"Barack Obama will soon realise that love affairs with Europe require a cautious approach," writes the liberal daily Mladá fronta DNES on the Europeans' unwillingness to help the US president by taking in Guantánamo prisoners. "Obama, we think what you're doing in Guantánamo is great, but you'd better not count on our support. At first glance this seems logical. ... It wasn't Europe that caused the problem. But this perspective has a snag. Obama is also innocent of blame. ... Europe is undergoing its first test. It will show whether the tense relations with [former US president George W.] Bush in fact were not based on anti-Americanism, as people claim, but on opposition to his policies." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Milan Vodička

The Danish daily Jyllands-Posten writes that all Guantánamo detainees should really return to their home countries because almost all countries have signed the UN Declaration of Human Rights and it would be possible to monitor their well-being. "It's difficult to judge how fundamentalist the Guantánamo prisoners are because they have neither been charged nor stood trial. But the Pentagon recently announced that 61 of the released prisoners are active in terrorism and one occupies a leading position within Al-Qaida. ... It would only create new problems to distribute them in the West according to some kind of quota system. They must at all events be kept under supervision and this would be easiest to do in their countries of origin." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » U.S., » Western Europe

The daily Helsingin Sanomat sees it as the duty of EU countries to facilitate the swift closure of the camp by taking in former Guantánamo prisoners. "When US President Barack Obama last Thursday took the decision to close Guantánamo Bay within a year, he confronted Europe with a new challenge in cooperation. ... Closing the facility quickly without breaking the law will only be possible if countries can be found who are prepared to take in the prisoners. ... The decision to take in prisoners is not an easy one. Besides the question of security, in some countries it raises legal issues. But the right answer is that the EU countries should be willing to take in some prisoners, and Finland should be among those countries. ... If Europe takes in 60 prisoners Finland's quota can't be too high. As [Green MP] Pekka Haavisto aptly put it, these people do not come to us as prisoners but as asylum-seekers." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Finland, » Europe, » U.S.

The daily Rzeczpospolita asks where the prisoners should go: "The American prison on Cuba ... had one advantage. It guaranteed that terroriss who were dangerous to the world order remained isolated in one place. ... What will happen now when these prisoners - even the less dangerous among them - are dispersed across Europe? Will our lack of experience in fighting the Al-Qaida network and our very liberal methods of resocialisation not make it easy for them to flee? Such cases have been seen among prisoners released from American jails, who then returned to Al-Qaida. The world may become more humane without Guantánamo. But it will not be any more secure." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Poland
All available articles from » Piotr Semka

If Europe wants to help the Obama government by accepting Guantánamo prisoners Austria must also do its part, writes the daily Der Standard. "No country wants to have these men. Even before their time in Guantánamo they were radically anti-Western in their views, and today they can hardly be integrated. Of course this is an 'American problem' as the EU's head of foreign policy Javier Solana says. But US President Barack Obama needs the help of his allies in solving it. Taking all of the ex-inmates into the United States would be suicide on the domestic front. ... If the Europeans refuse to accept Guantánamo prisoners, the hope for a new transatlantic era with Obama will burst like a bubble. Above all the large countries will have to show their openness. But for the EU to function, the small ones must also do their part. It would be tactless as well as dumb for Austria to freeload yet again." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Austria
All available articles from » Eric Frey

The daily Gazeta Wyborcza comments on the visit to Brussels of the Serb foreign minister, who was seeking to pave the way for the first talks on EU membership for Serbia. "Belgrade wants to apply to the EU for membership. In reaction to this embrace of the Union Moscow put the Serbs under pressure by turning off their gas supplies at the beginning of the year. Yesterday the [Serb] Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić travelled to Brussels to sound out the terrain before signing a formal declaration of intent on EU membership. He said the Serbs may submit this declaration in the first half [of 2009] if the leaders of the Union signal their approval. They want to begin membership negotiations in 2010. This is a turning point. Only a year ago the pro-Europeans and those who favoured close ties with Moscow were fighting each other. Russia was on their side in the conflict over Kosovo [former Serb province] while the majority of EU countries recognised the independence of the province." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » EU Policy, » Europe, » Serbia, » Kosovo
All available articles from » Dominika Pszczolkowska

