The Spanish daily El Mundo comments that the crisis summit in Brussels has demonstrated that the principle of consensus is blocking a plausible EU foreign policy: "Once again the members of the Union have shown that to reach a consensus they seek a common denominator which is then reduced to pleasing rhetoric that lacks any substance. ... They confine themselves to demanding 'responsible action' from Moscow and overlook the fact that the Russians have ignored the compromise negotiated by [current EU President Nicolas] Sarkozy without suffering any consequences. The crisis in Georgia has once again shown the inability of the EU to present a coherent and plausible foreign and security policy. ... Although it is a worthy goal for the European Union to honour its name and act in consensus, the crisis in Georgia has yet again shown that the main task of the EU is establishing a foreign policy. We must not allow our ability to act jointly to constantly get in the way of our determination to achieve results." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » Russia, » Europe

According to the Gazeta Wyborcza, the summit meeting demonstrated a swing of opinion: "The Old Europe has begun to view Russia with its second, eastern eye. ... The large countries used to see Russia as a trading partner, an energy supplier and a world power that can (and does) help Europe in Africa, Afghanistan and in the struggle with Iran. We, the nations from behind the former Iron Curtain, saw things differently. For us Russia is a threat - capable of extortion through missiles and trade embargoes. With the invasion in Georgia, Russia has shown the West its darkest side, in which hardly anyone in Berlin or Paris believed. The Germans and the French had heard of such an aggressive Russia from the Poles, Latvians and Lithuanians, but they had explained these accounts away with a reference to our troubled past. Now they believe them. Nicolas Sarkozy said after the summit that a return to the policy of zones of influence is unacceptable, and that Yalta is a thing of the past. These words will resound in the Kremlin for a long time to come." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » Europe, » Eastern Europe
All available articles from » Jacek Pawlicki

The Tribune de Genève welcomes the diplomatic path for dealing with Russia adopted by the EU at the summit meeting: "There was little room for manoeuvre. The 27 [member states] ... decided to use the sole weapon available to them in countering Russia's military strength: diplomacy. ... Even if the decision by the EU Council of Ministers may seem laughable at first sight, on second glance it seems as unexpected as it is subtle. Unexpected because it was agreed on without much difficulty by the 27, who many had considered at odds. Subtle because it is less dramatic than the sanctions demanded by some, since it leaves room for dialogue and puts the ball in Russia's court. ... But this affair confirms that the Cold War is over, and that Russia and Europe have entered a mutually dependent partnership." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » Russia, » Europe
All available articles from » Bernard Bridel

For La Repubblica, yesterday's crisis summit introduces a new foreign policy era in the EU. "The summit was a touchstone, and a debut for Europe, which must now stand on its own two feet with neither tutor nor protector. ... Europe is no longer just one element in the balance between two powers, it now regulates the balance itself. ... The new Europe came into the world with the forceps of crisis, and the birth is also a return to the past and the international relations that had seemingly been made obsolete by galloping globalism. ... As regards the classical concept of the balance of forces, admitting Georgia and Ukraine into NATO would have considerably disrupted the balance of the Old Continent." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » Russia, » Europe
All available articles from » Bernardo Valli

A trial at the International Court of Justice in The Hague is due to begin today which will decide territorial rights regarding a 12,000 square metre continental plate in the Black Sea. Romania and Ukraine have been locked in a dispute over the plate, which contains natural gas and crude oil deposits, for decades. The daily Cotidianul examines the potential consequences of a ruling in Romania's favour: "The piece of continental plate we may win contains 100 billion cubic metres of gas and ten million tonnes of crude oil. How rich our country could be once more. ... The raw materials could give us a certain degree of independence from raw material imports, particularly from Russia. This is especially important because so far methods for alternative energy production have given Romania a wide berth. ... But the exploitation of marine deposits is immensely costly and requires expensive infrastructure and technology, and that is provided you have permission to tap these resources in the first place. We cannot simply move our rusty platforms a couple of miles eastwards and mine crude oil and gas that until now has belonged to Ukraine." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Energy, » Ukraine, » Romania
All available articles from » Adrian Ursu

