Les Echos doubts that the delegates will be able to concentrate on the climate at all: "According to the official version, the delegates of the 190 states should make progress in the fight against climate change. But will they be able to focus on it at all? The Americans are caught up in their financial crisis, the Europeans are preoccupied with their differences of opinion, the Indians with their dead and the Chinese with their unemployed. But if we do nothing today, tomorrow will be too late. ... In this gloomy autumn of 2008, the world is threatened by three terrible demons. First there is the economic risk with its dire social consequences. Then there is the environmental risk, which is less tangible and seems more distant. ... The right solution will consist in combining economic recovery with clean energy and the reduction of social inequality." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » France, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Philippe Escande

The Polish Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki writes in the daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "The impact of climate change can be felt every day - even in Poland, floods, droughts and hurricanes are taking on the dimensions of natural disasters. It is therefore vital for everyone that the talks at the climate summit should be successful. ... The success of these negotiations is of key importance - for us and for the rest of the world. ... I have observed with concern that there are still sceptics who believe that climate change is just a myth and the result of some ill-defined lobbying initiative. For my part I believe in the results of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which was compiled by thousands of scientists across the globe. They indicate that climate change is a fact and that it is 'highly probable that humans are responsible for it'." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Maciej Nowicki

The Stockholm daily warns that the pressure for change should be maintained: "One of the difficult questions is the balance between the industrialised and developing countries. During the first phase of the Kyoto agreement from 2008 to 2012 only the industrialised countries have pledged to reduce their emissions. This group represents just 30 percent of emissions. The same demands cannot be made of the developing and emerging economies. From a historical point of view the rich nations have contributed much more to the contamination of the environment and they also have more means at their disposal for solving the problem. Consequently it has been agreed that they will support the technology and financing in the developing nations. ... The industrialised nations can make a financial contribution to climate adjustment in poorer countries. The decision to set up a fund for this purpose was already made in Bali last year, but a lot has happened since then. Hopefully the meeting in Poznań will provide more concrete results." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Sweden, » Global

Even in times of financial and economic crisis, we must not allow climate protection to become an issue of secondary importance, writes the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "The crisis is the result of short-sightedness in the handling of financial capital. It would be wrong to act as carelessly with our natural capital. In this of all areas we must act consistently and look beyond economic cycles rather than giving in whenever there's a crisis. And we must remember that this is not about the costs for the climate in the recession year of 2009 but about the years after 2013. ... The atmosphere is a common asset, like a piece of common land. All states need to cooperate. But this will only be possible if the rich take the lead and signalise their willingness to pay pollution charges for CO2 emissions. Europe and America now have the opportunity to show that economy and ecology can be combined even in times of crisis." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » Global
All available articles from » Konrad Mrusek

The opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) has come first in Romania's parliamentary elections. According to Cotidianul newspaper, "the Social Democrats' electoral machine functioned perfectly. The party had better results than in 2004. This is probably the best proof that the PSD really operates like a professional political organisation. It has demonstrated that it has a well-structured, functional apparatus, as well as strategists, propagandists and talented lobbyists. The PSD was able to capitalise on its advantages and, much more importantly, create new ones. It redrew the electoral constituencies to its own advantage. And it drummed into the heads of the [governing] National Liberals of the PNL that it was in their interest to count on a low voter turnout, convincing them to hold the elections on a long weekend [Monday is a holiday in Romania], after excluding entire segments of the electorate from taking part through interdictions." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » Adrian Ursu

The Estonian daily Postimees laments Switzerland's decision against legalising cannabis: "The question of whether psychiatric patients who smoked hashish have had to undergo therapy as a consequence remains unanswered. It is entirely possible that people who are prone to psychic illnesses are also more prone to becoming addicted to hash, and sooner or later end up in therapy. Nor will a ban prevent them from consuming hashish, and this is why a ban won't solve the cannabis problem. The Swiss proposal would have offered considerably more advantages. Legalising the drug would have had the advantage that it would then be subject to control. Estonians are very much aware of the difference between legal and illegal schnapps. ... And packs of cannabis could carry off-putting pictures and thus contribute to raising awareness, as cigarette packets do." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Estonia, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Kaspar Näf

Today is World Aids Day. The daily Helsingin Sanomat writes that containing Aids demands social action on a broad front. "The HIV epidemia has been raging now for almost 30 years. ... The causes for the sickness are deeply rooted in history, culture, politics and the economy, especially in the developing countries. To fight Aids and its consequences it is necessary to reduce poverty and improve the situation of women. ... It seems that there is no best single possibility for containing Aids. For this reason we need to better understand the roots of the epidemia. Growing economic inequality, social exclusion, unequal treatment of men and women and the difficulty of accepting social diversity are all reasons why Aids continues to be one of the most serious health problems worldwide." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Global

The EU has ruled that denial of the Holocaust and other genocides is to be a punishable offence across Europe. Writing for the left-wing daily die tageszeing Christian Rath argues that this sends the wrong message: "In Germany denial of the Holocaust has been punishable for years. The idea was to protect the dignity of the victims and also public order. In view of Germany's historical guilt this is understandable. But won't our responsibility towards the descendants of the Holocaust victims be relativised if, from the point of view of criminal law, political crimes like the massacre of Srebrenica are given the same treatment as the Holocaust? What was previously considered playing down the Holocaust is now to become law. ... But the EU resolution is also fundamentally flawed, for it encourages the popular idea that the state should simply ban everything that is a source of public disapproval. This, however, is not the purpose of the European Charter of Human Rights, which aims to guarantee free communication as far as possible. ... The revision of the past thrives on discussion - including unpopular discussions. ... Those who advocate the application of penal law here are not projecting strength but rather a lack of democratic self-confidence." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Germany, » Europe
All available articles from » Christian Rath