The daily Neatkariga Rita Avize discusses the anti-government demonstrations which recently took place in many countries of Europe including Ukraine, France, Estonia, Greece, Iceland and Lithuania. But nowhere did they spark off such heated debates as in Latvia, the paper writes: "A few hundred people went around shouting slogans, a few stones flew and one business was plundered, and now the entire political elite is shaking at the knees. This is certainly no cause to rejoice, for it means that the financial and economic crisis in Latvia has become a political crisis as well. There are many reasons for all the snivelling and chattering of teeth, and the list of those responsible is long. But as any schoolchild knows, the market economy is a continual cycle of upturns and downturns. And everyone should have known the Latvian economy was overheated, and that credit and construction-based growth could not last forever." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Latvian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » Latvia
All available articles from » Maris Krautmanis

The Romanian judiciary is unable to deal efficiently with accusations of corruption against the country's former prime minister Adrian Nastase, writes the daily Romania Libera. "For a good two years now the case of Nastase has stood for the judicial reform test which our country has repeatedly failed. Since entering the EU all of the European Commission's reports have complained of a lack of progress with regards to convictions in major corruption cases. ... This is why the Nastase case is such a crucial test for the independence and efficiency of the judiciary. The former prime minister has been able to exploit all of the weaknesses of the judicial system. And he has manipulated the network of judicial and political authorities to prevent his case from coming to trial. ... The Nastase case is a symptom of the corruption sickness which is widespread in Romania. Nothing will be solved by sacrificing Nastase if judicial reform is not carried out afterwards." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » Cristian Campeanu

Against the backdrop of the Gaza war the daily Delo calls for all those responsible for war crimes to be brought before the International Court of Justice in The Hague: "The strongest ... usually escape. It would be naive to expect that with the setting up of a court for the criminal prosecution of people who are responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes such problems would no longer exist. ... Many voices have been raised in criticism of the court ... . But there have been some changes, albeit very gradual. Of course, true progress will only come when ... some of those who until very recently were convinced that the dead in Iraq and Afghanistan were merely collateral damage on the world's just path towards 'global democratisation' are invited to The Hague and put on trial. ... Next case, please!" (27/01/2009)

» more information (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Global
All available articles from » Damijan Slabe

The Israeli writer Assaf Gavron analyses in the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung Israeli public opinion on the war in Gaza: "What I perceived as particularly painful and distressing during the Gaza war was the growing intolerance on the Israeli side - not only regarding the suffering of the Palestinians but also as regarded any opinion that went against the mainstream chorus; against any argument that called the operation into question. It is difficult to find a more fitting term than 'brainwashing' to describe how the war and its consequences were treated in the media. Images of death and destruction on the Palestinian side were barely shown, while Hamas was blamed for any victims among the Palestinian civilian population; almost every commentator extolled the virtues of Israel's actions while alternate or critical opinions were never expressed. ... What is so good about the UN Security Council's resolutions, about the worldwide anti-Israeli demonstrations and the fact that Venezuela and Bolivia have broken off diplomatic relations with us? If we reach such a level of aggressiveness that we can't even bear to listen to the voices of others we gamble away not only the prospect of peace and order in our region but also lose the right to be seen as a civil, responsible and democratic society." (27/01/2009)

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Literature, » Middle East, » Israel
All available articles from » Assaf Gavron

Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, reflects on the significance of the National Holocaust Memorial Day: "Such a day might be valuable to all of us, Jew and non-Jew alike, were two conditions satisfied. The first was that, without diminishing the uniqueness of the Holocaust, we might use it to highlight other tragedies: Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda and now Darfur. The second was that the day was taken into schools. For it is our children and grandchildren who must carry the fight for tolerance into the future, and we must make sure that they recognise the first steps along the path to Hell. ... Grief has the power to unite. Of the 6,000 languages spoken throughout the world today, only one is truly universal: the language of tears. And now, when the tectonic plates on which humanity stands are shifting, leading to violence, conflict and terror throughout the world, we must take a stand against hate - the theme of this year's commemoration. Never in my lifetime have we needed that message more. ... Anti-Semitism is only a small part of the problem. Instantaneous global communication ensures that conflicts anywhere can light fuses everywhere. The internet is the most powerful spreader of hate and paranoia invented. ... We cannot change the past. We can, and must, change the future. For the sake of the victims, for the sake of our children, and for the sake of God, whose image we bear." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Cultural Policy, » History, » Global
All available articles from » Jonathan Sacks

