Strong incentives are what is needed to combat the downturn, writes the Dutch daily Trouw, but adds that such a plan also entails risks: "For when a government starts using money to boost the economy public debt increases. And it is the European Commission that has the task of ensuring that countries adhere to the Stability Pact for the euro. ... Many countries will quickly transgress that limit next year. That's why flexibility is now the magic word in Brussels. ... In practice the member states will be given enough time to rebalance their deficits. This plan could work out well if the recession doesn't go on for too long. If the economy starts growing again in a year's time, the deficits can be reduced. But if the measures are not very effective the problems will accumulate. Then the member states will pay the penalty for their high deficits for years to come." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Gijs MOES

The business paper Világgazdaság writes: "There is no talk whatsoever of setting up a 'European fund'. Instead, the target of 130 billion euros represents the sum of the measures being taken in all the individual member states to counter the crisis. ... What is striking about this is the fine balance between the possibilities and instruments the community has at its disposal and those the individual EU members have at theirs. ... As we are all aware, the weak point in the EU's economic policy is that plans that are worked out on an EU level can ultimately only be implemented on a national level - with varying results. The current package reflects another attempt by the EU Commission to make the most of its restricted room for manoeuvre. ... But psychology also plays a role: The goal here is to somehow reverse the negative spiral in which the global economy is caught today. And it sometimes takes sensational announcements to achieve this." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » György Fóris

The Italian daily La Repubblica has little hope that the rescue package will be successful. "The Brussels plan has not provided us with a magic formula for mastering the crisis. It simply stipulates that each country spend one percent of its gross domestic product on dealing with the crisis and names several possibilities for how the money should be spent, such as tax cuts, investments in infrastructure and increasing public spending. Officially ... each state has been given a free hand to deal with the crisis according to its particular circumstances. But in reality the suspension of the Maastricht Stability Pact rules and the total freedom governments have been given to act as they see fit regarding the level of their budget deficit is merely a thinly concealed 'it's every man for himself' manoeuvre." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Andrea Bonanni

The Süddeutsche Zeitung writes that Barroso's package will meet with little approval: "Even before Barroso has officially presented his plan all the countries of the EU are doing exactly what they judge best, regardless of the European programme. Many countries including Germany, France and the UK brought out their own national economic packages long ago, effectively rendering obsolete Barroso's proclaimed wish of coordinating national economic aid from Brussels. This is a bitter defeat for the Commission President, and yet this already difficult situation could take a drastic turn for the worse if Barroso really does recommend what his financial advisors have written into the package: a massive reduction in taxes. This proposal is cavalier in the extreme. ... There is no proof that in times of crisis lower taxes stimulate consumers to buy more. The only sure thing is that the state will earn less money." (26/11/2008)

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The daily Evenimentul Zilei writes: "The level of enthusiasm varies. ... Germany is already in the midst of a recession and could argue that different countries are in different situations at the moment. ... The EU Commission, on the other hand, wants to boost consumption and has recommended cutting VAT on certain products. The UK has already announced a tax cut (and at the same time an income tax increase of up to 45 percent for the wealthy). The other major economies of the EU don't want to follow suit. France has pointed out that prices are already falling so that there's no need to cut VAT. Germany recently increased VAT to balance its budget. Budget stability was one of the prerequisites Berlin insisted on when the euro was introduced. But if you want the economy to start growing again you have to change the rules." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Christian Mititelu

Czech President Václav Klaus has reiterated his negative stance on the Treaty of Lisbon before the Constitutional Court in Brno. The court is to pronounce judgement on whether the EU treaty is in accord with the Czech constitution. The left-wing daily Právo comments: "If the court decides that the treaty does not conform to the constitution the government should initiate the necessary changes to the constitution. The Czech Republic cannot afford to reject Lisbon, because it is we who need the EU and not the other way round." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Jiří Hanák

