The left-liberal Süddeutsche Zeitung comments on the speech by US Vice President Joe Biden at the Munich Security Conference: "Even more than the pathos engendered by this new era in US politics, Europeans should be encouraged by America's new sense of sobriety. Barack Obama's government is not guided by ideology, but by common sense. And what it needs is not an entourage of admirers, but partners - in Afghanistan, in closing the prison at Guantánamo, and in its dealings with Russia and Iran. America will do more, Biden said. This is the good news. But it will also demand more. This need not necessarily be bad news for those keen to shoulder responsibility. Notwithstanding the egocentricity of individual heads of state (France) or the silly bickering between camplaining coalition partners (Germany), this opportunity must be seized on. You can't start a new era just by pressing a button." (09/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Daniel Brössler

The conservative daily Lidové noviny identifies a policy of "both ways" in the speech delivered by US Vice President Joe Biden: "The Americans will continue with the construction of the missile defence shield, but only if it works and is worthwhile. Washington wants to renew relations with Moscow but at the same time opposes the recognition of the independence of the pro-Russian enclaves in Georgia. The new government is prepared to start talks with Iran, but without tolerating its nuclear ambitions. … Barack Obama's people want to be more obliging, but they're making sure this is not seen as a sign of weakness. We can only wait and see how all this works out." (09/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Petr Pešek

The daily Turun Sanomat welcomes the wind of change in US foreign policy and praises the speech by US Vice President Joe Biden: "With his speech at the Munich Security Conference ... Vice President Joe Biden has done much to mend relations between the US and Europe. ... All in all, Biden's speech reconfirms that Barack Obama's government intends to fulfil its promise of a new US foreign policy by closing the Guantánamo prison camp and other centres of torture, withdrawing troops from Iraq, adopting a serious stance on climate issues and showing readiness for dialogue in matters large and small. After the fiasco of George W. Bush's catastrophic foreign policy, the Obama government's new line is being welcomed all over the world." (09/02/2009)

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Delo newspaper comments on the expectations now placed on the US following US Vice President Joe BIden's speech at the Munich Security Conference: "Now that the Bush era has ended, cooperation is important for the new America. The promises to pay more attention to the concerns of the allies in Munich … had an almost soothing effect. But the path towards cooperation … and … a distribution of the burden is long and thorny. The US is also now willing in principle to listen … to Russia's wishes. The problem is that the EU, and above all the old member states, are pursuing different goals regarding Russia to those of the US, which sees the former imperial power as a strategic rival in a post-Soviet area rich in energy resources. The US must follow up its promises to have an open ear for Europe and adopt a new tone with the right content so that the disappointment that follows the honeymoon with [US President Barack] Obama is kept to a minimum." (09/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Peter Žerjavič

Writing in The Guardian, Jonathan Steele voices partial disappointment at Joe Biden's address to the Munich Security Conference: "On Russia, his remarks were especially welcome after the hysteria of many European politicians and pundits who talk of a new cold war and warn of Russian 'energy blackmail'. By contrast, Biden deplored the 'dangerous drift' in east-west relations in recent years. Going on to repudiate 'the zero sum mentality', he threw out the central calculus of the old struggle between Russia and the west – the notion of implacable enemies with no common interests. ... Where Saturday's speech and, by implication, the current state of thinking within the new administration are disappointing is on the Middle East and Iran. Biden advocated an international reconstruction effort for Gaza that strengthened the Palestinian Authority, 'not Hamas'. This is as unrealistic as it is undemocratic." (09/02/2009)

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Commenting on the speech by US Vice President Joe Biden, the liberal conservative daily Corriere della Sera writes that everything now depends on giving Nato a new direction: "The crux of the matter is Nato. The German chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a change in Nato's strategic doctrine. It must become a security network, not a military but a political alliance. ... A radical change has not taken place. But an agreement was reached in Munich that it will come in the near future. Perhaps in April, between the G20 summit and the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Nato, which will be jointly organised by France and Germany. US President Barack Obama will be there too." (08/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Danilo Taino

The daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet is relieved at the outcome of the Swiss referendum on granting work permits to labourers from the new EU member states Bulgaria and Romania, but points to persistent shortcominigs of the two countries. "The xenophobic voices coming from Switzerland are cause for concern. For this reason it is good news that the economic interdependence of the countries of Europe can serve to contain these voices. However it remains the case that Bulgaria and Romania are out of place in the EU. These states do not fulfil the requirements for EU membership, the Copenhagen criteria of 1993, which stipulate that all those who want to enter the EU club must abide by democratic principles, guarantee human rights and limit corruption." (09/02/2009)

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During his recent visit to Kosovo Albanian President Bamir Topi proposed that a Schengen area be established by the end of March in the Balkans, guaranteeing free circulation of persons and good between Albania and Kosovo initially and later to include the former Yugoslavian republics of Macedonia and Montegnegro. The daily Sega comments: "Sceptics see this as an attempt by Tirana to realise its old dream of re-establishing a Greater Albania. The first obstacle to the plan could come from Montenegro, where despite separation from Belgrade and the existence of an Albanian minority pro-Serbian sentiment is still very strong. The second and far greater danger comes from the EU, which cannot allow the black hole of organised crime to grow even larger in Europe." (09/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Novak Novev

The Berlusconi government and Italian President Giorgi Napolitano are at loggerheads over the question of whether Eluana Englaro, who has been in a vegetative state for 17 years, should be allowed to die. The left-liberal daily La Repubblica calls for an end to this political struggle over a defenceless body: "This is not about Eluana. … And it is no longer about the right to life or a dignified death, about religious morals or secular ethics, about God or the state. What we are seeing here is a dramatic battle between institutions and it's obvious that the one responsible for this conflict will continue to use this body for political ends – whether the body is finally allowed to rest in peace or is forced by the dark cruelty of power interests to return to the inhuman captivity of artificially sustained bodily functions." (09/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Natalia Aspesi

According to the daily NRC Handelsblad, Pope Benedict XVI has yet to make a clear public statement in the affair involving the anti-Semitic British bishop Robert Williamson. The paper criticises this and writes that the Vatican should be 'isolated': "Pope Benedict XVI's struggle is not a purely religious one, but also a political fact. The Netherlands must therefore now take action and recall its ambassador to the Holy See. … Since the Pope still refuses to take a clear and ex cathedra stance on the one hand on the repeated provocations of his anti-Semitic brother in faith Williamson and on the other on the thinly concealed hatred of Jews in the Society of Pius X there can be no justification for continuing diplomatic relations with the Vatican - if there ever was a reason to do this for the Netherlands, where church and state have been separate since 1975 and which has no representatives in other religious centres such as Moscow, Mecca or Jerusalem." (09/02/2009)

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The conservative daily Magyar Nemzet devotes an article to the Eurosceptic party Libertas, founded by Irish multimillionaire Declan Ganley, which wants to run in the upcoming European parliamentary elections. "There was a time when Declan Ganley, who is a vehement proponent of the idea of Europe, approved every European convention and agreement. Ganley came onto the political scene by actively supporting the 'No' vote in the Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon, which finally took the day. Libertas' programme seeks a form of European cooperation in which power does not lie in the hands of the democratically uncontrollable Brussels bureaucracy, and which does protect the sovereignty of EU member states and the influence of national governments from further erosion. ... It is however questionable whether a party that promotes national sovereignty and questions the undemocratic concentration of power in Brussels has a chance of pushing its policy through on a European level." (09/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Károly Lóránt

A world without nuclear weapons is an impossible dream but it's still worth a try, Christian Ultsch writes in the daily Die Presse: "It would be a considerable advance if the nuclear powers made the first steps towards disarmament. It's absolute madness to have 27,000 nuclear bombs stashed away all over the world when a tenth of that would suffice to destroy the planet. Above all the US and Russia, who own 90 percent of all nuclear weapons, need to reduce their arsenals. In doing so they would only be keeping the promise they made in the 1968 non-proliferation treaty and have never fulfilled since. The deal that a certain George W. Bush and other mavericks left looking more full of holes than a Swiss cheese with their mini-nukes was supposed to go like this: The have-nots refrain from making the bomb while the nuclear powers work towards total disarmament. A little more loyalty to the terms of the agreement wouldn't hurt – and would make the efforts to talk a state like Iran out of the nuclear bomb more plausible." (09/02/2009)

