The business paper Les Echos fears that European unity could collapse as a result of the financial crisis: "The financial and economic crisis is menacing an entire area which left the communist bloc just twenty years ago. The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolised the failure of the Soviet system and the opening up to the West in the blessed reconciliation of a united Europe. The reunification reached its climax in 2004 and 2007 when the EU welcomed twelve Eastern states into its fold. Integration into the Eurozone was then only a matter of time. Unfortunately the current crisis comes as a hard blow to the new champions of liberal capitalism, and could lead to a worsening of the recession in the West. ... In the absence of a rescue package for the East, the old demons of division could once more come alive. ... The result could be a rejection of the values of the Union, not to mention the resurgence of extremism in these countries which have sided with the West for the last two decades." (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » Eastern Europe, » Western Europe
All available articles from » Richard Hiault

Sandro Viola writes in the left-liberal daily La Repubblica that the new East-West divide could put Europe back twenty years. But that is not solely the fault of the economic crisis, Viola argues: "A clear warning signal that Europe's new unity had not erased historical differences was the anti-Russian sentiment on the part of the former Eastern Bloc countries. This could be seen in the mistrust, suspicion and fear of Vladimir Putin's Russia. ... The financial and economic crisis has once more reopened the old wounds. Everything that was taken for granted in the East in the past 20 years - the free market economy, foreign investment, membership in the European Union, democracy - has now been destabilised. The sacrifices that were made to enter the Union seem to be in vain. Fear and foreboding are now widespread in the countries worst hit by the recession. The selfsame conviction ruled Russia after the bankruptcy of 1998: it is illusory to join the West if history will not allow it. Democracy and the free market may be suitable for the West, but they don't work in the East." (03/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Sandro Viola

Jean-Marie Colombani writes in the daily El País on the danger Europe faces of breaking up into East and West, and warns that Russia could take advantage of the situation: "As is well known, Russia is not only good at wielding the stick - for example in turning off the gas tap. It is also very handy with the carrot when it sees the possibility of dissociating from the European Union former satellite states which may feel the economic attraction of a new-born Russia." (03/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Jean-Marie Colombani

The Austrian Minister of Agriculture Nikolaus Berlakovich has described the ban on the growing of genetically modified maize in Austria as a "historic success". The daily Die Presse criticises his stance: "Firstly because the ban only applies to two varieties of maize. Berlakovich and his successors will have to fight just as hard against any new type of 'genetically modified plant' that is introduced – and one day they'll lose the battle when these plants can no longer be crossed with normal plants. Secondly these two varieties would never have been grown here anyway. They would have to be kept at such a great distance from traditional crops that in a country like Austria they wouldn't be viable from an economic point of view. The minister should have explained this all to the farmers and consumers. But instead he was even willing to risk expensive and futile breach of contract proceedings. He apparently prefers to cater to the tastes of the tabloids for they're more fond of 'historic successes' than calm calculation." (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Agriculture, » Austria
All available articles from » Oliver Grimm

Participating states at an international conference of donor countries in Sharm el-Sheikh have pledged four billion euros in aid for the reconstruction of Gaza. The Guardian writes that what Gaza really needs is a political solution to its conflict with Israel: "Israel's blockade of Gaza, which the Quartet supported, is now universally acknowledged to have failed. ... It has not dislodged Hamas from Gaza. Tony Blair admitted as much on his first visit to the enclave. But no one, as yet, is prepared to contemplate a way around the conditions which Israel and the Quartet attached to ending Hamas's isolation. Hamas is not going to recognise Israel. If it did, another and more extreme group would take up the cudgels. But it is equally clear to everyone that Hamas will have to be included in a national unity government for peace to succeed. The only scant chance lies in the reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, two groups who currently hate each more than they do their occupiers. Without a fundamental rethink about how to engage Hamas politically, the international community is willing the end while continuing to deny the means." (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Middle East, » Israel

