"If I am deprived of my European seat, I will go home to fight in Poland", explains Bronislaw Geremek in an interview conducted by Ivo Caizzi, the Milanese daily's special Brussels' correspondent. "Today I have chosen civil disobedience, not so much for political motives as to defend fundamental moral values and to come help all the Polish people who are being humiliated by these unacceptable systems. I have fought all my life and spent a long time in prison to defend these moral values and the principles of democracy. Nobody can put my past into question and I cannot silently accept the humiliations imposed by the government on citizens who cannot oppose it. We are moving towards the end of the freedom of the press and the autonomy of information if a minister of Truth can decide who is honest and who isn't, who can do a certain job and who can't ... . I am realising that my country has become an isolated case set apart from the rest of Europe". (26/04/2007)

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Maja Zoltowska, correspondent for the daily in Poland, denounces the lustration law as a "Warsaw-style purge", which is obliging several hundreds of thousands of people to make written declarations of whether or not they collaborated with the former communist police. "The law has given rise to much criticism in Poland, but Bronislaw Gemerek, an emblematic figure of Solidarity, a renowned medieval historian and former Foreign Minister, aged 75, is the only member of Parliament to have said 'no'. ... In terms of the law, a simple refusal entails the loss of all public responsibilities. The Polish political class reacted bitterly yesterday to Bronislaw Geremek's gesture. Geremek's behaviour 'is not helping Poland', said the Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. The reaction of the members of European Parliament is a new slap in the face for a government that has turned 'decommunisation' into its war horse." (26/04/2007)

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"Today, as a member of European Parliament, [Geremek] is pitching his 'J'accuse' recrimination like, all things considered, Zola did in the Dreyfus affair. For it is in the name of the same values of justice and human dignity that he is opposing the law on decommunisation, which, absurd on a judicial level and humiliating on a moral level, has provoked a kind of cold war between the Kaczynski brother regime and a good part of the intellectual and academic elite of their country", writes Pol Mathil. " 'Lustration' is intended to ... settle the twins' old scores not only with former agents [of the communist secret services] but also with that part of the former opposition which, when they obtained power with Walesa, had blocked their path to power, at the birth of democracy in Poland. An attempt to deprive Geremek of his position in the European Parliament, in contempt of ballot results and common sense, would be unworthy of a democratic government and of a big country." (26/04/2007)

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Rafał Ziemkiewicz can't understand Bronislav Geremek's refusal to have his past investigated a second time, because Ziemkiewicz argues, this would not simply be a repetition of the proceeding in 2004: "The new lustration law defines the activities of former unofficial collaborators more precisely. Under the previous law you could have signed a formal obligation to write unofficial reports and have received payment for doing so, yet none of this was regarded as unofficial collaboration because a court would first have to prove that the denunciations in question had harmed somebody. The current lustration law distinguishes much more precisely between the many different forms of collaboration with the former secret police (SB), both in areas of intelligence and counter-intelligence. The old statement could be 'no', and the new one 'yes' and this wouldn't necessarily be a contradiction." (26/04/2007)

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On the 25th April the Italians celebrate the "Day of the Liberation of Italy" and commemorate the end of fascism in 1945. Their Slovenian neighbours, on the other hand, celebrate "Resistance Day" on April 27th. Ervin Hladnik Milharcic comments on the divergences between historical dates in Europe: "If the EU really does decide to write a common history book, it will be very amusing to see how it goes about it... Purely for the sake of experiment it would be interesting to read a common history which spans from Istria to the Scottish lowlands. One could divide history according to these two days which could be celebrated on both sides as the day of remembrance of the beginning and the day of remembrance of the end... However, the question of who liberated whom appears to be impossible to answer." (26/04/2007)

