In his blog Jean-Marcel Bourguereau, editor in chief of the weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur, takes positive stock of Barack Obama's first 100 days as president: "We are entitled to our 'Obamania'! ... On his hundredth day in office, Obama's track record speaks for itself. He has ordered the closure of Guantánamo, the withdrawal from Iraq by 2010, and he's made legal recourse easier for women discriminated against on the job market. ... Thanks to him relations with [Russian Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin have thawed. He has offered a hand to the Muslim world and eased relations with Syria and even Iran. ... And he has relieved tensions with Cuba. ... Certainly, 100 days is not a long time. Numerous obstacles remain to be overcome, and they will be closely related to the extent of the economic crisis." (28/04/2009)

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The Irish Times gives US President Barack Obama high marks for his first 100 days in office: "Whether on health reform, job creation, Guantánamo and torture or on his accessible yet reasoned style of political argument, Mr Obama has successfully caught the US public mood and carried opinion with him. As a result his Republican opponents are nonplussed and in disarray. ... They must await the working out of Mr Obama's policies, hoping that failures will revive their credibility. Internationally Mr Obama has played well to an expectant world. Much of this work has been symbolic, conveying respect to countries and cultures previously disparaged by the Bush administration. His foreign policy is now becoming more substantive, notably on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in his meetings with European and Latin American leaders. He must now link that goodwill to his pursuit of US interests." (29/04/2009)

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After 100 days in office US President Barack Obama is still highly popular, the daily De Volkskrant writes, but adds that the problems he faces are immense: "The expectations are still high, in contrast to the miserable state of the US economy. This situation is not without risk for Obama. Almost three-quarters of the US population expect things to improve in the next four years. This puts the president under considerable pressure, for it remains to be seen whether his reform programme will work or - as critical economists fear - will be nowhere near comprehensive enough. On foreign terrain Obama is no less vulnerable. The war in Afghanistan is going anything but according to plan and Pakistan possibly represents an even greater security risk. Moreover, it's highly questionable whether Iran will accept Obama's outstretched hand. And the list of possible stumbling blocks doesn't end there." (29/04/2009)

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The Spanish daily recognises the achievements of US President Barack Obama in his first 100 days in office but sees difficulties ahead for him in foreign policy: "With his peaceful messages Obama is trying to approach old problems from a different angle and is undisputedly receiving support from society in doing so. Hopefully he will be successful. But he should try to reserve this backing for the moment he realises that there are some conflicts that can't be resolved even with the most winning smile." (29/04/2009)

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In his first 100 days in office US President Barack Obama has been unable to fulfil the expectations placed in him, writes the business paper Hospodářské Noviny: "But what else could he have done? Could he have worked miracles? And if so, which ones? His biggest accomplishment has been to battle with the media image that he helped to create during his election campaign. ... His opponents call him a naive liberal incapable of dealing either with his own domestic economy or with global politics. He has not been able to unify the world in the fight against the global recession, they say. He's been unrealistic in his dealings with Iran and North Korea, and he charges against windmills on matters such as the US health care system. ... Nevertheless American society - to say nothing of the Europeans - is still staunchly behind Obama 100 days after he took office." (28/04/2009)

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Albania has applied for membership in the European Union. A commentary in the Financial Times welcomes the move wholeheartedly: "The Union's eastward enlargement is among its greatest successes; it must be enhanced by embracing the fragile states of the western Balkans, including Albania. Tirana's move comes just days after EU states accepted an entry application from neighbouring Monte­negro. Albania may have to wait a few months for a go-ahead as Brussels will quite rightly wish to see that the June parliamentary election takes place in line with EU standards. But barring mishaps both countries should soon begin the arduous business of multi-year entry negotiations. All this is welcome: Brussels must keep enlargement moving at a time when it faces serious obstacles. ... The western Balkans have since the Yugoslav wars been largely the EU's responsibility. Preparing the region for accession is the only rational way of finishing the job of securing its peace and prosperity." (29/04/2009)

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The times when decisions of the European Court of Justice were undervalued are over, writes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Many of the court's judgements have huge political significance. That also goes for the case of Cyprus. Anyone who was expelled from the Turkish-occupied northern part of the divided island and who wins a court case in the South can enforce the judgement in another EU state. Numerous Western Europeans who bought cheap holiday homes in the North can be affected by this ruling. Now they must fear for their assets in the place where they live. That may seem bizarre, as the EU has no power whatsover in the Turkish-occupied part of the island. But it results from the EU accession of the Republic of Cyprus and Europe's rules on the enforcement of judicial decisions. In individual cases this may be hard, and mean renewed troubles in the process of Cypriot reunification. But it also sends a signal: expulsions and expropriations remain injustices, no matter who happens to be in power now." (29/04/2009)

