For the editorialist François Sergent, the proclamation of Kosovo's independence "is not without risk. For the region, first of all, where the creation of this microstate, the size of two French departments, without the least economic viability, and extremely corrupted, risks losing its balance. Europe is vouching for the fate reserved for the province's Serb minority, but also for the 'Egyptians' and Romas, who are hounded and humiliated by the Albanians. What durable solution can Europe guarantee them? Europe has set a precedent that may well haunt this Union, which is intended to overcome nationalism for a long time. The Flemish, Catalans, Basques and Corsicans have been given a perfect opportunity to denounce the double standards of Europe which, since the beginning of former Yugoslavia's dismantlement, has shown neither vigilance, nor unity, nor, consistence." (18/02/2008)

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Gábor Miklós comments: "Given earlier UN decisions, this independence is legally disputable. But it will be considered valid, and the majority of the world will accept the fact that two million Albanians no longer want to live within the bounds of Serbia. Ultimately, Serbian Serbs at the most want to go back to Kosovo as nostalgia tourists, anyway. It is promising… that the politicians in Belgrade have announced they would not resort to force. Perhaps they really have understood that their country can only gain strength through this amputation, and that Serbia without Kosovo will move closer to Europe." (18/02/2008)

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"Belgrade has suffered a series of painful defeats. The Yugoslavia built by Tito has collapsed. Montenegro, which hung on the longest, split from Serbia in 2006. And now Kosovo has taken the same step," writes Cyrill Stieger. But he sees "Serbia's chance for a new start with the loss of Kosovo - even if leading politicians and a large segment of the intellectual elite see things differently and feel they've been abused by the west yet again. Kosovo was always the foreign body in the Serbian state – and a heavy burden. Now, Belgrade can finally free itself from this disastrous fixation on the so-called national question. It can shake loose once and for all this inheritance of Milosevic, and put all its energy into tackling economic and social problems. Stubborn resistance only leads to isolation." (18/02/2008)

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Adam Szostkiewic thinks EU recognition of Kosovan independence would be a positive signal to Muslims. "The warnings that recognition of Kosovo would encourage separatists in Spain, Belgium, Slovakia or Romania are not convincing. The context there is different. … Recognition is not to be seen as tantamount to the anti-Serbianism that some are fed at their mother's breast, nor should it be considered a congenital rejection of the Orthodox Church or of Russia. In this case, there are other key considerations, including the fact that Kosovo bears a Muslim stamp. A gesture of support for its independence, by Europe and the USA, would have an important political impact: We don't believe in the war of the west against the Islamic world. Welcome!" (18/02/2008)

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Andrés Ortega is concerned about the future of this new state. "Beyond the declaration of independence, it has to be said that Kosovo finds itself in a state of dependency. The country is neither ready, nor viable. Kosovo needs international help on every level- economic, military, police and administrative- to survive and be transformed into a state that is worthy of its name. ... This independence is a European failure, no doubt not the last, for there still remain many problems to be resolved in this long and bloody dismembering of the former Yugoslavia, of which the separate parts, paradoxically, wish, in a future of interdependence, to unite in a European Union that is gradually being filled with small, ethnically homogenous states. ... So a new dependent state has been born in Europe. That's nothing to be proud of." (18/02/2008)

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Under pressure from Catholic lobbyists, London transport recently banned Posters featuring a nude Venus painted by Lucas Cranach before going back on its decision. Columnist Joan Smith reflects on female nudity in the public sphere. "We're so used to pornified images of women, pouting from the covers of men's magazines or writhing on MTV, that a naked woman who doesn't fit into those categories is disturbing. Venus's unadorned, surgically unaltered beauty is an unfamiliar sight these days. ... The idea that the poster is offensive is risible, but it also says something about a society that is balanced precariously between the chasms of exploitation and puritanism. ... Many of us don't like the coarse attitudes to women and sex that have invaded contemporary culture. ... But that's an argument against sexual exploitation, not against celebrating the human body. Fig leaves and their modern equivalents are always products of fear, not respect for women." (18/02/2008)

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A petition in Italy is calling for a boycott of Israeli writers who are the guests of honour in the International Book Fair of Turin, May 8th-12th. It has been signed by, among others, Dario Fo, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature. The French writer Marek Halter is outraged. "Chateaubriand understood that if the Jews are the only people to have survived from Antiquity up until to nowadays, it is thanks to its roots in books. ... All those who have desired the death of the Jews had to start by burning their books. ... During the reign of Louis IX, known as St. Louis, in the 13th century, cart-loads of Talmudic people were burnt on the Place de Grève in Paris, and again, two centuries later, at the time of the Spanish inquisition, and write up to the Nazi autodafés … . Is making literature disappear not the first step towards [the disappearance of Israel] ? Will there always be intellectuals to act as accomplices of such ignominy ?" (16/02/2008)

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French historian Marc Nouschi wonders how realistic the idea of a European history book would be for the classroom. The paper reprints Nouschi's contribution to a discussion in Warsaw in which Adam Michnik and Gesine Schwan also participated. "Is it possible to imagine providing European pupils with one textbook about their common history? I doubt it. We've started doing a French-German textbook. Perhaps there will be a German-Polish one. Then one will need a Maltese-Cyprian one, a Spanish-French one and an Italian-Croatian one. We are sinking into an abyss in whose shadows Putin awaits us like a Minotaur." (16/02/2008)