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The Intellectual Live 8 Forum for Africa, which is to take place this weekend in Berlin, prompts philosopher Peter Sloterdijk to reflect on the "globalisation of compassion". He notes an "international change in the moral climate" or what could even be called a "global warming effect", which he attributes to "modern techniques for bridging distances" such as modern means of transport and ultra-high-speed news broadcasting technologies. They have created an entirely new network of virtual neighbours, virtual solidarity and virtual communities which have invalidated the basic data of conventional sociologists. People no longer need to live next to each other to feel bonded; they no longer have to be related to have feelings for each other; they no longer have to cherish the same dreams to feel solidarity with each other; they no longer have to have seen each other in person to do something for each other. I refer to the sum of these relations as long-distance neighbourhoods... If one can talk of the adventure of morals, won't this consist in the coming century above all in the cultivation of long-distance virtues?" (26/04/2007)

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On April 25 the European parliament voted on the EU's progress report for Croatia. It calls for Croatia to resolve its border dispute with Slovenia "once and for all". Stojan Zitko comments: "It also points out to Slovenia that the EU also expects this part of Europe to reach a definitive agreement about borders at some point, without external pressure on both states. The appointment of a mediator instead of the initially proposed arbitration tribunal is a symbolic gesture, because it's not yet clear that we can't reach an agreement on our own. However, it's not just with Slovenia that Croatia has problems regarding its borders, it also has problems with other neighbours." (26/04/2007)

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Having recently interviewed the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Timothy Garton Ash defines the distinctive features of his approach. "What is the essence of Blairism ? His [Blair's] answer could not be clearer: 'It is liberal interventionism'. Blairism is, he elaborates, about a progressive view of the world, starting from the reality of interdependence in an age of globalisation, and acting according to certain values. ... While he argues that Britain's relations with both Europe and the US are stronger than they were 10 years ago, he does accept that the British are still far from his ideal of being 'comfortable' with the double relationship. ... The one thing you cannot credibly claim, at least in regard to foreign policy, is what Simon Jenkins suggested in these pages yesterday: that Blairism is merely 'froth and miasma'. Love it or loathe it, in foreign policy Tony Blair has stood for something - and he can tell you exactly what it is." (26/04/2007)

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On Wednesday, April 25th, the centrist candidate François Bayrou, who came third in the first round of the presidential elections, did not give voters any instructions on how to vote in the second round that will oppose Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy. "The heterogeneous typology of his voters, often estranged from the traditional parties, would have meant that authoritarian instructions would have been in vain anyway", considers Dominique Quinio. "Thus it came as no surprise that he brandished neutrality yesterday, neutrality that is in fact hardly neutral, despite the equally divided criticism of the two challengers: his extremely severe speech regarding Sarkozy showed which candidate he's not going to vote for anyway. It is not clear whether all of his voters will follow him down that path. But claiming freedom for himself, he is offering it to the 7 million women and men who thought a third way might be possible. He is promising them a new political force." (26/04/2007)

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During her term in office the recently dismissed Romanian justice minister, Monica Macovei, pushed for a law that would make it possible to verify the income of members of parliament. Now the bill is being increasingly watered down. The ex-minister explains in an interview with Armand Gosu: "For example, the bill saw it as a conflict of interest for MPs to work as lawyers while in office. The MPs protested and this point was dropped. There are MPs who are lawyers at the same and possibly have rich clients. What guarantee does the public have that these MPs are not influencing the law on behalf of their clients?... But would you, as a politician, vote in favour of a law that requires you to reveal your salary and which could mean you lose your mandate? The European Commission welcomes the law, but if you had the choice would you put yourself or the EU first?" (26/04/2007)

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After the funeral of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Wednesday in Moscow, Lubos Palata was prompted to explore the Czechs' feelings towards Russia. He points out that they misguidely no longer perceive Russia as a European nation. "Russia is a member of the Council of Europe. It recognises the authority of the European Court for Human Rights and has abolished the death penalty. And with the exception of Chodorkovsky, there are no political prisoners in the real sense of the word. Nonetheless, there are no truly free and democratic elections or media. Moreover, Russia is waging a brutal war against Chechen separatists... We consider ourselves superiour to the Russians and Russia. But if you look closely this is not really true. We did not become European simply by joining NATO and the EU. We should therefore show more understanding for the Russians and their problems on their path to becoming a free society than others do." (26/04/2007)

