The British weekly considers Franco-German relations in the Airbus crisis. "The French government has a stake in EADS, Airbus's parent company, along with state-owned banks and big firms. In the run up to presidential elections in April no-one in France wanted to be seen slashing jobs. Germany, which recently persuaded a consortium of big banks to buy a slice of EADS sold by DaimlerChrysler, was equally eager to hold sway and to keep its share of high-tech jobs. ... Airbus has lost three chief executives in the past two years after boardroom dogfights between French and German factions. To promote détente, EADS has French and German co-chiefs and co-chairmen (although, to simplify things, France's co-boss of EADS, Louis Gallois, took over at Airbus last year). But too much effort is still expended trying to keep the balance of power between French and German shareholdings." (01/03/2007)

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According to Ulrich Schäfer, it's right that "Airbus is acting now instead of waiting a couple of years. It's right that in the midst of a boom in aircraft construction the company is taking steps to change its internal structure and sink costs. Only then will Airbus be able to survive the inevitable downswing. And there's another reason why the company should act now: the A380 debacle has shown that only the reciprocal apportioning of blame works at Airbus - not the division of labour... However, it's not only the managers who feel responsible for Airbus but also the governments in Berlin and Paris, whose predecessors founded the company. And because of their intervention last week, the company's rescue package has stopped halfway. Now Airbus plans to transfer most of the aircraft construction to Hamburg but still keep some of it in France... So there won't be a great improvement in the big muddle at the company." (01/03/2007)

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The editorialist Yves Petignat argues that States should stop intervening in the management of Airbus. "Weighed down by the cost of developing the A350 and by the exchange rate of the Euro, weakened by the multiplication of production sites, Airbus also nearly collapsed under the pressure of economic patriotism. The plane owes its remaining commercial and technological success to the good-will power in Franco-German co-operation. However, in these opening months of 2007, it is the very same implication of both States that almost grounded the plane for good. ... Politics should get out of Airbus now that the crisis has marked the end of a Franco-German co-operative model with dual controls. Seeing as the economic philosophies of both States are utterly divergent, interventionist on one hand and liberal on the other, a new form of partnership on a European scale needs to be invented beyond the Franco-German couple." (01/03/2007)

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The editorialist Gaëtan de Capèle considers that "a crucial step remains to be taken: a complete overhaul of the share-holding and governance of EADS, Airbus's parent company. Seductive on paper, the founding fathers' beautiful idea of creating a real European firm, founded on strict Franco-German parity, is in reality only a delusion. In practice, Airbus is perishing as a hostage of divergent national interests. What had been considered an accumulation of competencies and cultures has been transformed into a devastating theatre of sly, underhand confrontation on a background of defiance between French and Germans. ... Thus the time has come to carry the logic through to its conclusion: oust the shareholders [Daimler-Chrysler and Lagardère] who have become cumbersome and useless, and attract others who really want to invest in what remains, despite appearances, one of the most beautiful European ventures." (01/03/2007)

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Are the Germans trying to portray themselves as victims of the Second World War with films and books about carpet bombings and expulsion? Naturally, there were German victims too, but the Germans were certainly not a nation of victims, British historian Sir Ian Kershaw asserts in an interview with Christian Schlüter. "The carpet bombings were a cruel instrument of war used against the civilian population. No one would approve of such a thing today. But at the same time Germany could have prevented this: if it had capitulated earlier there would have been no more bombs. The victims of the National Socialists had no means to end their suffering. There is therefore a fundamental difference between the bombings and the crimes perpetrated in the name of Germany, not just regarding the annihilation of the Jews, but also regarding the civilian population in occupied territories, particularly in the East. The crimes of the NS regime were committed in the name of an ideology. The bombings were, I would like to stress once more, a cruel instrument of war." (01/03/2007)

