "that if the Soviet Army withdrew from Hungary, the US military would withdraw from one of the occupied western or southern European countries. Eisenhower was aware of this alternative, but he wasn't for it." (02/09/2006)

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The Turkish parliament is gathering today in an extraordinary session to decide on the dispatch of troops to Southern Lebanon alongside Europeans. "This commitment is reminding Europe that Turkey is a useful ally", explains British researcher Kirsty Hughes, author of a report on Turkey's involvement in the EU, in an interview with Alexandrine Bouillhet. "This shows, to those in doubt, the benefit of having a big Muslim country within the European Union. It has often been said that Turkey is a bridge between East and West. This image is a bit tarnished, but it does tally with a reality. ... By making this decision, despite opposition on the street, the Turkish government is no doubt acting on its desire to improve the atmosphere in negotiations with the Union, which has been deplorable for the last six months". The European Parliament has indeed adopted, on Monday September 4th, a very critical report on the advancement of Turkish reforms. (05/09/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Turkey
All available articles from » Kirsty Hughes

The EU is planning to conclude a new Basic Treaty with Russia in 2007. Finland and Germany favour stepping up cooperation. Arunas Grazulis points out that contrary to statements by Finland's foreign minister, Erkki Tuomioja, at the foreign ministers' conference in Lappeenranta in Finland, agreement is by no means unanimous within the EU. A number of Eastern European EU countries have warned against the EU becoming too dependent on Russian energy supplies. "Lithuania is not on its own - it belongs to the 'bloc of Russian neighbours' that has particular experience in dealing with Russia. This means that Lithuanian diplomats are facing the task of having to convince their European partners, and we don't have time on our side... Lithuania has to work out its priorities now and actively look for allies before it goes to the informal meeting of EU leaders in October." (05/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Arunas Grazulis

With the release of Ian Buruma's latest book ('Murder in Amsterdam') about the murder of dutch film-maker Theo Van Gogh by an islamic extremist, an editorial ponders tolerance in Holland. "By 2020 ethnic minorities will become majorities in the four biggest Randstad cities- Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht. In keeping with their tradition of tolerance the Dutch embraced 'multiculturalism' for the new immigrants - like the British, but unlike the French, who have always preached 'assimilation'. Fortuyn [Dutch populist leader murdered in 2002] challenged this. He did it not on racist grounds (as an avowed gay, he talked fondly of Moroccan boys) nor even because, as he also put it, 'the Netherlands is a full country.' His argument was that those who lived in his country should learn to abide by its social and cultural mores—and be kicked out if they refused. That message was aimed at Muslims, whose attitudes to women, gays and free speech are, well, un-Dutch." (05/09/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Integration, » Netherlands

According to 'Rzeczpospolita', the USA has decided on Poland as the location for a base for its planned missile defence. In return for the controversial missile base, Washington could support the construction of a natural gas and oil pipeline from central Asia to Poland and supply the Warsaw government with Patriot missiles. Bronislaw Komorowski, a member of parliament for the opposition right-wing liberal Civic Platform (PO), told the newspaper he supports the government's bargaining strategy. "Poland should continue developing its own missile defence system. The negotiations for an American base are a good opportunity to achieve the foundations for that. This is an absolute priority for the Polish government. If the American base is set up in Poland, somebody has to guarantee its security - if not American Patriot missiles then Polish F-16 interceptor jets. This is a test of the effectiveness of Polish foreign policy: we shall see whether it can succeed in gaining the defence system." (05/09/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Poland, » U.S.
All available articles from » Jacek Przybylski

The debate about reforming the welfare system has been dominating the political agenda for weeks in the run-up to the parliamentary elections in Austria, on October 1st. Alexandra Föderl-Schmid comments. "Austria is not unique as regards this phenomenon - other European countries are facing a similar demographic development. Families are increasingly being confronted with the problem of elderly care. This has contributed to all the other EU countries adopting a pragmatic approach. But in Austria, with elections on the horizon, the politicians have opted for a populist and presumably popular approach... In seven of the 15 EU countries the job markets are now completely open, and partly open in several other member states. In view of the acknowledged crisis in elderly care, France, Belgium and The Netherlands have been smart enough to make this area an exception from the start. Austria was aware of the problems and could have done this too, if they'd been openly discussed early this year. The fact that Austria has now decided, albeit belatedly, to adopt this possibility - which has continually been pointed to by the European Commission - shows a degree of insight, even at election time." (05/09/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health Policy, » Austria
All available articles from » Alexandra Föderl-Schmid

