"We should welcome the Euro as if it were a newborn child: with unlimited affection and a lot of patience until it is able to 'stand on it's own two feet', and we are happy to have 'adopted it', considers the Cypriot daily."The historical change of currency that Cyprus is going through opens a new chapter full of hope for our children, who will not of course be faced with problems of adapting to it. It is up to grown-ups to go through teething problems this time. This change will have a profound impact on the Cypriot economy and society. ... So this is a new era for Cypriot society. Perhaps it will see the reunification of the island. In the northern quarter, occupied by the Turkish army for 33 years, certain shops have decided to adopt the European currency even though it won't be the official currency. And thus let us note that on our euros, the name of the island is also inscribed in Turkish (Kibris). May we therefore see the euro as an opportunity to feel a little more European." (02/01/2008)

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The Maltese daily is glad to see what it considers "the logical step after Malta became a member of the European Union nearly four years ago. ... There were some who thought Malta should have waited longer to make this important step. But the country's progress enabled it to meet with the established criteria within a rather short time and, here we are, with euro notes and coins in our hands. We have been preparing for this day, and the National Euro Changeover Committee, which was entrusted with the plans to make the transition as smooth as possible, did a good job. ... Those of us who have not yet started thinking in euros should do so. It would be wrong to continue trying to convert euros back into lira in our minds. The faster we learn to appreciate the value of the euro and 'forget' the lira, the faster we will get used to the new currency." (01/01/2008)

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"The story of the euro is primarily one of benefit to European citizens", considers the British daily. "Perhaps the soundest indicator of the currency's success is the fact that nation states are still eager to become part of the eurozone. Cyprus and Malta joined yesterday, adding 1.2 million people to the 320 million Europeans already using the single currency. Both nations are expecting boosts to their economies as a result of easier access to the vast markets on their doorstep. Meanwhile, four of the other 2004 accession states have linked their currencies to the euro in an exchange rate trading band. The eurozone will grow steadily larger in the coming years. And as it does so it will grow stronger. Our own government's decision, along with Denmark and Sweden, to remain on the sidelines is looking increasingly bizarre." (02/01/2008)

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The extension of the Eurozone is particularly positive for the German economy, says Alexander Hagelüken. "In early boom phases, the Deutschmark was not linked to the dollar but rather to the French franc or Italian lira – and so export prices rose all around. Now, the strong home currency of Daimler and Co. has less of an inhibiting effect than before, because these days the firm sells half of its products without a markup to countries that pay in the same currency. This is a blessing for the time being. The recovery, endangered by financial crises and the bumpy US business cycle, is stabilised by the euro. ... But there's hardly anything in life that's free. The euro secures exports, but it also imports competition. ... In the monetary union, it's no longer enough to look toward the next elections. Politicians also have to keep an eye on the competition from euro-neighbours, lest they hurt their own constituents." (02/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Alexander Hagelüken

The writer and CNRS sociologist reacts to the smoking ban which comes into force in France this January 1st 2008. "Society's new sanitary order seems to be well and truly imposing itself on the ruins of an era when a taste for freedom and for life was expressed through plumes of smoke, now the symbol of a grave, unhealthy mistake. ... This impression of living 'the end of an era' curiously coincides with the disappearance, both ostensible and insidious of individual freedoms in the name of an optimised management of society. ... The public health care economy justifies an increasingly coercive control of private life, the body belongs less and less to individuals who are finding themselves obliged to consider it a product they are responsible for. Hence the multiplication of dietary, sanitary and biological advice destined to become applicable norms." (01/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Henri-Pierre Jeudy

Smaller nationalities and other minorities are the avant-garde of Europe, says writer Karl-Markus Gauß in his speech accepting the Central Europe Prize. They have managed "to define themselves to some extent as national and cultural multiple personalities," Gaus explains in the speech reprinted by the newspaper. "The first lesson we have to draw is something they have mastered long ago – it is part of their historical, primal experience: that you only have a future if you don't try to maintain a kind of assiduous forgetfulness of the past. ... If they give up their collective memory, if they give up any interest in how they became what they are, they've already lost. They simply can't tolerate the feeling of losing consciousness; they have to believe that their continued existence depends not only on their enemies or on global influences, but more so upon their own passion, perseverance, pride." (02/01/2008)

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The Franco-Moroccan writer Tahar Ben Jelloun is worried about the racist turn being taken by those seeking to preserve a certain European identity. "The white Judeo-Christian civilisation has opened its doors. It is no longer composed of people who have been European for several generations. This situation poses the problem of identity. What does it mean to be European today ? The increasing arrival of immigrants from non-European countries like northern and sub-Saharan Africa and Asia is transforming and complicating the daily life of Europeans used to living among themselves. ... We have to learn to live with others and accept the idea that we are not alone and will never be alone again. ... Extra pedagogical work needs to be done to build a mobile European identity that will never resemble the petrified statues we find in parks." (31/12/2007)

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"As president of the EU Council, Slovenia now will be primus inter pares [first among equals] in the EU, for half a year," Igor Mekina happily notes at the start of the year. "The presidency of the EU Council is an historical event, especially since it is a one-off for many member countries: the process of presidential rotation will be dropped after ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. But the EU Council presidency also has its pitfalls. The first will be the question of Kosovo, because there will be conflicts between those who support independence for Kosovo and those who still abstain, but reject that solution. If decisions are to be made regarding this conflict, Slovenia will have to choose between two advisors on either side of a constantly deepening divide. ... The search for a compromise could turn into a mission impossible." (02/01/2008)