In the first six months of 2008 just as many applications for asylum were submitted in the Netherlands as in the entire previous year. The political weekly Elsevier points out that in other countries the number of applicants for asylum is declining: "But the Netherlands - unlike all other European countries - allows Iraqis and Somalis to apply for asylum without making any distinctions. No wonder the stream of immigrants has set course for the Netherlands. ... The exploding asylum figures are a direct consequence of the cabinet's lenient and careless policy, which is being compounded by [the decisions of] misguided judges. Dutch society is paying a high price for this - financially, too. ... The government constantly tells us that a progressive European asylum policy will be the solution. But there is little to expect from this solution. The current inflow of immigrants has been caused precisely by the fact that with its unqualified admission and comparatively lax intervention policy the Netherlands is moving further and further away from the boundaries that are being drawn up around Europe." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » Netherlands
All available articles from » Syp Wynia

According to Večer newspaper, the political career of British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling is hanging by a thread as a result of his public comments on the UK's poor economic prospects: "Alistair Darling, who is seen as a truth-loving and good politician, may have destroyed his own career and could now be forced into a less important position in the upcoming revamping of the Labour government. The conflict between the chancellor of the exchequer and Downing Street is jeopardising Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans to polish up the reputation of the Labour government." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » United Kingdom
All available articles from » Jože Plešnar

Jean-Vincent Placé, Green politician and chairman of the national association of elected representatives for the promotion of clean energy (FNEPPEP) and FNEPPEP general secretary Christophe Rossinol criticise a political campaign being led in France against wind energy: "The opponents of wind energy are often closely allied with the nuclear lobby. They spend huge amounts of money in an effort to halt the fragile dynamic of wind energy, although the general public stands firmly behind it. ... While the authorities in Germany set much store by renewable energies, in France influential members of parliament are energetically trying to stop wind energy. ... In this destabilisation campaign based on the most barmy of rumours, the saddest one of all in this year of the French European Council presidency is Monsieur Giscard d'Estaing's denunciation of a 'German-Danish wind energy lobby'. Faced with this gale force lunacy we should remember that France has set itself the goal of producing 21 percent of its power consumption through renewable energies by 2010. ... Considering the climatic challenges facing us, it is up to France to set a good example." (01/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » France
All available articles from » Jean-Vincent Placé, » Christophe Rossignol

The daily Kristeligt Dagblad sees Swedish furniture store Ikea's catalogue as a symbol of the growing infantilisation of society. "Not only does the catalogue address its customers with the informal 'du' form, the tone of its text leaves one with the impression that it is aimed at an audience of eleven to twelve-year-olds. ... In addition to its attempt to make children of its customers Ikea is on a moral crusade based on the desire to achieve equality through low prices. ... And equality, according to Ikea, entails everyone being able to buy nice furniture, the implication being that no one should be more distinguished than anyone else in society. In this struggle for middle classness ... we have a fitting example of what [philosopher] Søren Kierkegaard describes as the great levelling of modern times. An attempt to erase all differences between people, which in Kierkegaard's universe leads above all to envy, pettiness and a focus on anything but the intellectual. The Ikea catalogue is a case study for this targeted, levelling movement. ... Ikea presents itself as a caring father figure eager to ensure that all children receive the same treatment. ... The Ikea catalogue encourages [its reader] to dream of revolution and the liberation of the simple. But it also makes you think there are many people out there who would be very happy to be put in a big nursery where all the problems disappear. And where one is spoken to as if one had never left [that nursery]." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Consumers, » Global
All available articles from » Sørine Gotfredsen

Monitor newspaper writes that the Caucasus conflict has revealed the new face of world politics. "The conflict in Georgia escalated into a major international crisis and highlighted some fundamental changes. There is no need to speak of a new Cold War, because we no longer have the global opposition of West and East locked in ideological conflict. ... Certainly, we cannot yet talk of a unified Europe, united in NATO and the EU, with its doors open to the east. Apparently the voices of concern from across the Atlantic which cast Russia in the role of a geopolitical counterweight to the US are not exaggerated. In this geopolitical panorama, the influence of the new Asian colossus cannot be overstressed. After roughly 20 years of American dominance, we have entered a multi-polar world. Its centres are first and foremost the American global power, but also the EU, Russia and China - and soon India as well. Until now the hegemony of the US has been advantageous in maintaining global stability. But after the conflict in Georgia it has become clear that those times are gone." (02/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Tschawdar Kiselinzew

