Le Monde welcomes US President Barack Obama's speech to Congress: "Hope against the crisis, crisis against hope. These were the two parts of the equation that Barack Obama ... had to solve in his first policy speech to Congress. Five weeks after taking office - and with the continued support of more than two thirds of Americans - the president has done his job and remembered the most inspiring messages of his election campaign. And the crisis? He has not played down its gravity. ... Nor has he concealed the effort and sacrifices that will still be necessary to contain it. ... But the American president was also careful not to repeat the distressing prognoses he had warned of in order to convince Congress to vote for his economic stimulus package. Too much pessimism ... would jeopardise all possibility of reviving confidence among his countrymen." (25/02/2009)

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The liberal daily Corriere del Ticino describes Barack Obama's first speech to Congress as blending the policies of his predecessors Reagan and Roosevelt. "From Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama has borrowed optimism. As regards content ... he is closer to Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'New Deal'. ... With the difference that when Roosevelt became president in 1933 the stock market had plunged long ago and the economy was in the throes of depression. Things could only improve. Obama entered the White House when the effects of the financial crisis were first being felt by the American middle class and the economy was just entering its nosedive. ... The situation will worsen before it can improve. Despite the awareness that ... it is necessary to end ... the era of irresponsibility, Obama sought in his speech merely to wind his way between realism and hope, repeating the philosophy of economic incentives and reforms he had promised in his election campaign." (26/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Gerardo Morina

US President Barack Obama's first speech to Congress was a success, writes the Swedish daily Upsala Nya Tidning: "Of course the speech hasn't answered all the questions. But it provided an insight into his strategy and set a direction. The situation, as the president stressed, is that 'everyone in this chamber' would have to sacrifice some worthy priorities – 'and that includes me'. … Obama's ambitions are great. He wants to halve the budget deficit by 2013 and at the same time the president has promised major reforms. … Obama mentioned defence as a financial resource, where the dollars roll. Furthermore it is in fact appropriate that the EU and the remaining Nato countries assume greater economic responsibility than they have done up to now to defend peace and freedom." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Europe, » U.S.

In his first speech to Congress, Barack Obama confirmed his image of the "Yes, we can" president, writes De Standaard newspaper: "In times of crisis the danger of populism is never far away. Obama has not succumbed to it. He made it very clear that he understands the anger at bankers who contributed to the crisis with their irresponsible behaviour and who are now being bailed out with taxpayers' money while others lose their jobs and have to fend for themselves with no social benefits. ... But Obama has not given in to this anger. ... The US faces a choice: to repair the system and accept a growing gap between rich and poor or to construct a more equitable society. ... The crisis has hit the entire world, and the menace of protectionism and unbridled nationalism is ever-present. Obama understands that the 'eyes of the world' are on the US. Above and beyond that however, he has remained vague. This is unfortunate because the world cannot wait for long." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » U.S.
All available articles from » Evita Neefs

In addition to Slovenia five other EU states are blocking Croatia's EU membership talks. At present there is no chapter that could be put on the negotiations agenda, the daily Delo writes. "The chapters 'justice' and 'basic rights' are particularly contentious. The standstill isn't likely to have a great effect on the technical progress of the membership process if Croatia listens to the words of the Finnish commissioner and does its homework. Croatia is aware of a certain flexibility in the negotiations and could therefore decide to delay the political decision to resolve the border dispute with Slovenia – after all, local elections are scheduled for May in Croatia and Prime Minister Ivo Sanader doesn't want to come out of them as loser for giving in too quickly to [EU Enlargement Commissioner] Olli Rehn. But Croatia should not forget that in Brussels everything will soon revolve around the EU Parliament elections, and that the new representatives in the highest posts could at the very least shake the technical part of Croatia's membership talks, if not cause them to fail altogether." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » EU Policy, » Slovenia, » Croatia
All available articles from » Bozo Masanovic

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos has promised his US counterpart Hillary Clinton that Spain will take in prisoners from Gunatánamo Bay as long as it is done under "legally acceptable conditions". The Spanish daily ABC comments: "The problem is that we will have to be a little more concrete about the conditions under which the detainees come to Spain than 'legally acceptable conditions', as Minister Moratinos demanded. These suspected terrorists will come either as defendants and go on trial in Spain or apply for asylum in accordance with Spanish laws. Or we accept in advance their right to circulate freely and leave the country as they please. Under Spanish law there are no further options or 'legally acceptable conditions'." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Spain, » U.S.

Current polls show Geert Wilders' right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) to be the second strongest political force in the Netherlands. Historian Bart Jan Spruyt writes in the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant that the country's educated elite is excessively lenient on Wilders: "They have remained silent and looked the other way while Wilders has adopted increasingly radical positions to make himself heard. He has dominated the entire political debate on Islam, immigration and multiculturalism to such a degree that further discussion is almost impossible. ... And once again, as Wilders abuses this topic solely for his own benefit, our elites have failed to react. This cowardice is contemptible, and will take its toll. ... The centre, the three large constituent parties of the Dutch political tradition, have buckled under and failed." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Integration, » Minorities, » Weltanschauung, » Netherlands
All available articles from » Bart Jan Spruyt