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Philppe Vincke, vice-president of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), and Emmanuelle Danblon, his advisor, explain why they refused to welcome the Islam specialist Tariq Ramadan into the university. The two want to draw "the attention of the community to the rise of potentially obscurantist discourse, even if expressed with politically correct language. None of us would accept the visit to the campus of a xenophobic representative of the far-right. We are bound by duty not to have double standards. For some time now, a certain discourse, certain practices and claims that are endangering political secularism, the guarantor of living together, have become common on campus. ... Need we be reminded that Tariq Ramadan never clearly condemns the stoning of women, not even when asked to? On the contrary, for a while now, uneasiness, taboos and fear of evoking certain scientific theories or certain historical facts in broad day light have become visible and palpable." (01/03/2007)

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The US's announcement of plans to station part of its missile defence shield in Poland and the Czech Republic has provoked threats from Russia. Talking to Michal Kacewicz, Moscow-based military expert Pavel Felgenhauer warns of a new arms race and criticises the policies of the Russian government: "The US's next step will be to station missiles in Central Europe. The US also has its Tomahawk missiles, while Russia has nothing comparable. For Russia, which has never been particularly successful in this kind of trial of strength, treaties have always been advantageous. But those currently in power at the Kremlin don't understand this. Another point is that Putin, in his game of intimidation, is planning to strengthen the position of the military shortly before the elections. It is the Russian generals' greatest desire to withdraw from all the disarmament treaties that were signed in the 1980s and 1990s when the Soviet Union and later Russia were weak and which they perceive as humiliating." (27/02/2007)

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Witan Stefanow, professor of logic, ethics and aesthetics at the University of Sofia, describes how external influences have affected Bulgaria in important aspects. "Constantinople is a historical place, a geographical and cultural stronghold, a bridge and border between the different continents, cultures and eras. Yet at the same time, for us Constantinople is a curse and our doom… The collapse of national ideals as a result of the Balkan Wars and the First World War led Bulgarian intellectuals to turn to the socialist ideology, which, however, was also controlled by an external force - by Moscow. Once again there was imitation and simulation; once again two generations experienced cultural and political isolation. Then came the gratitude for the events that took place outside Bulgaria in 1989 and that brought the socialist myth to an end… Once again, a new centre of influence outside Bulgaria was created, somewhere in the West… Today, Bulgaria stands at the very periphery of European culture." (01/03/2007)

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After a difficult week for the Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the Senate voted confidence in the government on Wednesday, February 28th. The editorialist Edmondo Berselli considers this vote and judges that a reform of the electoral law is now necessary. "Centre-left applause in the Senate after the results were proclaimed was like a big sigh of relief, communicating the loosening of a tension that had reached its limit over these past few days. But after the relief comes the reality check with common sense and normal political reason alerting us to the impossibility of governing with a multi-party majority such as that which was renewed with a vote of confidence in the Prodi government yesterday ... . The most immediate risk is that we see another collapse of government. Looming more insidiously is a structural crisis in Italian politics". (01/03/2007)

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Poland has been eagerly awaiting the publication of Father Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski's 600-page book "The Priests in the Face of the Secret Service". Yesterday the book finally went on sale. It documents how four clergymen who later became bishops cooperated with the Polish secret police, but also how two who are now cardinals refused to collaborate despite reprisals. According to Adam Szostkiewicz, the book is of major importance: "This book aroused great interest long before its publication - both because of the subject matter and because of its author. Many commentators regard Father Zaleski as the father of the lustration of the Church and his book as exemplary of how to write about this chapter of the church's post-war history. For others, including some priests and believers, the publication, although inevitable, could represent a painful and controversial lesson - a lesson that raises many doubts about both the method and the conclusions. Many regard the book as the beginning, not the end, of the church's problems with its image." (28/02/2007)

