Andreas Ross criticises Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's decision, saying that Balkenende failed to make his position sufficiently clear in the campaign on the EU referendum: Back then, "Balkenende surrendered the terrain to the obstructionists of both the left and right wing, who then managed to persuade the majority of the Dutch population... The government's venerable council of state has already set down in writing that it doesn't consider the planned EU reform treaty to be so revolutionary as to necessitate a referendum from a legal point of view. However, the same applied to the previous text, whose (unofficial) title 'constitution' was misleading. Politically Balkenende is running the risk that the electorate could see his grand coalition as a return to a closed elite circle that prefers to decide for the people instead of letting them decide. Left and right-wing populists are lining up to denounce this." (24/09/2007)

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The daily considers that a referendum is necessary in the Netherlands. "Ratification from the electorate can provide the legitimacy that this new treaty is still lacking. By playing the referendum card, the PvdA labour movement and the VVD liberals can also isolate the only opponents to this new treaty, who are the SP socialists and the PVV conservatives. These two parties, albeit utterly opposed on all other matters could then form an opportune coalition to lead voters to vote no. If the PvdA and the VVD want above all to avoid the little risk of a new test facing voters, they will have to foot the bill in the next elections." (25/09/2007)

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Gisela Sutart is a labour MP, and is adamantly in favour of a referendum despite the party leader Gordon Brown's hesitation. "The notion that a referendum is inimical to Britain's parliamentary democracy is wrong. It is surprising that this should be coming from ministers in a government that committed to wider consultation and has introduced more referendums than any previous administration. ... Of course, referendums can be manipulated but, in the wrong hands, so too can elections. In a mature democracy like Britain's, referendums are complementary to representative democracy rather than its antithesis. ... Most importantly, the case for a referendum rests on the fact that the Government promised one in its election manifesto in 2005. ... It's time for the Government to stick to the promise made at the last election. In the end it will reap political dividends." (25/09/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » United Kingdom, » Europe
All available articles from » Gisela Stuart

Interviewed by Jean-Louis Aragon about the educational function of rugby, the French philosopher Catherine Kintzler says that "Rugby has a role to play. The fact that it can't be played on the tarmac after school is both a handicap and an advantage. Rugby is not a recreational sport for playgrounds. It needs to be supervised, because any wrong moves can be dangerous. Rugby can forge characters by training people to master strength and violence. If completely forbidden, violence comes back in the most terrible forms. We have the right to be strong and violent, to knock over, but according to certain rules. It is a transposition of the violent relationships that exist among people in everyday life. In rugby the violence is clear, confessed. In order for it to be confessable, there is a limit to which moves are allowed." (24/09/2007)

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Last week the Slovakian parliament voted by a large majority to have the post-war decrees passed by former Czechoslovakian President Edvard Beneš declared inviolable. On the basis of these decrees, Hungarians and Sudeten Germans living in the country after the war were first deprived of their rights and property and then partly expelled from the country... In an interview with Renata Havranová, Slovak political scientist Miroslav Kusý describes the step as a great mistake: "In my opinion the negative reactions of the Hungarians are justified. It is inappropriate to revive this old spirit in the 21st century. Václav Havel apologised in the Czechs' name to the Germans. We have never done this regarding Hungary, yet the two cases are very similar. Naturally the parliamentary decision will have a negative impact on bilateral relations, which are already poor. The Slovaks should apologise to the Hungarians." (25/09/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » History, » Hungary, » Czech Republic, » Slovakia
All available articles from » Miroslav Kusý, » Renata Havranová

Two Spanish soldiers were killed and six wounded in an attack in Afghanistan where several European countries have sent troops. For Valenti Puig, "In the EU, there is talk of a common foreign policy and a European army, but NATO's difficulty coordinating operations in Afghanistan suffices to understand why everything is advancing so slowly. In addition, NATO wishes to eliminate its fast action force. It claims that it will give it up after Iraq, but the world never stops being in conflict. Some Europeans want to be on the front line of a globalised world, but this is just a dream for the time being. ... The 27 members have yet to ratify clause of solidarity in matters of defence that would allow everyone to react if another is attacked." (25/09/2007)

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All available articles from » Valentí Puig

The Grand Duke Henry, Luxemburg's Head of State, went to Kososvo on Monday, September 24th, where the Luxemburg army is engaged in peace missions. For the editorialist Laurent Moyse, "This displacement is in line with the Luxemburg army's efforts to contribute through missions abroad to the pacification of regions exposed to violence. ... Since the end of the Cold War, the role of the Luxemburg army has evolved. Its work is no longer limited to national territory or the Old Continent. ... If the army maintains its function of protection and intervention, it should get in step with the beat of its surroundings. Having never pulled much weight in the military scales, because of its size, it can only benefit from the absence of conflict in Europe. In this respect, its contribution to the stabilisation of the Balkans is more than a mere formality." (25/09/2007)

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The daily comments on the speech Gordon Brown delivered at the annual Labour Party conference on Monday, September 24th. "This was a multi-purpose speech, workmanlike in tone, more than competently delivered and with just enough specifics to double as an election manifesto, should the need arise. And if not, well, the other message - no less appropriate to yesterday's task - came across loud and clear: the seductive brilliance of Tony Blair may no longer reside at Number 10, but the party and the country can rely on serious-minded, dependable Gordon Brown to work hard for the equally hard-working people of Britain." (25/09/2007)

