The daily Diário de Notícias bemoans a lack of concrete measures at the EU summit on Sunday: "Yesterday's EU summit didn't make much of an impact. Protectionist measures were rejected but no laws or rules were agreed on to counter them. Even though this summit meeting was convened after – and because of? – President Nicolas Sarkozy's announcement that the state loans for French carmakers would have protective clauses, no country wants to dispense with all the possible means for saving its own economy. Europe has also confirmed that Sarkozy is not acting in a protectionist way so now he is free to adopt protectionist measures without fearing intervention. Europe rejected the Eastern European states' calls for a rescue package and argued in favour of a single market. But this will only be possible if all states can enjoy the benefits of the market economy, and this won't happen as long as Eastern Europe is deprived of the energy it needs to develop." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » Eastern Europe

The daily Jyllands Posten writes with an eye to the dire economic crisis in Eastern Europe: "Instead of striving to achieve unity, the old countries of Europe and the new Eastern countries are increasingly growing apart. Clearly this can lead to confrontation, a fact underscored by the meeting of the nine ex-communist countries convened by Polish prime minister Donald Tusk on March 1, in the run-up to the economic crisis summit of the 27 heads of state and government. The EU must give Eastern Europe the support and solidarity on which the Union is based. If Europe's leading politicians do not act quickly and effectively to stop the avalanche of crisis in Eastern Europe, there's a high risk that the progress achieved over decades could be swept away." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Economic Policy, » Denmark, » Europe, » Eastern Europe

The Prague business paper Hospodářské Noviny talks in connection with the EU's special summit in Brussels of the European Union facing its most "difficult times" and warns of a rift between Eastern and Western Europe: "Hungary's Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany has warned of the threat of a new 'economic Iron Curtain'. Yet by asking the Union to help all post-communist states, including the Czech Republic, he himself will be helping to construct it. In his desperate search for help Gyurscany is taking them hostage and putting them at risk. The rich countries like Germany know that they must at least save Hungary and Latvia. To abandon them to their fate would risk allowing populist governments to take power and opening the door to Russian influence." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Hungary, » Czech Republic, » Europe
All available articles from » Lenka Zlámalová

Gandul newspaper writes that EU solidarity stops at Eastern Europe: "The Eastern European countries accuse the Western states of protectionism - a practice that could divide the continent anew 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. However what we are seeing is not a traditional protectionism with customs borders ... but a new more subtle form that sneaks in the back door. Above all it can be seen in the financial sector, where governments grant injections of funds or capitalise banks while obliging the beneficiaries to keep the money in the country or to consume local products. ... It's already hard enough to convince an Austrian to spend more money to save a fellow Austrian from unemployment. And it's all the harder, if not impossible, to get him to do the same for a Romanian or a Czech. This crisis is also showing us that there are limits to solidarity. Politicians and average citizens now feel their interests no longer extend beyond their country's borders." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » Eastern Europe, » Western Europe
All available articles from » Gheorghe Cercelescu

The daily El Mundo comments on the results of the regional elections in Spain's Basque Country, where despite winning a relative majority the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), which has been in power for 30 years, is unlikely to be able to form a majority government this time: "It is a great defeat for current Basque regional president Juan José Ibarretxe, who with the support of his two coalition partners in his three-party government had adopted a strongly separatist course and focused more on the question of identity than on the social and economic problems that are worrying the people. The last major project of the PNV was the abolition of classes which are taught in Spanish starting with the next school year. This won't be implemented if the PSE [the Socialists] takes over government with the support of the PP [Popular Party]." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Cultural Policy, » Social movements, » Spain

Dnevnik newspaper writes that the major force behind the victory of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) was the myth of the late state governor Jörg Haider. "It is certainly somewhat unusual when you have to rely on psychological expertise to explain the results of democratic elections. But just that is necessary in the Austrian state of Carinthia. The results of the local parliamentary elections there above all depended on whether the BZÖ could successfully keep alive the myth of the late governor. ... Haider's successor Gerhard Dörfler cannot be credited for having surpassed Haider's own election results. Above all this vote expresses the power of the Haider myth. If the Carinthians had all been suddenly struck with amnesia and forced to take a look at the facts and the economic situation of their state, the elections would have had an entirely different outcome." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Austria
All available articles from » Vesna Kalcic

The liberal daily Corriere del Ticino criticises the court in the northern Italian city of Udine which has launched an investigation to determine whether the father of deceased coma patient Eluana Englaro is guilty of premeditated killing: "This decision can be justified neither on the grounds of common sense nor of Christian compassion. This episode is further proof of how the criminal prosecution laws which oblige the judiciary to take action whenever there is suspicion of a crime give the public prosecutors too much latitude, enabling them to dabble in politics under the protection of these laws. … The courts [in Italy] more often serve the interests of politics than those of justice. The case of Eluana Englaro is just one of many instances in which legislation and justice have been confused, … and which are characteristic of Italy. … It would have sufficed to close the case to end an ugly chapter in the history of an Italy that seems less and less capable of becoming a decent country from a moral, political and legal point of view." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Italy
All available articles from » Piero Ostellino

US President Barack Obama has announced the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The left-liberal daily De Volkskrant writes that the move is in compliance with his campaign pledges: "It cannot be denied that the security situation in Iraq has got better, although it is far from stable. Even ex-president George W. Bush had agreed on a withdrawal plan with the Iraqi government. ... Nevertheless this move gives a clear sign, and has major significance for both Iraq and the United States. Because not only must the Americans leave Iraq, Iraq must also let the Americans be. In this way they can psychologically put an end to this war, which had received so much flak. In so doing they will realise that military interventions require a maximum of prudence and extensive international backing." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » U.S., » Middle East