Following the election victory of the right-wing populist Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) in Austria's local parliamentary elections Barbara Kramzar foresees a deterioration in the situation of the Slovenian minority living in Carinthia: "Could the current horror scenario in Austria in these times of economic crisis and growing unemployment strengthen the 'third block' to the extent that after the BZÖ's victory in Carinthia there will be victory celebrations for Heinz-Christian Strache's Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) at the town hall in Vienna and then in the Chancellor's palace? … Austria's moderate parties, above all the Social Democrats and the Austrian People's Party, may continue to reject claims that in the name of the so-called particularities in Carinthia they are tolerating a nationalist violation of the constitution and of the rulings of the constitutional court and thus making the ideas of the nationalist parties socially acceptable. In the meantime the Slovenian minority has no other option than to gather all its strength. And Slovenia will also have to continue lending a hand when nationally conscious Slovenian call for help in unison." (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Domestic Policy, » Slovenia, » Austria
All available articles from » Barbara Kramzar

The gang wars in Copenhagen are becoming increasingly brutal and have claimed two lives in recent days. Politiken newspaper comments: "It has already occurred in the past that well-known gangs and their supporters have fired handguns and rocket-propelled grenades. Now however it seems the violence is on a larger scale and things are even less easy to keep track of. It's hard to avoid the impression that the polarisation between old Danes and new, between white and brown, between majority and minority which has unfortunately made its mark on so many other parts of society ... is now also reflected in the world of hard-core crime. On top of everything else it looks as if gang wars are now evolving into race wars. This development is just as depressing as it is alarming." (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Denmark

In February the International Court of Justice in The Hague ended a border dispute between Romania and Ukraine. Romania was granted the right of use for a large part of the area under dispute in the Black Sea. The point at issue was Ukraine's Snake Island: the court ruled that is was an island but based the delineation if its maritime borders on its territorial rights as a rock. This decision could have repercussions for the border dispute between Greece and Turkey over the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea, the Greek daily To Ethnos writes: "This shocking decision alters all the current facts. … The decision was politically motivated. Romania is a Nato and EU member and Ukraine isn't. … The conclusion is that referring the dispute over the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea to the International Court of Justice will lead not to a juristic battle between Turkey and Greece but to a political one." (01/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Greece, » Ukraine, » Turkey, » Romania
All available articles from » Giorgos Delastik

Thomas Urban writes in the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung that in the German-Polish debate over the president of the Association of Expellees Erika Steinbach some important facts have been ignored. "Polish society has still not found an answer to the fact that a growing number of Germans don't question Germany's guilt in the war but at the same time have no understanding for the victim mentality in today's Poland. On the contrary, the Germans expect recognition for having accepted the responsibility for this dark chapter in recent history: after all, they have paid compensation and accepted the loss of the Oder-Neisse area as well as offering official apologies like that of former German president Roman Herzog on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising in 1994 and that of former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder ten years later. What's more, the Polish people haven't been properly informed that in particular the Christian Democrats and the churches want to include those expellees who gave up their revisionist stance under Steinbach in the German-Polish dialogue. Owing to this controversy, a large part of German society now sees the Poles as a society that refuses to take the hand the majority of expellees who want reconciliation and which has rallied around Steinbach has stretched out to them." (03/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Thomas Urban

The Russian academic Alexander Etkind writes in the Times of Malta on Moscow's dependence on high oil prices: "That happy union between the Kremlin and ordinary Russians is ending. Few Russian policymakers, much less the Russian public, expected oil and gas prices to collapse as they have. We do not know what will happen next. If prices rebound, Mr Putin and his people will glorify themselves for their wisdom. But if prices remain stagnant at current levels, Putin's system is doomed to failure. It is no coincidence that George W. Bush's and Mr Putin's disastrous presidencies were cotemporaneous. By driving up energy prices, Mr Bush was Mr Putin's greatest ally, with Mr Putin returning the favour by refocusing Russia from its multiple problems to 'terrorism.' Both sought to undo the work of their successful predecessors, Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin. Both led their countries into traps with which their successors must deal. When Mr Bush said that he liked what he saw in Mr Putin's eyes, he meant it. But their successors are as different as the procedures that brought them to power." (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Economic Policy, » Russia

