The Guardian considers the consequences of the US about-face in stem cell research for British science: "In Britain, which has worked so hard in the last eight years to exploit the research opportunities made possible by the Bush veto, there are mixed feelings. Inevitably, some science will now gravitate back across the Atlantic. But talk of a new brain drain could be wide off the mark as well as premature. The sense that we make the breakthroughs and the Americans make the money may have been hardwired in the national DNA, from penicillin and the jet engine through to the world wide web. Yet with science research funding boosted and ringfenced, as Gordon Brown pledged ... last month, Britain can remain in the vanguard of stem cell research for years to come. Happily, America's welcome return to scientific principles is good news for everyone." (10/03/2009)

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Germany should follow US president Barack Obama's lead in removing barriers to stem cell research, writes the liberal daily Der Tagesspiegel: "US scientists had to look on with gritted teeth in recent years as generous aid was allocated to human embryonic stem cell research the UK, Israel, Scandinavia and even in Catholic Spain. ... The US is at the forefront of scientific research. It's reinvolvement in one of the most important areas in basic medical research is a boon to the entire world. The potential for stem cell research is large, stretching from the fight against chronic diseases like diabetes and Parkinson's to the treatment of injuries, for example to the spinal cord. In addition stem cells can broaden our understanding of certain diseases. ... It will be years before humans can be treated with therapies based on stem cell research. Germany still has time for reflection with its strict law on stem cell research, but sooner or later that time will run out." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Hartmut Wewetzer

The liberal daily La Stampa sees US President Barack Obama's decision in favour of stem cell research as a challenge for Europe: "The contrast between pragmatism and ideology is the idea that enabled Obama to win the elections and on which he is now relying to emphasise the need to abandon the intense conflicts between left and right, progressive and conservative, secular and religious. … To prevent an ideological divide Obama justified his decision with the words of a believer. … Obama's faith does not rest on dogmas or the Church but on Saint Augustine's concept of serving one another. … For Europe, where stem cell research is taboo and the confrontation between secularism and religion has become entrenched, the language and policies of Obama pose a challenge which will be hard to avoid both in terms of values and in commercial terms." (10/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health and Medicine, » Science / Research, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Maurizio Molinari

After Barack Obama's decision in favour of stem cell research, the Spanish daily El País calls the US president a true reformer: "The will to reform is not constituted by slowly implementing revolutionary measures, but by approaching urgent matters with a sense of urgency and approaching matters that are not urgent with a sense of patience. Yesterday Obama the reformer signed an order lifting the ban of his predecessor George W. Bush on financing stem cell research - the cells from which any human organ can develop and on which a large part of the future of medicine hangs." (10/03/2009)

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According to the daily De Morgen, President Barack Obama's recent decision to support stem cell research is a sign of change in the US: "Yesterday Obama allocated funding to stem cell research. … A president who in less than three months has made dramatic changes in Middle East policy, set a new tone in Cuba policy, espoused a new economic policy and moved away from bioethical conservatism has at the very least kept one of his promises: to bring change. Change - and not just minor change at that. True, Obama has drawn fierce criticism: from extremist Miami-Cubans, Christian conservatives, Fox News and Co. But this does him credit. Has Barack Obama transformed his country into a land of milk and honey? Are hunger, climate change and the economic crisis things of the past? Of course not. Obama is no saint and not all his decisions are commendable (for example his lukewarm criticism of Israeli brutality in Gaza). But this man has brought change." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Walter Pauli

Thousands of Catalans demonstrated in Brussels on Saturday for their independence from Spain. Lluís Foix comments in the Spanish-Catalan daily La Vanguardia: "The Catalan independence movement can be content that it was able to concentrate several thousand people in Brussels to demonstrate for the right to self-determination and independence. The European Union is such a broad and pluralistic entity that it accepts the most diverse demonstrations as completely normal. ... Nevertheless, at least as long as the rules stay as they are I find it unlikely that such excursions can help Catalonia attain the status of a new state in Europe behind the back of the state to which it belongs." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Lluís Foix

At an international conference starting in Copenhagen today, Tuesday, scientists and politicians will examine the latest methods for protecting the climate. The daily NRC Handelsblad discusses the chances and risks of 'geo-engineering', a process which alters chemical reactions in the atmosphere: "That the debate about major efforts to influence the climate continues despite all the risks is a result not only of the natural curiosity which characterises scientists but above all of the fact that the world is simply unable to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. … Perhaps it [geo-engineering] will ultimately be inevitable in order to win time in the battle against climate change. … Because experiments in one's own country can have serious repercussions for the climate of another country agreements have to be reached beforehand. This serves not only scientific interests but also diplomatic interests." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Paul Luttikhuis

The Greek government is disappointed that US President Barack Obama will travel to Turkey in the coming weeks but will not visit Greece. The daily To Ethnos comments: "The announcement of Obama's visit is a cold shower for the government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis. ... The comparison [of Obama's attitudes to Greece and Turkey] is very important. It shows not only the huge difference in the geostrategic importance of Turkey and Greece, it also demonstrates the difference in quality of the two countries' foreign policy. The decision rewards Ankara's independent, multi-faceted foreign policy in the era of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which has made Turkey an important partner also for the US." (10/03/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Greece, » U.S., » Turkey
All available articles from » Giorgos Delastik