At an EU-Africa summit in Paris on Tuesday the EU tried to rally support for its immigration pact among African partner states. The left-wing daily die tageszeitung describes the partnership as unfair. "This is how the European Union pictures dialogue with Africa: First the Europeans work out a political course among themselves. Then the Africans are asked to approve it. This is what they call partnership. On this basis, and in return for development aid, the African governments are to undertake to wrap their citizens over the knuckles whenever they get the silly idea of emigrating to Europe without Europe having asked them to do so. ... Is this what the future of European-African relations is supposed to look like?" (26/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Migration, » Minorities, » Africa, » Europe
All available articles from » Dominic Johnson

A court in the Spanish city of Valladolid has ruled in favour of parents who wanted the crucifix banned from classrooms at their children's school. The daily La Vanguardia calls for a more balanced discussion about the judgement, which has divided Spanish society. "Does it make you more progressive just because you want the symbols removed, and are those who want them to stay ultra [conservative]? And is there a middle ground between these two positions? ... First of all, I fail to understand why a crucifix is supposed to be a despicable symbol of intolerance while the head scarf worn by a Muslim girl is seen as a sign of tolerance. Where did advocates of multiculturalism get the idea that tolerance towards other religions is of no use to the Catholic religion? You will say that it's not the same when a symbol is used by an individual as when it's used as a collective symbol. And this is true. But a society which has been Catholic for 2,000 years and which is peppered with Christian symbolism cannot be compared with other religions that have only just arrived." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Pilar Rahola

Sweden's conservative governing Moderate Party has proposed that all immigrants to Sweden should sign a "Sweden Contract" in which they accept the Swedish social system. The daily Expressen finds the proposal futile: "The idea is not 'xenophobic', as some bloggers and editorialists believe. But like so many other proposals in this area it does not amount to much. It is self-evident that newcomers should receive adequate information about our society. What form this information should take is open to discussion. However the gaping divide between [Swedish] society and the clearly delimited suburbs where the immigrants live can not be bridged with a 'Sweden Contract'." Instead, the paper writes, immigrants should be better integrated into their working environment: "One problem is that Sweden's service sector is so small. ... Service jobs provide the work experience necessary for further employment." (26/11/2008)

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In the context of the debate over foreigners living in Denmark, literary scholar Mira C. Skadegård Thorsen writes in the daily Information that many Danes continue to use the word 'Negro' [in Danish 'neger'] without batting an eyelid: "If we decide to call a group of people Negroes, it is unfortunately not a harmless decision. It is deeply problematic. The word 'Negro' stems from the latin negro. But over the course of centuries the expression came to be used for a 'biological race'. It insinuates that people can be categorised in terms of 'races'. But the catch is that there are no 'biological races'. There is only one 'race': the human race. The classification of humans into sub-races according to characteristics such as skin colour, hair type, eye form and the like doesn't work in the long run. ... The idea of 'race' has come to be established in school books, songs and newspapers. Nevertheless some people honestly feel offended when you say that their statements and notions are racist, with the result that saying such things has virtually become taboo. ... Political correctness is frowned upon in today's Denmark . That is interesting, because all it seeks to do is show respect for people who feel offended. The attack on political correctness diverts attention from the real problem: that citizens in Denmark are discriminated against." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Mira C. Skadegård Thorsen

Philosopher Roger-Pol Droit writes in Les Echos newspaper about the concept of the market and how its significance has changed down the centuries with the emergence of financial markets: "'I'd love to go to the black market, if I only knew where it was!' a respectable woman said in France during the occupation, when barter trade was a necessity. What exactly did she mean? Apparently a market is first and foremost a location. A place people can go to. ... In short, a real location where people meet to buy and sell. ... Because the fact is that over the centuries markets became locations where demand and supply met and where prices were determined. ... The development of the stock markets in the 19th and 20th centuries did not alter this anchoring of the markets. On Wall Street or in the City of London ... securities and shares are now traded instead of calves, cattle, pigs and poultry, but people must still meet and prices must be agreed on. ... The global market seems no longer to have a physical location. ... And if no one knows where it is, it is easy to get the impression that the market, how should I put it ... has become black, for example." (26/11/2008)