The daily Helsingen Sanomat criticises the lacking integration of Russian immigrants in Finland and sees it as the duty of the state to take action: "Russian is the third most widely spoken mother tongue in Finland. … Even though the Russians constitute an important majority in Finland they still live in the shadows. Few services are provided in their native language ... and they are a target for slander. The Russian-speaking minority is a great asset for Finland. Its members are mostly well educated, family-oriented, ambitious and have a similar cultural background. They adapt relatively easily to life in Finland. Nonetheless it is important that the host country recognise and fulfil its own responsibilities. One prerequisite for successful integration in Finland is to quickly learn the Finnish or Swedish language. But it is also important to have an awareness of how important the [Russian] language is." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Minorities, » Finland

Historian Timothy Garton Ash writes in The Guardian that Europe is torn between "solidarity and national egoism": "I do say that the future of the whole European project, as we have known it since the late 1940s, and particularly since 1989, is now at issue. The forces of integration and disintegration, of European solidarity and national egoism, the centripetal and the centrifugal, are finely balanced. There are a few signs of Europe getting its act together, such as last weekend's Berlin summit and yesterday's announcement of proposals for a Europe-wide financial supervisory framework. Optimists will argue that crises have been the catalysts of European integration throughout its history. ... It is clear is that we cannot stay where we are. If we don't go forwards we will go backwards. Forwards not, I emphasise, to some idealised United States of Europe, but to a practical construction strong enough to weather the storm. Whether we achieve that will depend on three things: global forces beyond our control, the quality of European leaders, and the space and trust they are afforded by their national electorates." (26/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Timothy Garton Ash

In the discussion over the planned Center against Expulsions in Berlin many Polish media and journalists have delivered one-sided and distorted reports about Germany, Thomas Urban writes in the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. "Two of the major newspapers have obviously been implicated in this case of patriotism: The left-liberal Gazeta Wyborcza and the Catholic Tygodnik Powszechny. Both made an important contribution to German-Polish dialogue in the 1990s and were not afraid to address the taboo theme of expulsion. But today this theme seems to have become once again taboo even for them; they never reported on the Perestroika Steinbach pushed through in the Association of Expellees. As with the Bartoszewski case there is much evidence that this biased coverage is also a consequence of the Jedwabne controversy. For both editorial departments stressed Poland's role in the crime and downplayed Germany's and therefore acted exceedingly unpatriotically according to their rival newspapers. Apparently when it comes to the Germans a majority of Polish journalists no longer regard differentiated coverage as the top priority but prefer to defend the honour of the nation." (26/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Thomas Urban

The Irish Times comments on the collapse of the Irish stock market, where the stock index has fallen to a level not seen since 1995. "Because the Iseq index was dominated by financial and property-related companies which have been hit hardest by the global economic downturn, Irish share prices have fallen farther and faster than elsewhere. In addition, recent events at Anglo Irish Bank, as well as breaches of corporate governance evident in some other major Irish companies (such as DCC), have greatly damaged Ireland's international reputation, making Irish shares less attractive to foreign investors. Any recovery in the Irish stock market will be dependent on developments abroad such as signs that the US economy has stabilised." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Ireland

In recent days leading bankers and politicians in Spain have let it be known that several Spanish banks are also badly hit by the financial crisis. State intervention, they say, is no longer out of the question: "But as opposed to what has been done in other countries where aid has come directly from public funds - with the purchase of shares or troubled loans - Spain has other means at its disposal which have already proven effective. The government and the financial sector agree that the best - or at least the first - option is to let the financial industry solve the problem by means of mergers and acquisitions." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Spain

In the business paper Világgazdaság US investment banker and philanthropist George Soros calls for a unified European credit market to counter the structural weaknesses of the euro: "In addition it could lend a hand to the new EU countries who are not yet members of the Eurozone and are therefore more vulnerable. And what's more the credit capacity of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could be expanded. … A credit market in the Eurozone would not supplant the market for government loans in individual states, but only complement it. The finance ministers of the monetary union would exercise a controlling function. The European Central Bank (ECB) could function as the regulating body. … In this way a unified and powerful financial system could be created which even the UK, which is struggling with its oversized and under-capitalised bank system, could join." (26/02/2009)

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With record proceeds of 373.9 million euros, the auction of objects belonging to deceased French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his companion Pierre Bergé ended in Paris on Wednesday. The left-liberal daily La Repubblica comments on this "madness": "Can one fall in love with an armchair that started off with an estimated value of between two and three million euros and following impulsive and frenzied bidding was finally sold for the crazy price of 22 million euros? … With the blow of the hammer Laurent's dragon armchair passed into the hands of a mysterious fetishist. … The secret of the fate of two Chinese bronze statues, a rabbit and a mouse, is also to be revealed in the next few days. The Chinese government had made futile efforts for them to be returned to China because they were stolen by the French army from the summer residence of the Qianlong Emperor in 1860. An anonymous buyer paid 14 million euros net for each statue. We don't know yet whether the two precious objects are to finally return to their home country." (26/02/2009)

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All available articles from » Natalia Aspesi

The Israeli professional tennis player Shahar Pe'er, who was to have taken part in the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates, has been denied a visa for no explicable reason. For the daily Correio de Manhã, Pe'er was denied entry because of her nationality. "If this demonstration of hatred had been directed at another group, If Shahar were Arab, black or the member of another minority from the 'political correctness' catalogue, one can well imagine what a hue and cry there would have been. But Shahar is Jewish, and practically everyone has kept their mouth shut." (26/02/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Sport, » Middle East
All available articles from » Carlos Abreu Amorim