On the eve of the G20 summit in London the Copenhagen daily Information calls for a Green New Deal, or massive investments in environment and climate-friendly development: "The economic downturn is among other things helping to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, but with an expansion strategy based on loans and consumption we could soon be back on the road to disaster which climate researchers have been warning us to abandon with increasing desperation. … An analysis presented by British bank HSBC shows that of all the stimulus measures that have been passed all over the world only 15 percent encompass green investments. The rest can either damage the climate or at best be climate-neutral." (01/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Jørgen Steen Nielsen

The Financial Times Deutschland writes that the G20 is too unwieldy to manage global capitalism after the crisis: "A basic problem with the loose aggregate of G20 states is that it is too big to take effective action on economic policy. A group of economists once tried to work out mathematically the optimal size for an efficient committee. The case they were dealing with was a central bank council, but their results also apply to political organisations. The answer was that groups with between five and nine members - so with an average of seven - delivered the best results. In this respect the G7 comprising the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, the UK and Italy was not so bad after all." (01/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Wolfgang Münchau

The left-liberal daily La Repubblica writes that the summit in London only occupies an important place on Barack Obama's agenda in Europe because it offers an opportunity to establish fresh contacts with Russia and China: "People in Washington have realised that there will be no European economic stimulus plan, that Germany and France will continue to cling to their positions, and that if Barack Obama insists that Europe modify its economic policy he will only chalk up a defeat. ... Consequently he will be looking elsewhere for success. Above all he will focus on his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, to bring about a new thaw in relations. ... And in his talks with China the American president wants to broaden dialogue beyond purely economic issues and discuss topics such as climate protection and North Korea." (01/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Mario Calabresi

Ahead of the G20 summit the Spanish daily La Razón warns that recognising the changing balance of power is a prerequisite for overcoming the crisis: "The game has its rules, and they must be observed. The first is to recognise that the world and the balance of power are changing. This is not to say that all those who want to improve their status should be given carte blanche to do so, but it does mean that we accept that the US and Europe will no longer be the world's mayors. China, which in 30 years time will be the main power; India, which will have the largest population in the world and Russia, which is trying to reassert itself as a superpower will all have much more say and also bear much greater responsibility." (01/04/2009)

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After the centre-right government led by Czech premier Mirek Topolánek received a vote of no confidence, the parties in the Czech Republic have agreed in principle to hold early elections and form a caretaker government. This means the Czech EU Council presidency will be brought to its conclusion at the end of July by a set of new faces, the liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes comments: "The collapsed government had its faults, but it would still be stupid not to allow it to bring the Czech EU presidency to its conclusion. ... We do not by any means overrate the task of leading the EU, but it is not a mere formality either. After all, the Czech Republic wants to assume a more active role in the community, and further its own interests. In many respects the Czechs are more liberal than the old EU states. They are pro-Israeli and pro-American. … If Topolánek, [deputy premier Alexandr] Vondra and [foreign minister Karel] Schwarzenberg are replaced with unknown 'experts' the presidency would degenerate into an embarrassing farce." (01/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Martin Komárek

Several hundred refugees drowned in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya at the beginning of the week. The left-leaning daily die tageszeitung comments: "Those with the power and money to flee their countries and brave navy cruisers, helicopters and fences are the affluent and the educated. Many have attended university and without exception all are ready to work hard for their happiness. These are the young, the upwardly-mobile, the potential elite, who perish in frustration at their lack of prospects in Africa. These are the doctors and skilled workers, the nurses and businesspeople that Africa needs so desperately but cannot hold back - among other things because the Internet and television bring the dream of a better life in the West right into their homes. Who can seriously expect Africans to stick it out in their run-down continent in the hopes that one day better times will appear out of the blue? It would be good if refugees could board airplanes instead of fragile boats, but we Europeans don't give them that chance." (01/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Marc Engelhardt

The US presented a new strategy at the Afghanistan conference in The Hague: increased military deployment, but also more money for reconstruction. The goal is to prevent a second Vietnam, the daily De Morgen writes: "But this still raises the question of how European countries like Belgium can make a responsible contribution to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The past seven years have proven that it is not a good idea to participate in military efforts: the Nato offensives engender above all additional violence and insecurity. But providing more development aid is also a dangerous option. Those who give money to a failed state must be aware that this money will probably end up in the wrong hands. The best proof of this is the outrageous judgement pronounced on the young journalist Pervez Kambaksh, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on appeal for distributing a text on women's rights. We should think twice before giving money to such a state." (01/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Koen Vidal

For the daily Luxemburger Wort the election victory of Montenegro's prime minister Milo Đukanović leaves "a bitter aftertaste. Although accusations of nepotism, corruption and involvement in organised crime against Milo Đukanović have never be proven beyond a doubt, they have not been refuted either. Nevertheless, the country with just 650,000 inhabitants is doing its utmost to join the EU. Montenegro submitted a membership application in Brussels in December, because the perspective of joining the EU increases its clout among its Balkan neighbours. For the EU however, the prospect of admitting a country which is run like a private fiefdom is grist to the mill for opponents of enlargement. For that reason it's time Brussels put an end to its flirtation with Đukanović. Each country must be judged on its own merits, and not just in terms of its strategic importance." (01/04/2009)