In the leading article in the liberal daily Corriere del Ticino, Alfonso Tuor writes that the 38th World Economic Forum which begins in Davos on Wednesday stands in the shadow of the financial crisis. The time has come to cast off the illusion of the triumph of the globalised economy, Tuor writes: "Politicians will attend the Davos summit, but so will the bankers who are now begging for state help while refusing to give tranparent accounts of the holes in their balance sheets. ... It is to be hoped that this political line will be questioned in Davos, and that those attending realise that states are risking the reliability of the securities with which they finance their public deficits as well as the credibility of their currencies. We are dealing with the largest economic crisis since 1929, and priorities must be set. Because - to quote the Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti - you can't save everything and everyone, the banks, the families and the businesses." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Global
All available articles from » Alfonso Tuor

The business paper Világgazdaság writes that the EU common energy policy has been the main benefactor of the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute: "The outlines of Europe's answer to the gas crisis can already be discerned. On the one hand the EU seeks to diversify its gas sources. The planned Nabucco pipeline is the best example of this. On the other Europe must strive to create more supply channels, or pipelines, for natural gas. This enhances the importance of the planned South Stream and North Stream pipelines that are to pump Russian gas to Europe in future. In addition Brussels plans to interconnect Europe's gas networks and convince those EU states that are particularly dependent on Russian gas to set up reservoirs for the storage of gas reserves. ... It is generally acknowledged that Europe's most important achievements have come in the wake of crises. Let us hope that it won't be any different as regards the present crises." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Europe
All available articles from » György Fóris

Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the excommunications of four bishops who were seen as members of the Church's extreme right. Among them was Richard Williamson, who has become a highly controversial figure for denying the Holocaust. The daily El País expresses concern about the message this sends: "It is difficult not to interpret the decision to reinstate these bishops who were followers of [Marcel-François] Lefebvre as at least a strategic move of rapprochement by Benedict XVI towards the extreme right of the Catholic Church. ... The Pope has sent a worrying signal to the church hierarchy. For what they demand of others [apparently] does not apply to themselves. Nothing can be more morally relativising than to give in to the extreme right and the Holocaust deniers in order to overcome the divisions within the Church." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Social movements, » Italy, » Global

Debate continues over the BBC's refusal to broadcast an appeal for donations for victims in Gaza. The Guardian criticizes the BBC's attitude: "By rejecting the campaign in principle, the BBC is taking a partisan stance. To object to using news images of the destruction and suffering in Gaza in the service of a relief campaign is to agree with those who claim that humanitarian relief to Gaza cannot be delivered in a humanitarian way, because Hamas is in charge. Israel used this argument to justify the blockade that preceded the 22-day war. And it will continue to argue in the same way as it starts to withhold each bag of cement or metal bar intended for reconstruction, on the grounds that the materials could be used to build Hamas's bunkers, or missile launchers. The ability of the BBC to report unfolding events in Gaza impartially will be diminished as a result." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Audiovisual Media, » United Kingdom, » Israel

Zivko Kolega, mayor of the Croatian city of Zadar on the Adriatic coast, has bowed to public pressure against the presence of the Serbian flag at the World Handball Championship and removed the flags of all participating nations. The left-wing daily die tageszeitung comments that Croatia is missing a big chance: "Removing the flags of all participating states on the basis of public pressure is an insult to everyone. And it destroys Croatia's reputation as a sporting nation. Certainly, the city of Zadar suffered heavily from Serb attacks during the war from 1991 to 1995, when the city limit formed the front line. But that was long ago, and sport is supposed to foster understanding between peoples. The Croatian politicians have consciously failed to nurture such understanding. How can the mayor be such a spineless host? And all that has come from Zagreb were muted voices of reserve. Clearly, Croatia does not see this matter as a scandal of the first order." (27/01/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Sport, » Weltanschauung, » Europe, » Serbia, » Croatia
All available articles from » Erich Rathfelder