The Estonian daily Postimees was not particularly surprised by Medvedev's announcement: "Let's say Iskander missiles are indeed set up in the Kaliningrad area. So what? Let us not forget that Medvedev's speech was preceded by the annual speech of predecessor Vladimir Putin in which he announced that Russia would be upgrading its weapons arsenal. ... What's more, Moscow already threatened to aim its nuclear weapons at Poland and the Czech Republic when they signed the agreements with the US. And why not Ukraine, too, if it refuses to give up its bid for Nato membership? Russia is dictated by nationalist interests and tends to embark on adventures with an aggressive and expansionist undertone, although that almost sounds like a cliché." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Igor Taro

The daily Latvijas Avize criticises Medvedev's militant rhetoric but urges other nations to remain calm: "The most foolish thing the Americans, Poles, Czechs, Latvians or other politicians from Nato states could do now would be to try to persuade Moscow that our defence systems do not represent a threat to Russia, but are intended to protect against attacks from terrorist regimes. It would be nothing but a humiliation for the world's strongest military alliance to try to justify itself. ... We should simply wait calmly and see what actually happens as regards the announced stationing of Iskander missiles. The war in Georgia demonstrated all too clearly how damaging and antiquated much of Russia's weapons technology is. In the end the only ones to suffer under Medvedev's threats will be the residents of Kaliningrad themselves if their region is further militarised." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Dainis Lemesonoks

Delo newspaper writes that the Baltic states, the Czech Republic and Poland are concerned that the EU's Russia policy must be more consistent: "Despite Russia's threat that it will set up a missile defence shield in Kaliningrad, the European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner has advocated a start to negotiations on partnership and cooperation between the EU and Russia. ... The EU's policy is less consistent than the Russian: on the one hand Europe criticises Russia and on the other it flatters the Kremlin because it is dependent on its energy supplies. ... No one is in doubt in the new Europe that the US will have more understanding for its fears in the future, despite the change in president. ... No real changes are anticipated in US - Russian relations. In EU - Russian relations, however, the former members of the Warsaw Pact at the very least would like to see a little more consistency, or even stringency." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Polona Frelih

The Irish Times writes that US president-elect Barack Obama faces a series of strategic decisions: "[Medvedev's] blunt warning that the new US administration must 'make a choice in favour of a full-fledged relationship with Russia' came in his first presidential state of the nation address since he succeeded Vladimir Putin. It can be read as the opening shot in a new cold war with the West or more convincingly as a clear statement that Russian interests should not be overlooked in any policy reappraisal following Mr Obama's victory. The Democrats are much less committed to missile defence, believing it is technically unproven and prohibitively expensive. ... Mr Obama cannot be seen to be put on the defensive by the Russian announcement, but neither will he want to adopt too hostile a position before he takes up office. This political transition in Washington promises to be much more active and substantive than previous ones." (07/11/2008)

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The Catholic-Muslim Forum which was created after Pope Benedict's much-discussed Regensburg Speech of September 12, 2006, has come to the end after a several-day-long meeting in the Vatican. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica stresses the political character of its closing document. "Christians and Muslims are now to jointly prevent a new explosion of violence in an anti-crisis committee. ... This is more than just an appeal, it is an attempt to establish a common code of behaviour and reads like a political treaty. ... In the final analysis it also represents the first concrete result of the thesis firmly held by the Pope: that the world's religions must measure themselves against the standard of rational public action, and that the proof of this - basically secular - rationality is the respect for human rights." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Marco Politi

There is still no sign of an end to the extremist protests in front of the Slovak embassy in Budapest following police intervention at a Slovakia-Hungary championship football match. The Slovak police had arrested among others a number of Hungarian right-wing extremists who had travelled to the match from Hungary. The prime ministers of the two countries, Robert Fico and Ferenc Gyurscány, who both attended the Visegrad Group summit in Poland, have not been able to defuse the tensions. The left-liberal daily Pravda is not surprised: "The key to improving Slovak-Hungarian relations does not lie with Fico and Gyurscány but with the leaders of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. And at present it serves their interests to keep the fire of antagonism burning. Their recent claims that Slovak Hungarians must fear for their lives were not a cry for help, but rather a battle cry." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Dag Daniš

Czech President Václav Klaus has managed to ensure that the Czech constitutional court's ruling on the Treaty of Lisbon comes so late that Prague will not be able to ratify the document before the beginning of its EU presidency. In doing so he has put the government of Mirek Topolanek in a very embarrassing position, writes conservative daily Lidové noviny, and names the president's reasons for doing this: "The more the Czech Republic is integrated into the EU the more superfluous a man like Klaus becomes. This is why he claims the presidency is of no consequence, saying it's only the major EU states who make the decisions anyway. His message: 'Listen to me, I'll get you out of this mess.' It was to be expected that Klaus would torpedo the EU presidency [of the government in Prague] with comments, alternative meetings and press releases. Why is Klaus risking the failure of his own country? Above all to prove that he is right in everything." (07/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Kateřina Šafaříková