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The EU Commission has cancelled 220 million euros in aid to Bulgaria due to the country's rampant corruption. Dnevnik newspaper shows understanding for the decision: "The announcement and subsequent comments by Olli Rehn, Commissioner for EU Enlargement, have surprised the government, whose members went on blithely claiming the opposite - namely that the aid money would not be lost - to the end. The government was faced with the impossible task of maintaining the status quo while reporting that progress was underway. ... Problems over the EU funds were attributed merely to allegedly poor communication between Brussels and Sofia. Now this excuse can no longer be used. Commissioner Oli Rehn has stated clearly that the problem does not lie in communication, but in Sofia's failure to act. And because someone in this situation had to make the first move, the EU Commission was finally the one to do so." (26/11/2008)

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French director François Dupeyron's latest film "Aide-toi et le ciel t'aidera" (With a Little Help from Myself), which is set in a black community, has just come out in France. Rue89 newsblog asks why so few black actors grace the silver screen in France. "Alexandre Michelin chairs the commission 'Images de la diversité', which has ... fostered diversity in smaller and larger productions since 2007. ... And he does not mince his words, citing 'prejudice', 'discrimination', 'conscious and unconscious inhibitions'. ... Thanks to films like 'Indigènes', 'La graine et le mulet' and 'Entre les murs' ... things are finally happening. And following the lead of crowd-puller Jamel Debbouze [of Moroccan origin] (one of the most bankable actors in today's industry) finally actors like Roschdy Zem and Sami Bouajila ... are being recognised for their talent rather than just for their origins. But that still has to happen for black actors." (25/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Olivier de Bruyn

The conservative daily Rzeczpospolita which writes critically of Germany reacts to an article in the German daily Die Welt that referred to "Polish concentration camps": "The firm and rapid response of the Polish media to the use of the term 'Polish concentration camps' in an edition of Die Welt has made an impact. It is good that the newspaper published a clear and comprehensive correction. Now our colleagues at Die Welt should ask how the author, who was born in 1970, could use a term that is so painful for Poland in her text, and how it was possible for this to escape the attention of the editors in the various phases of editing which the article went through. It is fortunate that the words of editor-in-chief Thomas Schmid ('This wording slanders Poland and has nothing to do with historical reality') set matters right. This affair raises the question of how the Polish Foreign Ministry should react to similar cases in the future." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Piotr Semka

In his column for the daily Karjalainen chief editor Kari Kontkanen brings up the old and ever new issue of alcohol in Finland: "In 2007 the average level of consumption from baby to old man in Finland was 10.5 litres of pure alcohol - that amounts to a bottle of schnapps per Finn per week. Consumption has doubled since 1970. ... But the attitude towards alcohol has changed to such an extent that above all those beverages people drink with the intention of getting drunk are viewed with suspicion. ... Total abstinence is becoming increasingly common, and at the same time the pressure for social drinking has decreased. ... Alcohol is good for the heart and the arteries, but only in small amounts. Large amounts pose a threat, particularly to the brain. ... It remains to be seen whether the economic downturn and the rise in the tax on alcohol contribute to solving the alcohol problem. But at least the attitude [towards alcohol] has already improved." (26/11/2008)

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The Romanian philosopher Andrei Plesu writes in the daily Adevărul that Romanians tend to look yearningly to other countries which they believe to be more "civilised" and where things function punctually. "Germany's order! Buses and trains that arrive exactly on time, ... people standing in orderly queues at airports for taxis whose drivers won't cheat you, in which no one gets all worked up and no one calls the government names or curses their fate. Order. Welfare. Directness. Tradition. No adventurousness, nothing to strain your nerves and health. By comparison Romania looks like it belongs to a different species. Improvised, ... everything left to chance. This is our chaos. Our antidote to boredom. ... Order is good, but this does not apply to all areas equally. When people in Italy and France (not in Germany or Austria) get hungry between 3 and 7 p.m. they can't find a decent restaurant that's open. You can drink a coffee in a bistro, or eat a sandwich, but a proper meal - that's out of the question. I can't understand this time plan, this invitation to diet. ... In short: things are better here in Romania. True, everything is somewhat arbitrary, but you can always count on getting a decent bowl of soup, even between mealtimes." (26/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Andrei Pleșu