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Finland's population is aging particularly rapidly, the daily notes, pointing out that this will soon lead to labour shortages. "The country's native workforce is no longer sufficient to maintain our Nordic-style welfare state... Closing our job market to foreigners in 2004 was a mistake we will pay for dearly. Other countries were more courageous. Our companies have already taken the law into their own hands and begun bringing in workers from abroad. At the same time we should take foreign workers already living in the country out of the legal grey zone." (25/09/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Demographics, » Finland

Estonia's President Toomas Hendrik Ilves has called on Estonians living abroad to return to their country. There are serious manpower shortages in Estonia. The newspaper criticises the move: "Let's be honest: Ilves' appeal is just empty rhetoric. Anyone who wanted to would have returned to Estonia long ago. This hasn't been the case despite all the reforms. The government even offered to give them back their former property. Estonia was open to all who wanted to come here but the only ones who came were fortune hunters and adventurers. Few have actually stayed and adapted to life in Estonia... We should instead concentrate on making sure that no more qualified workers leave Estonia." (25/09/2007)

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More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Demographics, » Estonia

The founder of the Slow Food movement, Carlo Petrini, considers the British born concept of Food Miles, the distance covered by food before landing on western markets and how this transport contributes to global warming. "I am not saying that the transport of food has become politically incorrect and that it should be abolished. I am not saying that people in Alaska should eat nothing but salmon, moss and seaweed. But we need to demonstrate a little common sense and move towards the abolition of useless transport ... . Talk of local economy does not propose a closed self-sustaining model. In terms of food it means rationalising production and consummation with respect for local cultures, biodiversity and public health." (25/09/2007)

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All available articles from » Carlo Petrini

Until recently Bulgaria's consumption of organic products was limited to herbal teas. This is now changing, the newspaper reports. A state prison recently got in touch with the "Balkan Biocert" organisation to find about possibilities for producing organic products in prisons. Moreover, a number of food products falsely labelled as organic have recently appeared on the market. The daily comments: "What these two incidents have in common, besides the criminal element, is that they are symptomatic of the expected boom for organic goods in Bulgaria. Interest in these products is growing. Fake organic products are simply proof of this sector's potential." (25/09/2007)

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All available articles from » Svetlomira Gyurova, » Siya Velinova

Polish journalist Andrzej Rybak, who lives in Germany, wrote a bitter obituary on liberal Poland in the Financial Times Deutschland on 21 September. He criticised the election campaign tactics of the Kaczynski brothers' governing PiS party and accused the opposition of remaining silent. Marek Magierowski gives an indignant response: "Andrzej Rybak called his article in the Financial Times Deutschland 'My Poland'. This is a fitting title because what he describes there is based on the prejudices, fears, phobias, lies and manipulations of just one person: Andrzej Rybak. But the problem is that this picture of Poland will become fixed in the minds of the German and European elites... The author must have wanted to outshine his colleagues from the Süddeutsche Zeitung and El Pais by painting an even darker picture of Poland... Comparisons with Putin have already become routine, so Rybak decided to use Stalin." (25/09/2007)

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All available articles from » Marek Magierowski

Florence Gaillard analyses the Tecktonik, a new dance invented in France that is very popular among teenagers. "A white pop culture is said to be growing in France. But beware amateur theory spinners, this sociological interpretation is contested by numerous tecktonicians who are making no collective claims linked to the skin colour, neighbourhood or social class. Tecktonik is not a ghetto phenomenon; its followers don't carry a political message and couldn't care less about rebelling against parental authority. However, there is some dissidence and a bit of a history: the pioneers of Hardstyle [another dance that inspired Tecktonik] are already shunning the success of their dance among the barely pubescent. They claim Tecktonik has lost its original identity by becoming a national and international commercial phenomenon." (25/09/2007)

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In an interview with Justo Barranco, the Spanish writer Javier Marías laments the current attitude society has to death, a theme that features in his latest book 'Tu rostro mañana' (Your Face Tomorrow). "[Compared to times of war], today's society is too coward, it exaggerates a bit. Human life is of course sacred, but in less silly times people didn't make such a big thing out of it. It was admissible for people to die. Now we are trying to eliminate chance, as if we were perfect. Everything that diverges from the given order is experienced as great tragedy. This may be so on a personal level, but it is not a tragedy in itself, as was seen with the death of the young footballer [Antonio Puerta, who died last August 28th]. It seems that the only way for death to be considered bearable these days is to turn it into a spectacle." (25/09/2007)

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All available articles from » Javier Marias, » Justo Barranco

Last week a Romanian school teacher was caught taking a hefty bribe from a pupil in exchange for a good grade during an exam. Melania Mandas Vergu comments: "I don't know exactly what goes on in the head and heart of a pupil when he hears his teachers preaching about honour, fairness and other moral values, knowing that his straight A average was bought for a couple of million lei. He knows this because he's heard his mother and father talking about it. The child knows that adults lie and he's confused because he hasn't yet learned to say one thing and do the opposite. But he will - after all, he goes to school!" (25/09/2007)

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