After years of argument, the German interior minister, Brigitte Zypries, and his counterparts in the German states have reached agreement on a common database designed to provide more efficient link-ups between the individual authorities responsible for security. Peter Carstens comments with disappointment. "The interior ministers have been arguing for years about every area of files on terrorism... What is more, work on important subsidiary areas in the battle against terrorism lacks proper goal-setting and planning - such as the rights of foreigners, the regulations on acquiring citizenship, the way of dealing with Muslim residents in Germany. Even if after all these years the interior ministers agree to compromise on data collection, video surveillance, the law on air and maritime safety or pinpointing suspects by computer analysis, it doesn't mean that the Constitutional Court won't have anything to add. If you want to achieve anything in Germany, you have fight your way through institutions, parties and lobbies. This also applies to the war on terror, which is additionally a war of jostling for position within the bureaucracy. Politics has long since failed to direct this argument and define its borders". (05/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Peter Carstens

Arthur Grosjean considers that the decision made by Migros, a prominent brand name, to limit its number of foreign employees is breaking a Swiss taboo. "By establishing a quota of 10% employment of foreign workers and publicly defending it, Migros in Geneva has thrown a nice big brick into the political quagmire. And the consequences are immediately apparent. Henceforth, a majority of parties, especially on the right, are declaring unemployed from Geneva a priority over workers arriving from neighbouring France. ... This attitude has now been accepted by the majority of the right. This is surprising, in so much as the liberal credo rather tends to attach importance to the competence of workers regardless of where they come from. Why this change? Because unemployment is diminishing slowly in Geneva, while the economy booms." (05/09/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Arthur Grosjean

Polish journalist Stanislaw Michalkiewicz provoked a scandal at the end of March with an anti-Semitic comment on Radio Maryja, a right-wing religious station close to the government. The criminal case opened against him for slander and disparagement was subsequently dropped. The public broadcasting station Polskie Radio is now hiring Michalkiewicz as a commentator. Marek Edelman, the last surviving leader of the Warsaw Jewish Ghetto Uprising in 1943, protests sharply to the newspaper. "With its decision to hire a man like Mr Michalkiewicz as a commentator on the arts, Polish radio is showing its true colours. It's a scandal that the case against him was dropped because it was considered 'not seriously harmful to society.' Unfortunately this is not the first time. Courts and public prosecutors repeatedly drop cases that involve anti-Semitic views. In my opinion, they are biased: they side with reactionary forces - and not with ordinary people." (05/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Marek Edelman

After Greece's brilliant performance in the world basketball championship and final defeat against Spain, the daily contemplates the key to success or failure in international competition. "Success or failure is not a question of genes, or the size of a country. In this modern day age, the Davids of the world are not necessarily destined for failure. They win when they have clear goals and work as a team. ... The Greek reached the final because everyone worked hard and in an organized fashion. Officials and players did not take their international experience lightly, but learned from it. They did not limit themselves to talking about Greek's special characteristics' but studied how the foreign teams succeeded in order to do the same themselves. Friday's victory has a message for us that goes beyond sport. We can achieve enviable results in education, the economy, in tourism, in everything, as long as we proceed in the only way possible - through team effort with vision and a plan." (05/09/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » Greece

At the Venice Mostra, British director Stephan Frears presented his film 'The Queen', about relations between Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Interviewed by Daniela Creamer, he explains that Blair hoped "to be able to change things. But things didn't turn out as he had thought. And he has behaved like a puppet over the past five years. He began his mandate by manifesting his desire to make reforms, with an idea of modernising England, but then became a convinced Conservative, fascinated by the queen. ... [The monarchy] is an absurd and antiquated system. In a way, Queen Elizabeth II succeeded in making it work and it is for this reason that the British respect and appreciate her so much. However, I think things will change drastically when she dies". (05/09/2006)

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All available articles from » Stephen Frears