In Western Europe - with the exception of the UK - the economic crisis has still not led to any major political upheavals, comments the daily Latvijas Avize. But political culture in Latvia is entirely different, the paper writes: "The political class in Latvia can ask itself why the German Social Democratic Party, for example, does not make use of the crisis to terminate the grand coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel and join forces with the Left Party. The answer is that the SPD cares about its reputation and the interests of the state, but you could hardly convince anyone of that in Latvia. ... And in Western Europe - above all in France - the shelves in bookshops are laden with the memoirs of politicians, and not just prior to elections. In Latvia, pretty much all we have to show for ourselves is one scandal after the next." (10/03/2009)

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In the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita Marek Magierowski makes fun of the fact that with the financial crisis the "East" is being cast as the black sheep of the European economy: "The word 'East' has returned to the vocabularies of the Western media, which publish alarming headlines on the economic situation in our regioin. The East is on the verge of bankruptcy, the East is sinking in the gigantic crisis, the East could pull the West down with it. This last formulation, which appears in the English, German and French press, is particularly irritating. It suggests that one can put the blame for a possible collapse of the financial system in the entire European Union on the states in this part of the continent. Until recently America was still the major culprit of the crash - with its unrestrained capitalism and greedy bankers. Now this paradigm has been somewhat modified by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy: of course the US spread the crisis virus, but it only became malignant and threatening in Eastern Europe." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Marek Magierowski

Writing in the daily Diário de Notícias Portugal's former head of state Mário Soares stresses the importance of the upcoming elections to the European Parliament: "Voter turnout for the EU Parliament elections has never been as high as for national elections in individual EU states. This is because European voters have not been involved in the EU's decision-making, and the concept of a strong sense of European citizenship has not been promoted. EU citizens show little interest in what goes on in the European Parliament and European Commission because they lack information about the tasks of MEPs and the members of the Commission. I hope that in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament the member states finally initiate a serious debate about the future of the Union and agree on a strategy for preventing the break-up of the EU (a threat that is hanging over our heads at present). In addition, political institutions must be founded that can make the EU a global player with an important role in today's world. If we fail to achieve this the decline of the EU and all its member states is inevitable. Germany and France are largely responsible for the current situation and can't lay the blame elsewhere." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Mário Soares

The Catholic daily La Croix writes that an agreement is expected in Brussels on reducing value added tax to 5.5 percent in the restaurant sector: "Looked at from a strictly economic point of view, such a reduction is not incoherent. Lowering valued added tax in sectors that create jobs at a local level must be beneficial. In addition it would correct the large discrepancy with fast food restaurants, which are currently taxed at 5.5 percent. The reduction in value added tax was worked out as a means to reflate the economy, create jobs and even raise salaries. ... On this point the government must clearly state its demands and request guarantees." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » François Ernenwein

Writing in the daily Eesti Päevaleht, author Jan Kaus bemoans the frequent and unprofessional public attacks on Estonian literature: "I hope that it is possible to conduct a peaceful debate about the role of Estonian literature in society. I don't by any means believe that everyone should consider literature absolutely essential. But I simply can't accept statements like 'Estonian literature is bad so I don't bother reading it'. How can one form an opinion about something one isn't familiar with? Moreover, we should reflect on whether one of the reasons there are so few Estonian novels is because authors have no opportunity to concentrate on writing: the Estonian market is so tiny that even a bestseller doesn't automatically provide economic security." (10/03/2009)

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The daily Dnevnik comments on the new cultural heritage legislation passed in Bulgaria despite fierce opposition: "It is an open secret that [the law] is about the interests of treasure hunters and dealers and smuggler networks that supply Bulgarian and also foreign collectors with archaeological artefacts. In many cases the latter are priceless objects, not just because of their value for the ancient history of the Balkans and for Thracian, ancient and medieval Bulgarian culture, but also for the world's cultural heritage. … It is the country's duty to protect [Bulgaria's cultural heritage], to research it and make it accessible to an international public. The opponents of the bill and their lobbyists conceive the freedom and inviolability of private property in a democratic state as the total freedom to take possession of anything in one's own interest. Such freedom exists neither in Greece nor in Italy - both countries with a rich cultural heritage." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Totko Stoyanov

Les Echos newspaper comments on France's draft law against Internet piracy: "Of course the bill on 'Creativity and the Internet' is far from perfect. Professional swindlers will always find a way to slip through the meshes in the net. And the bill runs the risk of building up a repressive apparatus. ... In addition to the inevitable legal mistakes, parents will soon be penalised for acts committed by their children. And regarding technical bugs, it may well be that certain households will have their telephone and television cut off just because a few paltry files were exchanged. Just as the first traffic radars and alcohol tests did not immediately lower the number of road accidents, this law wil not solve all the problems at hand. But France is on the right track. In Cyberspace as on Earth, no one may ignore the law." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » David Barroux

Romanian sociologist Sorin Ionita asks in the daily Evenimentul Zilei why Romania lacks a serious weekly magazine like Newsweek or Der Spiegel: "Such a magazine wouldn't survive here in Romania because both the media makers and the public are fans of a different journalistic model. This consists of a great hotchpotch as a result of which Romania has more media channels (printed and spoken) per capita than other EU countries - and of course more than the market can sustain. From the outset these media trusts were aimed at gobbling up money. They never yielded any profit … but gave the media owners influence or protection or were used as political-economic instruments. With the mass of providers who operate according to this model it is difficult for anyone to storm the market with a new product and establish a public opinion based on different rules. The cartels of silence are difficult to destroy." (10/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Sorin Ionita