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April 1st is Cyprus' national holiday, commemorating the start of the liberation struggle against the British colonial forces in 1955. Giannakis Omirou, president of the social democratic party EDEK, writes on the modern significance of the holiday: "The fight was a true popular movement, one which created the hope ... for a new generation of fighters. ... Cypriot Hellenism has overcome many hardships and goes on fighting for its survival even today. But it can - and must - look to the future with optimism. ... The struggle from 1955 to 1959 ... is also relevant for the direction we take today. In a European environment, and with a new national consciousness, we can prepare the way for Cyprus to begin a new historical cycle and put the painful past forever behind it." (30/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Omirou Giannakis

Cambridge professor Noreena Hertz writes in The Times on the role of free trade and protectionism as ways out of the economic crisis: "We urgently need a frank, honest and grown-up discussion about the final frontier of neoliberalism - free trade. Instead we get scaremongering: 'Remember the 1930s; don't take us back there.' ...  We also continue to be presented with a false dichotomy - free trade versus protectionism. What we need is a nuanced analysis of where on the free trade-protectionism scale nations need and want to be positioned, and what the implications of that are. The ability to have this discussion openly is vital when countries are under huge pressure from voters to protect jobs and businesses and create compelling narratives about their own recovery. The truth is that, when used specifically, and limited by time, as Sweden and Japan did after the 1970s oil shocks, protectionism can be a lifeline for a struggling country." (01/04/2009)

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With the global financial summit about to begin in London, French President Nicolas Sarkozy analyses the crisis of the financial and economic system in the Spanish daily El País: "The world expects us to accelerate the reform of the international financial system. The world expects us to join forces to construct a new form of capitalism that is better regulated, more ethical and more compassionate. This is the prerequisite for reactivating [the economy] and sustainable growth. For this is not a crisis of capitalism. On the contrary, it is a crisis of a system that abandoned the fundamental values of capitalism. It is the crisis of a system that drove the financial players to carelessly expose themselves to ever greater risks. This enabled banks to speculate instead of financing the development of the economy, which is their real task. And finally it is the crisis of a system that allowed so many players and so many financial centres to escape any form of control." (01/04/2009)

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The government and bankers in the Netherlands have signed a "gentlemen's agreement" imposing strict regulations on excessive bonuses for managers. But there will be no state sanctions. In the opinion of the conservative-liberal weekly Elsevier the bankers will nonetheless take great pains not to violate the agreement: "The wave of at times careless criticism aimed at bankers in the Netherlands and also abroad is forcing them to moderation. They know now that they are under intense scrutiny. ... A positive aspect for all those who think the incomes of top managers have reached absurd levels is that the anger is also great in the country that started off the excessive bonus system: the United States. For it is the model country for bonus systems in the corporate world. This subject has been under serious debate for some time now over there. The gap between the incomes of top executives - not only at banks - and that of the average American has become more glaring with each passing year. Change there will no doubt lead to change here." (01/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Paul de Hen

The Swedish parliament will today in all probability pass a marriage law putting homosexuals and heterosexuals on an equal legal footing. The party led by Christian Democrat Göran Hägglund, minister for health and social affairs, opposes the new law. The Stockholm daily Aftonbladet for its part welcomes the new legislation: "It's a scandal that a Swedish minister for social affairs wants to simply brush aside the desire of many people to have children. Hägglund is stigmatising all the children growing up in rainbow families and casting doubts on their lifestyle. His conduct shows that the Christian Democrats have a problem with their views on people. … Moral conservatism is making a comeback worldwide. The Catholic Church excommunicated a doctor who helped a nine-year-old rape victim have an abortion. The Pope says that condoms won't stop the Aids epidemic in Africa. In this toxic climate it is good to see the Swedish government allow same-sex marriages and thus take a further step away from the heterosexual view of the world." (01/04/2009)

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A Canadian study has revealed a vast digital spying operation apparently originating in China, which has gathered information from computers in over 100 countries. In an interview with the weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur, author Nicolas Arpagian comments on the role of the Internet in intelligence strategies: "You can make a website - and its host - crash by bombarding it with simultaneous hits. ... It is also possible to alter a site's contents, as shown by attackers from Georgia and Estonia who put images of Adolf Hitler on many websites throughout the net. ... In the future all classical conflicts will be combined with cyber attacks. The Chinese have enormous means at their disposal. They were the first to start developing a digital military strategy, but now the whole world has joined in. The [German] news magazine Der Spiegel recently revealed that the BND, or German Intelligence Service, carried out 2,500 computer attacks in the last couple of months." (31/03/2009)

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All available articles from » Christophe Boltanski

The first foreign citizen to be sentenced in the US for attempting to gain illegal access to the personal data of Internet users (phishing) to more than four years in prison is a Romanian. This reinforces the false image of Romanians as "dreaded hackers", Gandul newspaper writes: "According to an [FBI] study Romanians rank tenth on the list of computer hackers; they commit 0.5 percent of all such crimes. That's not a very high figure. The industrial nations are ahead of us in the statistics - Americans, British, Canadians - as well as hackers who come from extremely poor countries like Nigeria or Ghana. In other words, it's difficult to establish a connection between computer hackers and a specific country. ... It was only recently that Romania introduced a [legal] classification of computer crimes. Moreover there's the fact that the Romanian police, public prosecutors and judges had no special training in this area. ... This - in addition to the legal loopholes - is the main reason why groups of computer hackers have been able to work undisturbed for years." (01/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Gabriela Stefan