"Ukraine's political class has reached an all-time low", Frank Herold concludes in view of the complex power games between Ukraine's prime minister and its president, who "only reached an agreement when confronted with raw violence... All the instruments of this young democracy and constitutional state have been heavily damaged. The president on the one side and the government and parliament on the other are portraying their political bickering as a major state crisis. In doing so they are depriving themselves of the ability to steer the country through the difficulties of political reform. Under unlawful pressure from both sides, the constitutional court has been cast in the role of a conflict-resolving authority. The most recent escalation in the conflict was a reckless attempt to manipulate the constitution to allow the police and other security forces to be used as party political instruments. All this is inevitably shaking the confidence of the people in the wisdom of the chosen path." (30/05/2007)

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According to Eduard Steiner, the fact that a date for new elections has now been fixed will only bring a "temporary de-escalation" of the situation in Ukraine as "the causes of the instability" have not yet been addressed. "He says the only solution can be for Ukraine to look to the West, pointing out that not only Yushchenko but also Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich now want closer ties or even intergration into the EU - although the latter envisages a slower approach and without the NATO option. In particular the financiers of the country's heavy industry sector see their future in cooperation with the West, especially as they fear being swallowed up by their far more powerful brothers of the Russian oligarchy. However, the EU's offer of aid to Ukraine was and still is meagre. This is why leading Ukrainian politicians have come to see the decision to hold the UEFA Cup games in Poland and Ukraine as the best the Europeans can do for Ukraine." (29/05/2007)

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"Until this year, the conciliatory president Viktor Yushchenko was on the defensive, to the despair of his supporters", notes the daily. "But in April he finally put his foot down, and ordered new elections. Mr Yanukovich resisted, precipitating last week's confrontation. The trouble is that elections will do little to change the power balance between the two sides. Mr Yanukovich will almost certainly return as head of the largest party, followed by the fiery Yulia Tymoshenko, Mr Yushchenko's erstwhile Orange Revolution ally. The president may well end up holding the balance of power, and they will be forced to sit down and negotiate. The outlines of a compromise exist. Most Ukrainians back closer ties with the EU, but they also have doubts about joining Nato. Almost all agree Russia will continue to play a big role in Ukraine, above all in energy, although they are divided about the merits of Moscow's influence. As a buffer zone, the country cannot afford to tip too far towards Russia or the west." (30/05/2007)

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Marcin Bosacki compares Poland's potential to act as middleman in the present governmental crisis in Ukraine with its potential back in the days of the 2004 Orange Revolution. He comes to the sad conclusion that the country has lost its influential role as the EU's Eastern Europe expert. "Neither the Kaczyski brothers nor even Polish Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga are making any serious attempts to win the opposition's support for their foreign policy. Nor are they in a position to persuade Europe of the advantages of Poland's vision of a European policy for Ukraine, because they themselves are regarded as a problem by most of their partners within the Union... Even the 'Oranges' themselves now prefer the Germans rather than the Poles in the role of their advocates in the West. 'Perhaps they're less enthusiastic about our cause than you are, but they have much more clout in Europe,' is what the diplomats in Kiev are saying." (30/05/2007)

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Abolish copyright law and crush the culture monopolists, demands Joost Smiers, political scientist and director of the research department for art and economy at the Utrecht Academy of Art: "Abolishing copyright law would considerably diminish the power of today's culture industry, but this doesn't necessarily mean that its reign would come to an end. Established companies would continue to control the production, distribution and marketing of cultural assets. This is one of the reasons for their continued success: their absolute power over works of art, from their production to the end consumer. And this distribution model also determines which films, books and theatrical productions make it to the consumer. Therefore the culture market must be subjected to tighter competition laws. The big companies should be down-sized so that individual companies no longer have a major influence over what we see, hear and read." (29/05/2007)

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Joëlle Farchy, professor of information and communication at the Sorbonne, ponders the notion of cultural exception. "Cultural exception, in reality, is not the French exception; it is culture in relation to other products, not the singularity of France. Cultural goods are 'exceptional', firstly because these have intrinsic characteristics which render them vulnerable to market forces: high fixed prices are applied to the production of prototypes that are dependant on the considerable liabilities of success or failure; they are above all 'exceptional' products because they are the expression of an artist's view on the world as well as of the values of the community he or she belongs to." (29/05/2007)

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The Spanish daily comments on the refusal of Maltese authorities to welcome 26 illegal immigrants who were picked up off the coast of the island by a Spanish trawler on Saturday, May 26th. "Malta's attitude is particularly grave, because it goes against the demands of EU solidarity ... . It is unacceptable for an EU country to have such a prejudiced attitude towards a boat of another member state which simply did its duty. Or does Malta consider that united Europe should leave the ship wrecked to perish at sea? The European Commission and the European agency for the management of external borders (Frontex) have decided to open an inquest in order to decide which law should be applied in such cases. It should be hoped that this will serve as a basis to establish a code of conduct to be applied at least among European partners." (30/05/2007)

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

The conservative Swedish government wants to follow Finland's successful example and introduce a reform which would make employing the services of housekeeping personnel tax deductible to the tune of around 10,000 euros a year. The reform is aimed at reducing everyday stress in family life, creating jobs and cutting down the amount of illegal work. However, the proposal is controversial, and the left-wing opposition in particular is accusing the government of creating a new "society of maids". The newspaper argues against these views: "It's a commonly-held belief, and at the same time a prejudice, that washing and ironing and doing the things that are generally done in a household for strangers has to be degrading... And of course it's true that conditions for maids were sometimes degrading. But it's just as true that such social conditions ceased to exist long ago. Those who work in the service sector nowadays are no longer diffident 'maids'." (30/05/2007)