Following the example of the country's churches Belgian universities have now called on the government to give illegal asylum-seekers certainty about their future. The universities are now themselves offering shelter to illegal immigrants. The daily De Standaard comments: "It really has gone on for too long. For 20 months now the parties of the federal government have refused to make good on the promise they all made before the elections and repeated in their government agreement: clear guidelines regarding the criteria for the legalisation of individual asylum-seekers who have been living here for a long time and are already integrated. … The political blockade of this dossier is morally reprehensible. By not keeping their promise … the parties are causing confusion among those who are possible candidates for legalisation and raising false hopes among the rest. By refusing to reach a compromise they will basically only make the situation even worse." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » Integration, » Belgium
All available articles from » Guy Tegenbos

The daily Helsingin Sanomat voices concern about the economic situation in Latvia and doubts early elections will alleviate the problem. "President Valdis Zatlers said that snap parliamentary elections would be a chance for the people to give power to those it trusts. But one of Latvia's problems is that people are finding it increasingly hard to trust anyone. They tolerated corrupt and arrogant politicians as long as their economy was one of the fastest-growing in the EU and salaries were rapidly increasing. But now over half of the population doesn't know who to vote for in the next election. … The Eurobarometer survey showed last year that only 15 percent of Latvians trusted their own government while beyond the border, in Estonia, it was 56 percent. … [Parliamentary dissolutions] are seldom at an international level and rarely help to improve stability. People in Latvia are disappointed with their political leaders. But of course, one can't get along without them." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » Economic Policy, » Latvia

Hugo Hamilton, one of Ireland's foremost writers, writes in the Sunday edition of Die Welt newspaper that in view of the economic crisis the Irish could reinvent their country with the help of Europe: "The old safety valve of emigration no longer works. Where should we go? There is no place, nowhere. Perhaps this time we must really solve our problems by ourselves - with the help of our European friends. Please, please, don't be cross with us for rejecting the Treaty of Lisbon last year! We won't do it again. We Irish are actually good Europeans. Our problem is that we got to the party a bit late and now it's over. We lived it up, like the Americans. Just six months ago there was a strict waiting list for Louis Vuitton handbags. People flew to New York regularly on shopping sprees. Per capita the Irish had more BMWs than the Germans. And now it looks as though Germany will have to bail us out once more. Do us a favour, please buy back all these expensive cars!" (01/03/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Economic Policy, » Germany, » Ireland, » Europe
All available articles from » Hugo Hamilton

The poet and essayist Ákos Szilágyi writes in the weekend edition of the left-liberal newspaper Népszabadság that 20 years after the fall of communism the post-communist transformation in Hungary is still not complete. "The system can only function if the majority of society accepts it as its own system, not just ideologically, not with words, and not every four years at the ballot, but with deeds: through economic and political behaviour which respects the common good, by leading honourable lives as upstanding citizens and rejecting crime and refusing to wallow in the swamps of kleptocracy and corruption, by showing civil courage, by showing willingness to cooperate and solidarity with the poorer members of society. … As in Hungary such a stable and consolidated system simply has not taken root it follows that the state cannot function stably, predictably and smoothly. … The crisis in the Hungarian system which the current global economic crisis has made more severe is a result of the fact that – unlike in many other countries in Central and Eastern Europe - the process of transition from one system to another in Hungary was never completed." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Economic Policy, » Hungary
All available articles from » Ákos Szilágyi

Showing visitors to Prague noteworthy modern architectural works presents a problem because there are none, the conservative daily Lidové noviny writes: "Prague Castle, the Kings' Road and the National Theatre - these all existed under earlier regimes. … With the death of architect Jan Kaplicky his project of a futuristic national library for Prague also died. But Prague's plans for an architectonic symbol of the post-revolutionary era should not be allowed to end here. … Warsaw has a modern university library, Bratislava a modern national bank and Budapest a new building for its national theatre. Prague, unfortunately, can't be bothered with such matters." (02/03/2009)

» more information (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Zbyněk Petráček

The liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza turns an eye to reactions from the country's Catholic press to the introduction of sex education in Polish school curricula starting September. "Many people who feel a strong bond to the Church react to the expression 'compulsory sex education in schools' as if it were 'compulsory sex initiation'. Even the Catholic newspaper Gość Niedzielny interprets the expression this way. ... Only pupils whose parents expressly forbid them from attending are exempted. ... But few parents would have the courage to face up to school directors over the subject. They would, according to Gość, be labelled 'radicals'. ... Gość Niedzielny goes to great pains, but I doubt that this vision ... of Catholic parents could really lead to a revolt against the sex education of our children." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Poland
All available articles from » Katarzyna Wiśniewska

Google has started putting advertisements on the US result pages of Google News, but has refused to share the revenues with the media whose contents are gathered by the automatic news search. The business paper Les Echos analyses how the move will affect the press: "With its decision to open its news page to advertising ... Google now generates huge profits at the expense of the anguishing news media. Nevertheless it is difficult to condemn Google. It is following the logic of its medium, which ... would not be possible ... without the incessant exchange of information. ... The result is that only the masters of this exchange, from Apple to Google ... can harness the riches created. ... Nevertheless it is still the 'poor newspapers' which constitute the nuclear reactor of this information, and which supply not only the web but also other media with content. Their finances are running dry but their influence remains far larger than one often imagines. Consequently their survival is a matter of collective urgency, a democratic imperative." (02/03/2009)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Print media, » Online media, » Corporations, » Global
All available articles from » Philippe Escande