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Outgoing President Tassos Papadopoulos has been eliminated in the first round of elections held in Cyprus on February 17th. For Lefteris Adilinis, this election marks "the end of an era of nationalism that began with independence in 1960s and reached an apogee in 2004, with the vote against the United Nations reunification plan. Greek Cypriots have not voted for a party, but for a solution to the island's division. They sanctioned Tassos Papadopoulos, who as done nothing to reunite the island and show us how to live, or relive in peace with the other side; a president who, granted, got us into the euro zone and the European Union, but made the best of the division. The young have opted instead for the former Foreign Secretary, Ioannis Kasoulides [DISY, right], who created a surprise by coming first in the first round, after being considered an outsider. He is now up against Demetris Christofias [AKEL, communist], the president of parliament, who has benefited from the popular vote." (18/02/2008)

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Nightly riots have taken place in Denmark for the past week. Youth with an immigrant background have been setting fire to schools and getting into violent confrontations with police. Reinhard Wolff sees this as a protest by the disadvantaged against the country's "structural xenophobia." "The alleged death threat against a Muhammad cartoonist highlights how bad the prospects are today for legal clarity for 'new Danes.' The suspected men, against whom there is no legally binding proof, are simply to be thrown out without a trial. For the right populists, that's exactly what should face all those who set fire to schools and trash containers. In other words, the rule of law and democratic principles will no longer apply to these citizens, who have good reason to feel they are regarded as second-class. ... It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone if Denmark really goes up in flames." (18/02/2008)

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Klaus Zumwinkel, chief executive of Deutsche Post, has stepped down because of charges of tax evasion. Allegedly, he slipped a million Euros past the treasury, depositing the money in Liechtenstein. The coming days will see investigations of other suspects. This scandal will prompt profound change in Germany, suggests Birgit Baumann: "Tax evasion is considered a peccadillo. So many people do it, it can't be so bad. But now we see that the state is hitting back hard, and even the rich can't escape. Ever since the Red-Green labour market reforms, recipients of state transfer payments must strip to their underwear to reveal their financial figures. They'll be checked closely to be sure everything is on the up and up. It is only right to ensure that those on the sunny side of the street are obeying the law." (18/02/2008)

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On February 16th, in the middle of the electoral campaign, the Christian democrat centrist party [UDC, central democratic union] let go of Silvio Berlusoni, leader of the Italian right-wing. Meanwhile, his adversary, Walter Veltroni, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), has unveiled his programme. The editorialist Massimo Giannini notes that Italian political life has changed from a forced cleavage between left and right to an imperfect choice between just two parties. ... We are seeing the formation of a big liberal left-wing, reformist party and a big national, populist, right-wing party ... . On the one hand, the centrist dream of Pier Ferdinando Casini [the central Democratic Union] is being reborn between the two formations, getting in the way of Silvio Berlusconi. On the other hand, the twelve propositions that Veltroni presented on February 16th are the exact opposite of the post-soviet, five-year plan established by the Unione [Romano Prodi's left-wing coalition] two years ago". (18/02/2008)

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"Ever since the British government lent tens of billions of pounds to Northern Rock and guaranteed its deposits, nationalising the bank has looked the best way to protect taxpayers' money. There has been five months of delay during a search for a private sector buyer, but the right choice has now been announced by Alistair Darling, the chancellor", notes the daily as a Bill will be introduced in the Commons this February 18th to give the decision legislative effect. "Nationalisation was never an attractive option; it was the least bad of the limited options available. A private rescue that needed no public money would have been ideal, but Northern Rock was in too much trouble for that. ... Northern Rock's spell in public ownership will be temporary. It will be managed at arm's length. Most of all, nobody claims that Northern Rock will perform better under government control, only that it is necessary because of the straits it is in." (18/02/2008)

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The news reporter Jean Hatzfeld has written several books on the genocide in Rwanda which left 800,000 dead in 1994. Interviewed by Colette Braeckman, he explains that prose, as opposed to journalistic writing, allowed him to "approach the reality of genocide. (...)  A journalist is first and foremost a go-between, someone who links those who experience events and the readers, who tries his or her best to answer questions that readers might ask. Facing a genocide, there is always a lapse of time during which readers do not want to hear anything, whether about the Shoah, the Armenian genocide, or Rwanda, for event is too unthinkable, too exceptional. The journalist is also disarmed ... . In literature, instead of asking oneself the questions that others pose, as a journalist does, you ask your own questions. In fact, you write for yourself, first and foremost. It is not the same approach." (18/02/2008)

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This weekend, the Berlin International Film Festival concluded with its awards ceremony. Christina Tilmann approves the jury's decision to give its top prize to José Padilha: "Taken together, the Golden Bear for 'Tropa de Elite' [Elite Troop] and the jury prize for 'Standard Operating Procedure' turn this into a kind of Nobel Peace Prize of film. Things could be worse for a film festival. The audience drives this trend. ... The curious, engaged audience: this, too, is a Berlin speciality, as opposed to the rather industry-fixated festivals of Cannes and Venice. Politically aware, eager for experimentation, sometimes also capable of suffering. Dieter Kosslick does well by a public that affects the mood of the festival as much as the stars do, by not feeding them with dime-a-dozen American movies." (18/02/2008)

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Radovan Holub sums up his impressions of the Berlin Film Festival, which concluded this weekend: "The Berlinale has revealed an irreversible trend in current cinema. Documentaries are playing a bigger role. Features and documentaries are coming closer together and sometimes they are hard to tell apart," he writes. "For the sake of its own prestige, a festival like the Berlinale must show films made in Europe or elsewhere that could influence the world of cinema. But this kind of film is hard to find in the festival. … The really interesting films vanished in the sections of the Berlinale that were outside the main competition." (18/02/2008)

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