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The Hungarian opposition politician Máriusz Révész has proposed giving parents additional voting rights according to the number of children they have. Otto Neumann comments: "At first glance this is a truly hair-raising idea. How many ballot papers would be distributed to parents, and which parent would receive them? Would it be necessary to have the consultation with one's offspring about their political preferences attested by a notary? But if you think about what lies behind this initiative it seems less problematic: it would be a sign of respect for couples who are prepared to rear children. It would prove that you can't exclude two million citizens from parliamentary democracy. In view of the country's present demographic crisis it would at least send a message. But unlike Révész I don't believe additional voting rights would contribute to boosting the birth rate. This would require more far-reaching changes." (26/04/2007)

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For the editorialist Dionysis Dionysiou, "a survey published on Tuesday, April 24th, revealing that most Cypriots consider the UN mission on the island inefficient is worth consideration. The presence of UN soldiers, on the island since 1964, is of course important, but judged 'inefficient and impotent' by 63% of Greek Cypriots and 54% of Turkish Cypriots. This puts the very role of the UN forces and their lack of sanctioning power into question. But if the UN punished all infractions on both sides, the inhabitants of the Aphrodite's island could be traumatised. Living in a capital divided by a wall is already difficult, if on top of this the soldiers posted along the wall were to become violent, it would be the end. On the other hand, it isn't very reassuring to see these soldiers yawn all day long either." (25/04/2007)

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For the editorialist Paulo Ferreira, the end of Spain's economic boom is nigh, following the alarm bells ringing through the speculative real estate bubble. On Tuesday, April 24th, real estate values plummeted at the Madrid stock exchange. "The real estate fever provoked property accession for two out of three Spaniards, which is almost double the average in the European Union. Despite this, many buildings remain empty, either because they are no longer selling, or because numerous acquisitions were made for easy money. The risk that exists today, reinforced by the rise in interest rates, is a strong fall in prices and a resumption of demand that will leave a large number of families, companies and banks with big losses, whether immediate or potential. The scenario is dark, but real. Just as real as the pall that will be cast over the Portuguese economy". (25/04/2007)

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Paul Jandl reads the novel "Neid" (envy), which the Austrian writer has published online. "Jelinek's new prose consists of brilliantly sharp aphorisms, whose sarcasm is fun to read but is no joke. This book is about life and death, even if on the surface it's about the disappearance of an industrial landscape. That the first-person narrator in Elfriede Jelinek's new novel reflects on, and perhaps even longs for, her own disappearance, is one of the melancholy aspects of 'Neid'... The book will appear solely online, where it will or will not - be continued. The delete key is always at hand for those whose approach to authorship is as radical as that of the Viennese writer. Elfriede Jelinek was one of the first authors to have entrusted this medium with her writing. How private is this kind of public? Thanks to what she refers to as the 'trick ink' of the Internet Elfriede Jelinek becomes a virtual character who, as we can see for ourselves, becomes more real, the more fictional she gets." (26/04/2007)

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As the Velazquez prize for fine arts was given to the Spanish painter Luis Gordillo, on Wednesday, April 25th, Juan Bufill takes the opportunity to give us a glimpse of his art . "'Gordillism' is a joyful neurosis, a colour range that has become rare, a way of wiping out through the saturation of tones, a personal version of surrealism that incorporates elements of pop art and, above all, an almost psychedelic sense of humour based on freedom of thought and poetic delirium. ... The joy of being free and lucid allows him to compensate for the infectious anxieties of a social panorama. Gordillo's legacy is a psych-pop art that can be compared to the music of Talking Heads, which sounds as if it were made today while it is actually being copied by the young." (26/04/2007)

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