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The Times reflects on the possibilities and limits of genetic engineering, and calls for a public debate on the subject: "[Genetic engineering] will allow far more accurate prediction of, and screening for, conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and many cancers, even before symptoms are visible. ... The barrier to progress is no longer technological. It is that, as a nation, we have ... yet to arrive at settled ethical positions. The principal concern is about access to information. Though the individual will have an interest in his doctor reading the information, he may not - indeed if the news is bad, he will not - wish the same access for his insurer or his employer. ... Will we permit a genetic predisposition to be entered as a plea in mitigation in court? Even when the question of access to information is settled, there are very many thorny questions about the uses to which genetic information can legitimately be put. ... For example, should a parent have the right to have their children tested for diseases that will emerge in adult life? What if a parent refuses to consent to a test that is clearly in their child's best interest? ... Our scientific learning is running ahead of our ethical wisdom, and this is now an argument that needs the fresh air of public debate." (09/02/2009)

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The daily El País warns of the dangers of a new protectionist wave in the global economy. "The fears that the crisis could lead to protectionist measures have become a worrying reality. The world's major economies – spearheaded by the US and the European Union – are resorting to customs duties once more in a bid to promote their own growth and halt unemployment. The emerging economies of Latin America and other latitudes are doing the same. Experience has shown that protectionism sets in motion a spiral in which the decision of one government triggers a parallel reaction from another until the illusion of purely national solutions is shattered." (09/02/2009)

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As the global financial and economic crisis continues, the daily Lietuvos žinios shows concern at signs of growing protectionism expressed in calls to buy local products: "Countries attempting to limit imports often experience a contrary effect. We can now see this in Russia, where the domestic market is protected by an increasing number of customs duties, while Moscow is already being forced to tap its emergency food reserves. Luckily Lithuania, as an EU member, has fewer worries. Because even if there may be signs of growing protectionism we are but part of the common European market. That is good for our exporters, who are the most sensitive to crises. But it also provides an opportunity: businesses must rethink their marketing strategies and restructure inefficient departments. In the long term all consumers will profit from this." (09/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Tomas Bitinas

The Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag welcomes the plans of Germany's renowned Suhrkamp publishing house to move from Frankfurt on Main to Berlin, saying this will give the city an intellectual boost: "Berlin's rich historical past still exerts a magnetic attraction on culture lovers all over the world 20 years after reunification. The decision not to resist this trend and to sacrifice the hermetic exclusiveness of the publishing house was a courageous move by the frequently disliked publisher [Ulla Unseld-Berkéwicz]. It is a step onto a highly varnished, over-popular stage that yearns for authentic players. Rumour has it that the publisher has sought out a location in battle-scarred Berlin that fits in well with the Suhrkamp tradition: The Nikolaihaus, built in 1670, was for centuries a meeting place for enlightened thinkers like Schadow and Schinkel. Next to it stands a rundown concrete pre-fab dating back to the GDR: a superb parcours for a house that publishes realist and deconstructionist works; bourgeois and ultra communist works alike." (08/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Ulf Poschardt

Gândul newspaper comments on a bill in the Romanian parliament to have its debates broadcast in future by the country's public television: "The members of parliament see public television ... as an institution which has done 'good work' for them. ... All governing parties have lobbyists at TVR. But parliament has been unsurpassed at trying to turn public television into its personal servant. The irony is that it is parliament which should represent the interests of democracy. ... TVR can be obliged to carry out its work in the service of the elected representatives. A censorship commission can be established and taxes can be levied on private television and newspapers, but all of this will never alter the image of those in power. Despite their propaganda, the 'comrades' of yore were never popular, because the lies they disseminated started with themselves." (09/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Rodica Ciobanu