Antonio María Rouco Varela, President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, has argued with regard to the debate over the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship that "forgetting is sometimes necessary". Young people above all should be "liberated from the burden of the past", he contended. Francesc-Marc Alvaro disagrees in the daily La Vanguardia: "Does the President of the Episcopal Conference believe that young people are not able to understand, classify or deal with recent history? This kind of paternalistic, protective attitude makes people into 'men of the crowd' rather than responsible citizens, to cite the famous phrase of Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset. He wrote that 'history is the truth of humanity', and that 'disavowing the past is absurd and illusory'. How can you found complete social harmony on ignorance? It would be good for all citizens, and above all Catholics, if the Catalonian bishops we believe have another perspective said something about the intellectual and ethic necessity of knowing one's history." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Social movements, » History, » Spain
All available articles from » Francesc-Marc Álvaro

Following last Friday's announcement that over 3,000 jobs are to be axed in Hungary's automotive industry the liberal newspaper Népszabadság comments on the economic crisis: "Little did we imagine when US investment bank Lehman Brothers went bankrupt that just over two months later more than 3,000 people would lose their jobs here in Hungary. ... The economic crisis is by nature unstoppable. ... The second wave of the crisis has now spread to our region. ... Over the past 15 years Central and Eastern Europe has developed into an XXL Detroit on the global map of the car industry. As long as the car market was booming this was a cause for joy. The sudden downturn in sales is now dragging the whole economy down with it. Hungary's economy literally depends on its engines: Once they start spluttering there is nothing that can replace them within a short period of time." (01/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Levente Tóth

Bulgarians are slowly starting to understand the financial logic of EU membership, writes the dialy Sega: "This counteracts the naive expectation that the country will profit greatly from EU funds. ... Until now Bulgaria's contribution to Brussels has come from the state budget. This is a mistake, because it betrays a consumerist attitude and fails to recognise that European projects are paid from our own pocket. The best thing would be to finance our EU contribution from a separate tax linked to sales tax and business turnover. Then every bill or invoice would state how much of any given price goes to our EU membership. This will not happen immediately. It will only be with the next generation that Bulgarians become far more careful in their dealings with Europe. People will accept the idea of footing the bill themselves, and not just waiting for money from abroad. On the contrary, the sums we contribute will exceed those we receive. Because Bulgaria, which today is still poor and exploited, will become one of the EU countries with the greatest economic potential." (01/12/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Emil Harsev

After a dispute that went on for years, the zoning plan for the construction of an Islamic mosque and cultural centre has been approved in Ljubljana. For Delo newspaper this does not mean the end of the conflict: "It looks as if collecting the money for the land and construction costs will be the smallest problem. Now city councillor Mihael Jarc has announced that a referendum will be held on the mosque. What bothers him is the planned minaret, which will be 40 metres high. It seems that events surrounding the construction of the mosque will remain in the centre of the public eye, even outside Slovenia. There are roughly 60,000 Muslims here, most of them members of the so called second generation with either one or both parents from Bosnia or Kosovo. These are Slovenians of Muslim faith, and that is also the reason for their decade-long desire for a mosque and a cultural centre. ... Relations between the state and the Muslim community are ... entirely respectable, and that is a good thing, too." (01/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Dejan Vodovnik

In spring 2009, the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, which was originally supposed to be ready in time for the 2004 Olympics, will open its doors to the public. Salvatore Settis, Italy's most well-known culture preserver and president of the National Culture Council, has visited the museum and calls for the return of 56 sculptures that Lord Elgin snatched and brought to England in the 19th century. "The centre-piece is the Parthenon hall. ... The remaining original works are exhibited along with reproductions of those that were taken to London. The play of light and colours of the copies point to open wounds and are like a silent but urgent cry for the return of the Elgin sculptures that the British Museum calls its own. It refuses to return them to their country of origin. ... Occupying the place of honour is the fragment of the Parthenon Temple which was returned from Heidelberg University's classical collection in 2006." (30/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Exhibitions / Museums, » Cultural Policy, » United Kingdom, » Greece
All available articles from » Salvatore Settis

Fewer and fewer secondary school students in Denmark are learning German. The daily Jyllands-Posten writes that this stands in stark contrast to the boom Berlin is currently enjoying in Denmark. "The situation is paradoxical. Because while interest in Germany is steadily increasing, young Danes never spoke worse German than they do today. German has become a sort of exotic language threatened by extinction. ... When students in the seventh year start learning German they should naturally have teachers who are enthusiastic about their subject. It would be ideal to have full-time teachers specialised in German. But there are fewer and fewer of these. So students are now faced with teachers with a poor foundation in the language who put little energy into their courses. Unfortunately this tends to be the rule." (01/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Mikael Busch

Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science Ronald Plasterk has refused state aid for struggling newspapers. The daily De Volkskrant finds this understandable and points to the role of foreign investment funds over the past few years: "Foreign adventures have indeed caused considerable damage, but the responsibility lies with Dutch shareholders, publishers and owners. They often pursued interests other than those of the newspapers, seeking short-term profit maximisation and investing the profits in badly thought-out projects. Product development had low priority for the existing newspapers, with the result that the latter have lost much of their appeal for the new generation of readers. ... Even though the Belgian newspaper market is much tougher than the Dutch market, quality papers like De Standaard and De Morgen have fared much better with their publishers. These publishers are committed newspaper makers who are fully aware of the public function of their papers." (01/12/2008)

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All available articles from » Hans Wansink