Greece and Turkey signed the Readmission Agreement on the return of illegal immigrants in 2001, however since then Turkey has not respected the agreement. The Greek MEP for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) Marilena Koppa writes in a commentary for To Ethnos: "This is a particularly important subject ... in Greece, in Europe and on an international level. ... One of the burning issues over whether Turkey joins the EU is without doubt its role as a transit country for illegal immigrants wanting to enter the EU. ... It is a serious problem when a country negotiating to enter the EU respects neither EU law nor its bilateral agreement with an EU member." (06/11/2008)

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Former chess champion and current leader of the Other Russia coalition Garry Kasparov analyses in Die Welt newspaper how newly elected US president Barack Obama could deactivate the Kremlin's propaganda against America: "His victory breaks with a familiar image of America that was created in Soviet times. ... Unfortunately there are many in our country who talk about racism in America without even recognising the racism and xenophobia in their own country. But the only thing that will really count is whether Obama behaves differently. He won't have much time, his 'window of opportunity' will only be open for a brief period. The crises to which we are exposed are too serious for the new American president's reprieve to last for long. ... He could make a good start by making it clear that he does not see the people of Russia as America's enemies. As in most authoritarian states, Putin does not represent the majority of the people. The Kremlin propaganda machine works hard to cast America as an opponent. Obama could break this deadlock with one swift blow if he spoke out against the dictatorial leaders in Russia and the rest of the world more clearly than he did in his speech after his election victory." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Garry Kasparov

One reason why the process of European unification is progressing so slowly is because Europeans themselves hardly identify with it, writes Luis Arroyo in El País newspaper: "Europe has a long and common history, but the Europeans aren't aware of it because their memory is dominated by the most recent internal disputes. Europe has a common anthem, but most people don't know it, it is neither listened to nor respected. Europe has a well-known flag, but it is seldom used, and for the most part people only see it on number plates or on construction sites financed with European funds. Many people would get more upset if someone burned the pennant of their favourite football club than if they saw the twelve stars go up in flames. Europe has a positive, direct and palpable influence on its citizens, but its institutions strike them as incomprehensible, bureaucratic, elite or insignificant. There is a Europe Day but hardly anyone notices it. ... And Europe has no common adversary: in the last two hundred years it has not fought together for any common cause. On the contrary, it was the stage of brutal battles among its own people." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Luis Arroyo

The International Monetary Fund has prognosed a worldwide recession with losses of 1,400 billion dollars. The Financial Times Deutschland writes that first and foremost the real economy must be aided with stimulus packages. "If ... the economies of the industrial countries are all shrinking for the first time since World War II, the situation is truly dramatic. Now at the very latest it must be clear to everyone that the crisis is no longer limited to the financial sector. And it is also no longer just a case of saving the banking system from collapse or stabilising it with new regulations. Now it is imperative to allow the real economy to touch down as softly as possible. In view of the accuracy of the IMF's latest findings, at least there is hope that this time policy makers will take its message seriously." (07/11/2008)

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The Danish daily Jyllands-Posten writes about the preparatory meeting of EU heads of state and government ahead of the global financial summit: "They must now try to reach a consensus on the changes in regulations for the global financial sector. This is indispensable for addressing the credit and financial crisis. ... There is not much optimism in the run-up to the summit, because the willingness to cooperate emerged only after it was clear that major consolidated banks threatened to bring down others with them uncontrollably. ... The Eurozone countries have the possibility of using their currency to beat the crisis. But this may not necessarily work to the advantage of the 12 EU countries that do not belong to the Eurozone." (07/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » Global

The liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza criticises the pension privileges of certain professional groups in Poland and backs the government's plans to reduce them: "The pension privileges conflict with Poland's principle of solidarity. ... Under the government's plans around 800,000 people will lose the right to go into early retirement. These privileges are relics of the times of the People's Republic. ... They conflict with the Polish solidarity of which the PiS [opposition party] and President Lech Kaczyński are so fond of talking. For years the strongest groups, which are represented by well-organised trade unions, have prevented the government from depriving them of these rights. In Poland public money usually goes to the strongest. This means there's often nothing left for the weakest." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Agata Nowakowska

The election of the first black US president faces rappers with a dilemma, writes NRC Handelsblad: "Now that Obama has the election victory in his pocket his hip-hop fans are exuberant. But they are celebrating too soon. 'Their' victory after years of fighting for the rights of African-Americans presents them with a peculiar conundrum. They have their first black president, but the same man represents the establishment against which rappers have been battling for years. They will have to search for a new institution and new social issues to make the target of their protests. For the time being they'll have to relegate the theme of the social disadvantages of their fellow black citizens to the closet." (07/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Michiel Bles

The BBC has announced it will cut its Russian service broadcasts by 19 hours a week. In a letter to The Times, a group of writers including Nobel Prize laureate Doris Lessing protests the move: "At a time when in Russia misunderstanding and mistrust of Britain has reached a height unprecedented since the end of the USSR this deliberate reduction in the role of the Russian service seems a perverse concession to those authorities in Russia who have been doing their best to curtail the activities of all British cultural institutions (the BBC and the British Council in particular). The Russian service had a fine record of producing long format features of unique depth and diversity of opinion on matters of serious political and cultural concern. Expansion of internet services is no compensation for the loss of these features. The BBC World Service should be held to account by the press for its inexplicable actions — and everyone who realises that BBC World Service broadcasts are the best ambassadors we have for this country should make their views known." (07/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Media policy, » United Kingdom, » Russia