After lengthy negotiations, the merger between the Dresdner Bank and the Commerzbank has finally been settled. For the Financial Times, the deal is exactly the right move for the overcrowded German banking sector. Now the next step is to reform the Landesbanken, or federal state banks, the paper writes: "The new bank that rises from the merger between Commerzbank and Dresdner is expected to scale down Dresdner's battered investment banking operations. It will focus on small and medium-sized companies. If synergies mean that the merged bank can offer better service at reduced cost while raising profitability, the Mittelstand companies that form the backbone of the German economy stand to benefit. ... Small banks have chosen creativity over consolidation. The credit squeeze has now forced some to merge. But if the politicians do not allow reforms of the Landesbanken, that process will lose steam before Germany has the competitive banking system it deserves." (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Financial Markets, » Germany

The daily Latvijas Avīze expresses surprise at the dimensions the language dispute in Belgium has taken on: "One could say the so-called linguistic border is the EU's most closely monitored internal border. In certain hotly disputed areas the authorities have no qualms about using methods that are entirely out of place in a civilised Europe, for instance the decision by the city fathers of Vilvoorde to ban non-Flemish citizens from council flats. ... One can only conclude that not even the most complex state structure in the world can replace a consciousness of national unity. And while Belgian politicians are the most vocal in calling for European integration they are bringing about the division of their own country." (02/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Uldis Šmits

Nyhedsavisen, Denmark's largest free newspaper, was forced for economic reasons to cease publishing on Monday, just two years after it was founded. Der Nordschleswiger, the newspaper of the German minority in Denmark, sees the closure merely as a passing reprieve for the newspapers. "Yesterday a load was taken off the minds of the large print media. Experts anticipate that only two of Denmark's three free newspapers will survive. But without Nyhedsavisen there is now considerably less pressure on the newspapers. There is once more the prospect of new subscriptions, and the price of advertisements will not continue to drop according to the first reactions by media analysts. One man's poison is another man's meat. Nevertheless we do not yet have the all-clear. The Internet poses greater challenges than Nyhedsavisen did. One battle is over, but the newspaper war continues!" (02/09/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Print media, » Corporations, » Denmark

A conflict has broken out on the Baltic island of Usedom between German nudists, adherents of the "Freikörperkultur" or free body culture, and Polish holidaymakers. The weekly newspaper Die Zeit reports from the front line in the "nude beach war". "The birthday suit is older than the swimsuit industry, and beach ordinances are younger than the nudist tradition. What people forget today is that Goethe bathed naked, Bismarck bathed naked, and the royal spa-doctor Richard Kind from Swinemünde on Usedom warned in 1828 against bathing in swimsuits, because they neutralise the beneficial effect of the pounding of the waves. ... The bathing war is as old as bathing itself. It is an irony of history that Swinemünde of all places should fall prey to prudish mores. You will never see a topless woman on the beach at Świnoujście, but you will see masses of people in various states of undress. ... Soon Poles will be warned in Polish of naked Germans, while the Germans will be warned in German of prudish Poles. The finishing touches are being put on the signs." (28/08/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Public Culture, » Germany, » Poland
All available articles from » Evelyn Finger

On the first day of Italy's top league football matches supporters of the SSC Naples football club went on a rampage, causing 500,000 euros in damage to property. In the daily Corriere della Sera writer Claudio Magris criticises the release of the accused football fans from custody. "Why do not gangs of terrorists, thieves and gypsies attack public transport, beating up the passengers and causing damage to property? ... And why do football fans do this on a regular basis? Because the former would be punished while the latter get away scot-free. These criminals dressed up as football fans know that in times when the stadium has taken the place of the church as a refuge for criminals, they will go unpunished. ... Much has been said about deploying soldiers to combat crime. ... If the acts of violence in football continue - and they will - this is above all because strangely enough the state authorities who are responsible for protecting the citizens have decided to turn a blind eye in this case." (02/09/2008)

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All available articles from » Claudio Magris