The liberal conservative daily Corriere della Sera sees generalised panic-mongering as the main reason why the stock markets have once again plunged: "We won't overcome the crisis until shares in the US start rising. … To make the markets liquid once more and rid them of panic-driven prices investors must make a comeback. In this respect the last two weeks of Obama policy have been disastrous. … The talk of nationalising Citigroup has caused its shares to dive by 22 percent. The fear of nationalisation in the US is triggered by different factors than in Europe, where people are wary of political influence. … In the US it is feared because state intervention in bank capital could thin out the previous shareholders and cause the value of their shares to plunge. … It's almost as if the Obama team simply refused to understand that the most important goal of the operations is not financial in nature. It's not about saving the banks' balance sheets - or at least not primarily, but about putting an end to the panic." (03/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Francesco Giavazzi

In view of the financial crisis the Swedish metal workers union has agreed with employers to accept a partial wage sacrifice. To avoid layoffs, working hours are to be shortened where necessary, and the time thus liberated used for continuing education. The daily Svenska Dagbladet comments: "The agreement can lead to workers being paid less over the long term, but it does not lead to pay cuts. Just because a worker receives less pay it does not mean he is suddenly being paid less for his work. What we are dealing with is a reduction in working hours. ... Under the new agreement employees will not have to compete among themselves with lower prices for their labour. The deal will help companies avoid layoffs and it will help metal workers avoid unemployment. How long will it take for the rest of the labour market to follow suit?" (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Sweden

Examining the consequences of the German state investing in the companies Opel and Schaeffler the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: "In times of crisis it may seem passé to demand solid public finances and a stable currency, but what would remain if confidence in the solvency of the state were also lost? Consequently, in their rush to rescue politicians should not succumb to the illusion that they can save every company and every job. The state buying a share in Opel or Schaeffler would amount to more than just two more minor transgressions in the name of restructuring politics. It is here that we will see whether Germany intends to tread the path towards state debt and nationalisation. Should Europe's strongest anchor of stability break, it would send an awful signal for the euro. There is no better way to topple the existing social order than to ruin the currency, maintained the economist John Maynard Keynes, who so many politicians are fond of quoting nowadays. Will they take Keynes' advice to heart?" (03/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Holger Steltzner

The Czech Republic has long been vaunted for its exemplary literary magazines. Now the Czech Ministry of Culture has slashed the annual subsidies granted to such magazines. The liberal weekly newspaper Respekt takes a dim view of the measure: "These magazines now receive only 9 million crowns, instead of the 20 million previously allocated to them. Since most of them only manage to keep their heads above water thanks to state money, the consequences are clear. If worst comes to worst they will disappear from the kiosks. ... Political plurality is one pillar of democracy. A full-fledged cultural life is another. But the Ministry of Culture, condemned as it is to making cuts, has slashed the budget for the very weakest without considering an alternative. ... For example, part of tax revenues could be put directly into worthwhile literary projects. For years two percent of taxes in Slovakia have gone into just that. Of course it's much easier just to slash funds." (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » Cultural Policy, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Jaroslav Formánek

A debate over the theory of evolution is raging in the Netherlands. Calvinists have mounted a campaign against Darwin in favour of the Biblical story of creation. The daily De Volkskrant comments: "Everyone is free to believe the Biblical account of creation. But the creationist demand that creation should be included in school texts alongside the theory of evolution is unacceptable. Biology books must give an account of current scientific knowledge and not of religious history, which blatantly contrasts with scientific research. ... In a pluralist society fundamentalists may certainly believe what they want. But belief and science must not be confused. The story of creation does not have the same status as the theory of evolution. ... The churches may spread their faith, but biology books must teach biology." (03/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Science / Research, » Netherlands

The upcoming visit of new US President Barack Obama to Prague presents a predicament for the host, the liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes writes, for the question of who will play hostess to First Lady Michelle Obama remains unanswered: "Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek will be the host. But although they haven't divorced he no longer lives with his wife and she doesn't accompany him at official events. Basically the prime minister now has two choices. He could play the host on his own, as he did when George W. Bush and his wife Laura visited in 2007. But that wasn't an ideal situation. The second solution: the prime minister welcomes the presidential couple with his current partner, the deputy parliamentary president Lucie Talmanová at his side. Ladislav Špaček, an expert on protocol and former spokesman for Václav Havel, recommends this second option. 'When President Nicolas Sarkozy was divorced and started his relationship with Carla Bruni they also travelled abroad together.'" (03/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Teodor Marjanovič