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The editorialist Bernardo Valli considers that "the victory of French president Nicolas Sarkozy's camp in the legislative elections scheduled for June 10th and 17th is almost certain. Ever since the presidential mandate has coincided with that of members of parliament, the risk of cohabitation has practically disappeared. The National Assembly, elected on the basis of the presidential project cannot escape its influence". According to Valli, the only suspense concerns how big the socialist defeat will be. Beyond the fact that Ségolène Royal, the defeated presidential candidate, is not supported by her socialist comrades, "there is great fear within the left: fear of being utterly decimated in the coming elections. After the presidential defeat, everyone agrees on the necessity to reform the party. But first of all the vote has to be faced, along with the conviction that no socialist after François Mitterrand will ever again be elected president." (30/05/2007)

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Two ministers who held office during Czechoslovakia's post-communist period, former Minister of the Interior Richard Sacher and former Defence Minister Miroslav Vacek, have been exposed as former collaborators with the StB, the communist secret service. Files on the two ministers were found in around two hundred previously unsorted sacks of papers that were supposed to be destroyed during the upheaval of the fall of communism. "Is it scandalous that the ministers worked for the Stasi ?" asks Martin Zverin. "Of course. But is it surprising? No. ... If 18 years after the fall of communism the names of prominent agents for the communist apparatus of repression are still being revealed and the public is still interested, this is an expression of its frustration that the promised confrontation with the past has been a very selective process. The same goes for the police's investigation of corporate crime. The big fish have been able to sit back and relax. Only once we are convinced that our communists can no longer do any harm will we cease to take an interest in such new revelations." (30/05/2007)

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All available articles from » Martin Zvěřina

As the tension is currently increasing between the EU and Russia over several domains, the General José Loureiro dos Santos considers that these diplomatic confrontations may destabilize the EU. "Firstly, this is going to lead to reinforced transatlantic ties (contrary to what Russia claimed), despite hesitations in some countries concerning the American anti-missile shield [due to be installed in Poland and the Czech Republic]. Secondly, the EU could be institutionally weakened by an even more strongly marked rejection of the European Constitution with member states wishing to preserve their sovereignty in domains linked to security. Thirdly, no time will be wasted in seeking alternative energy suppliers, thus bringing Europe and Africa closer together". (29/05/2007)

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Since it achieved independence, Slovenia has been trying to gain direct access to the sea, which however can only be through Croatian territory. The opening of a 19-kilometre-long motorway between Zagreb and the Slovenian city of Maribor prompts Franc Milosic, Rok Kayzer and Ales Stergar to reflect on the old plan. "Croatia yesterday opened its third motorway which leads across the Slovenian border, but drivers are in for a shock when they see what awaits them on the other side: a two-laned country road... It's still not possible for transit traffic to drive all the way through Slovenia on motorways." The commentators see this as the result of a political decision made by the Slovenian Ministry of Transport, which focuses on connecting Slovenian cities while ignoring cross-border routes. They point out that this prioritisation could ultimately work to the advantage of Croatia if the latter chooses to demonstrate its gratitude. "The principle is simple: access to the sea in exchange for access to motorways. Then EU membership is just round the corner." (30/05/2007)

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From 2011, the Nabucco pipeline running between Turkey and Austria is to supply several EU member states with Iranian natural gas in a bid to reduce their independence on Russian imports. Mihnea Maruta was therefore surprised to learn that all the Nabucco countries with the exception of Romania have now approved of plans for natural gas imports from Russia. "These are the facts: Turkey has a direct pipeline to Russia which was agreed on in a partnership agreement signed in 2005. It's called the Bluestream pipeline and runs along the bed of the Black Sea. In March 2007 the government in Budapest signed an agreement with Moscow for the Bluestream to be extended to run from Turkey through Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia to Hungary. Agreements for oil pipelines between Greece and Moscow followed. Last Thursday Putin visited Vienna and gave his approval for a contract between Gazprom and OMV for the construction of huge storage facilities in Austria, which are to provide the rest of the country with a constant supply by 2027." (30/05/2007)

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The columnist Zoe Williams deplores the" 'Big Donor Show', a controversial reality TV show in the Netherlands, to be broadcasted on Friday, June, 1st. "A 37-year-old Dutch woman, identified only as Lisa, is dying of a cancer, but is not expected to damage her kidneys, which, in consequence, are going begging. Three contestants, aged between 18 and 40, all with degenerative kidney illnesses, will compete on telly to see who is the most likeable, as deemed by the viewers. The viewers will then text Lisa to tell her who should get one of her kidneys. Politicians from across the spectrum are disgusted, but still struggling to find anything illegal in it. Less edifying than the breast-beating is the fake justification of the programme makers that this 'highlights the problem of organ-donorship' and could thereby save lives. This is post-rationalisation of the most cynical kind. ... TV is interesting because it's ethically lawless. ... this industry was born of an age we proudly call post-ideological, and understands nothing but money." (30/05/2007)

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As the multi media artist Sophie Calle prepares to represent France at the Venice Biennale this summer, the journalists Erwan Desplanques and Virginie Félix have interviewed her about her work. She will be presenting a work inspired by a recent separation. "Two years ago, I received a letter breaking off a relationship I was in. I had already noticed that playing with events in my life helped me to take a step back and adapt to painful situations. So I reclaimed the letter and it worked, the artistic project soon replaced the pining. I got so excited about the idea that I was almost afraid the man might come back. Thus, for the Biennale, I asked women to interpret the letter according to their profession. The proof-reader corrects spelling mistakes, the cruciverbalist creates a cross-word grid, the criminologist draws up a facial composite." (30/05/2007)

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