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Fifteen years ago, Czechoslovakia was divided and two states were born. Czech commentator Bohumil Doležal comments in the Slovakian newspaper: "The prognosis circulating back then among Czechs that Slovakia would have to pay through the nose for its 'ungratefulness' (vis-à-vis Czechs) has not materialised. For Czechs, the separation was briefly advantageous from an economic standpoint, but by now Slovakia has surpassed us with the pace of their reforms. ... The outcome of the peaceful separation of the federation is the creation of two new neighbour states in our region whose relationship can be described as idyllic. Their ancestral heritage has left practically no dark cloud behind. If that's the result of the division of the country, it was worth it." (02/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Bohumil Doležal

The bad EU grades for Bulgaria and Romania are a burden on candidates for EU accession from the West Balkans, writes Doris Kraus. "So it's a rather unfortunate coincidence that Bulgaria and Romania's first year of membership in the EU is currently being graded, and at the same time no one knows how to proceed with the West Balkan states in general and Kosovo in particular. Because most political actors privately admit that last year's accession of Bulgaria and Romania was a mistake. The facts are on the table. These countries were neither politically nor economically ready for the EU, and they've slipped further since receiving the carrot of EU-accession. 'We can't let it happen again,' say the most direct critics. ... The West Balkan states will have to pay the political price." (02/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Doris Kraus

David Wagner bitterly regrets the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty on December 13th. "The Lisbon text consecrates the stability pact and the sacrosanct budgetary discipline. It calls for improved military capacity and the privatisation of public services, notably the energy sector. Ultraliberal Europeans are faced with quite a challenge. They are not interested in such trifles as a flag or an anthem. Indeed they wasted no time in purging the text of these elements. They couldn't care less about the European spirit, so long as the liberal wave continues to fill the pockets of a minority. This is the economy, stupid ! This is why the text had to be passed no matter what. This is how Europe has just experienced its first institutional coup d'etat." (27/12/2007)

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Social networks like Facebook became enormously popular last year. But that's all over, the paper says: "Experts think 2008 will be the year of so-called 'network boredom'. We are logging out. We are no longer consumed with the constant pursuit of messages from networks and from 2,500 'friends' in cyberspace. Why now? Maybe because it has become clear to us just how much time is being stolen from us – time with family, friends or work. Or perhaps it's because the promised value of the IRL (in real life) network was never realized. Or simply because it's more fun to meet in person than on a cold display monitor by night or at work. Aren't real kisses the best, despite all the challenges involved?" (02/01/2008)

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"Brussels is a ghetto, assailed from all sides by nations, by national political classes and above all by national media", explains Philippe Cayla, CEO of the television channel Euronews. "National media don't want anything to do with Europe. Europe poses a threat their intellectual comfort and their status. It bothers the way they consider their daily task which, according to them, is to confirm each country's impression that they are the greatest, the most beautiful, the strongest, the most amiable. ... How can the EU's leaders be given a media aura by Europe's different communities if they remain invisible and unheard? Such an aura, whether we like it or not, is indispensable not only for public recognition, but also for European citizens to be able to identify to their leaders." (02/01/2008)

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In conversation with Iranian philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo, Polish film director Andrzej Wajda suggests there is decreasing interest in Polish cinema abroad. "Today, Polish cinema has very little opportunity to be shown outside Poland. Its appeal used to be based on the Berlin Wall. Everyone wanted to know what was behind that wall. Stalin, and then the Soviet Union, engendered fear with the Cold War. And everyone wanted to know if the people behind the Iron Curtain really wanted this War. Since the wall came down, there is no more secret. We have become one of many countries - in Europe, too - trying to build an indigenous cinema arts." (29/12/2007)

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All available articles from » Andrzej Wajda, » Ramin Jahanbegloo

"From the Kádár regime, we have inherited the gift of differentiating between alternative and official art," suggests media expert Péter György, who considers Hungarian cultural politics inappropriate and awkward. But it is nevertheless gratifying that an alternative infrastructure is emerging for contemporary visual arts, independent of the state. "The ministry and its institutions only accept as art that which is financed directly with tax money. That's embarrassing. It's just not the case that successful contemporary artists should depend on official recognition. Rather, the state should recognize that it would be in its own interest to participate in the careers of these artists. Its job should be to stand up for the future of those institutions that have emerged in today's cultural space, where the fate of Hungarian culture is decided." (02/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Péter György

One person has been killed and 473 have been wounded in Italy as a result of traditional firecrackers and shots fired into the air to celebrate the new year. The anthropologist Marino Niola ponders this sad toll. "This is a thousand-year-old rite practised in the most diverse societies, which celebrates the end of the year with fire and noise: fire, an instrument for purification and renewal, is used to burn away the past's residue whilst lighting up the future. ... But if a passion for fire is itself the residue of ancient rituals, the excess that transforms joy into tragedy is the symptom of an autistic decadence among festive communities. This knocks collective celebration into a sombre, antisocial disintegration of social cohesion." (02/01/2008)

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All available articles from » Marino Niola