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"Jews and Polish citizens of other faiths, who were victims communist nationalisation or expropriation carried out by Nazis during the Second World War, have joined forces for the first time in order to claim compensation from the Polish State", notes José Comas after a meeting of plaintiffs and government representatives in Warsaw on February 28th. "The problem of compensation is very complex in Poland. Other than Belarus, Poland is the only country that has not installed a system that provides compensation for victims of the Nazis or Communist nationalisations. ... Added to this is the fact that Polish borders were moved around 200 kilometres to the west after the Second World War. If we also take into account the threat of requests for compensation expressed by Germans who were expulsed in 1945 from their homeland in Silesia and the Pomerania, we will find ourselves with a practically irresolvable conflict." (01/03/2007)

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The High Representatives will stay on a year longer than planned in Bosnia, because the situation in the region remains unstable in view of the possible separation of Kosovo. At the same time, the number of EU troops stationed there will be reduced from 6,000 to 2,500. Martin Woker examines why this decision has been largely ignored in Sarajevo. "The Bosnians and Croats ... still generally regard the institution of the Office of the High Representative as a necessary instrument for transforming the war-torn country into a functioning state, in accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement. However, the institution also provides nationalists of all stripes with a welcome excuse for laying the blame for the country's political paralysis (and their own incompetence) on the foreign functionaries." (01/03/2007)

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For some time now intellectuals in Romania have been expressing their views on political events. On Tuesday the country's most eminent intellectuals and non-governmental organisations staged a demonstration of solidarity with independent Justice Minister Monica Macovei, who is to be dismissed from office. Sever Voinescu was there: "What I found there was a basic attitude I thought we had lost and a dignity I thought had disappeared: I found people who demanded respect. Of course they were also demonstrating for the Justice Minister... and collecting signatures for a letter of protest to the Senate... But in addition this was the dignified demonstration of a country that refuses to be lied to. A Romania that wants to be respected." (01/03/2007)

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Opposed to the attempt to take over the Spanish company Endesa by the German energy group Eon, the Spanish government is seeking to prevent this operation with the aid of the Italian company Enel. "The financial operations that concern the strategic sectors of the economy are always followed very closely by governments. No State can remain impassive when a leading company that has inherited from a former monopoly and thus grown a considerable size falls into the hands of foreign capital. Italy, France, Germany and Portugal have all done the same. ... It is very likely that the investment of Enel [in Endesa capital] will open a new era in relations between Spain and Italy that will see both governments tone down their criticism of certain operations. In this context, so long as Endesa stays in Spanish hands, we will be able to see Telefonica merge with Telecom Italia and Arbetis with Autostrade [a project that Rome sunk]." (01/03/2007)

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With the bill for the Olympics predicted to rise by as much as four times to an astonishing £9bn, Nicolas Hytner, director of the National Theatre in London is worried that "in salvaging a single magnificent sporting event, the government could squander 10 years of cultural investment. Ten years of Gordon Brown at the Treasury have been good for the arts. Subsidy has doubled.... [a recent Italian study] revealed that far fewer Italians visit museums or go to the theatre than we do. The birthplace of opera and cradle of the Renaissance, Italy has intermittently subsidised its performing arts much more generously than we ever have. But arts patronage in Italy and the rest of Europe has historically been at the whim of the prince or the state, and for their glory. By contrast, arts patronage here has put at the top of its agenda the engagement of the widest possible public with the best possible art. As a result, nowhere are more people more often galvanised by the best their performing artists have to offer." (28/02/2007)

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Miguel Gaspar analyses the results to a study according to which the Portuguese are proud of their history but are doubtful about their future. "The way we talk about ourselves is like a diagnostic: we resemble manic-depressives swinging between euphoria and depression. But, come sun-down, only the sad side remains. It is as if the party did not deserve a place in our memories because of its ephemeral nature. ... The authors of the study tell us that being Portuguese is something that is assumed with pride, but hesitantly. They are very proud of their past, but not of current times. The likes of Vasco de Gama and Luis de Camoes are to be found in history... As for the present, according to the researchers, there is no motive to be proud of the way the economy or democracy work. If this is the case, it can be said that the Portuguese are proving somewhat lucid. ... We have been observing our society through a decadent prism for a long time. Will we one day be able to conquer our deep-set, structural pessimism?" (01/03/2007)

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