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The Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) has put out a report on judicial reform and the rule of law in Romania and Bulgaria. The daily Romania Libera writes that the report is a "cold shower" for Romania: "The CEPS recommends that even after three years the mechanism of monitoring should not be abandoned. But the performance criteria should also be formulated more precisely, it says, so that the government in Bucharest cannot go on juggling catchphrases. What's more, the CEPS adopts the idea making the rounds in Brussels that suspending European funds could be coupled to monitoring as a sanction measure. ... Both the European Commission ... and several important national governments consider they have been deceived on this matter. We are justifying the fears explicitly stated by politicians after 2007: okay, we're EU members, who cares any more what we promised? ... But by acting this way we are simply hitting ourselves where it hurts: in the purse-strings." (29/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Cristian Ghinea

On Tuesday Bulgaria and Russia gave the go-ahead for the South Stream pipeline project. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had previously unexpectedly postponed a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev scheduled for Monday in Moscow. Dnevnik comments: "On Monday we were all witnesses of how Stanishev used his talent to transform himself into a Trojan horse in league with the Kremlin. It is unheard of for a prime minister on a state visit not to be received without even being given an explanation. Not even [Belarussian President Alexander] Lukashenko would have tolerated such treatment. … But beyond this performance the anger of the Kremlin is directed at the new European energy policy. It is a reaction to the loss of its total control over the gas-rich central Asian states of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, as well as to its own very real financial problems. This anger was vented against Stanishev of all people - the prime minister of the country that remains most loyal to Russia within the EU." (29/04/2009)

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Bernard-Henri Lévy calls in the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera for the dissolution of the UN Human Rights Council in reparation for the debacle at the UN anti-racism conference in Geneva: "An anti-racism conference that was prepared by Libya, opened by Tehran and which concluded with a document that performed the commendable service of directly attacking women, Jews, sexual and religious minorities, free thinkers and indigenous peoples is a total failure. … I see only one way to avoid a repetition of this scandal and repair the damage that has been done. … The Human Rights Council must be dissolved and a new council created and endowed with a system of government that makes control by murdering states, as we have today, impossible. A simple regulation must be established that enables rogue states, dictatorial states and states that commit genocide to be excluded from the council until they change their regime, just as citizens who are guilty of a serious crime are temporarily deprived of their civil rights." (29/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Bernard-Henri Levy

Following the outbreak of swine flu economic psychologist Jacek Santorski analyses in the Polish daily Dziennik how the psyche, economic development and panicked behaviour are connected: "In the case of an outbreak of panic caused by the spread of an epidemic, the information that there is a 'miracle cure' – an effective serum or vaccine against the flu - is the best way to end the panic. ... Then the panic would turn into an eager search for the vaccine. Unfortunately we know that there is no such thing. ... People who earn a living making prognoses and on the financial markets are not interested in whether there's an epidemic. ... For them what's important is whether the panic is actually making an impact on the sale of oil, or how often people go to the cinema. But the factor that plays the greatest role is the psyche. And that in turn is influenced primarily by objective factors – such as how real the threat is perceived to be – and also by the information spread by the media." (29/04/2009)

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The shareholders of Fortis Bank have agreed to the sale of the company to the French bank BNP Paribas. At the general meeting, shareholders opposed to the sale threw their shoes and cups at the bank's managers while shouting down their opponents. According to the daily De Standaard the unhappy shareholders were spurred on by their lawyer, Mischael Modrikamen: "Modrikamen did a disservice to the image of lawyers yesterday. His appearance was a disgrace to the profession. As a lawyer he must argue his case with legal reasoning, not with incitement and threats. As a lawyer he must also accept that all Fortis shareholders have a say in the future of the company, and he must accept the result of their democratic vote. And if he's not willing to accept that, he can try to bring the matter to court. But a general shareholders' meeting is not a public tribunal." (29/04/2009)

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Not only the economic crisis but also the fear of a swine flu pandemic could lead to heavy financial losses in countries that are dependent on tourism. Fortunately Slovenia will be little affected, the daily Delo writes: "Despite the swine flu crisis that is currently diverting some attention from the economic crisis it [the economic crisis] still poses the greatest threat to tourism. In some countries less so, but in other countries it could have serious repercussions. … Slovenia basically doesn't need to worry, because as we were recently informed, in our country tourism never has been and never will be one of the major economic sectors. The economy won't collapse as a result of the 10 percent drop in visitors and overnight stays our country has experienced in the first four months of this year compared to last year. … So every cloud has a silver lining. If until recently we were complaining that not enough importance was attached to tourism in Slovenia, we can now be glad that this is the case." (29/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Mateja Gruden

The documentary film Obcan Havel (Citizen Havel) about former Czech president Václav Havel comes out in Polish cinemas on Friday. Lucjan Strzyga praises the "Super-Czech on the silver screen", as well as the film's directors Miroslav Janek and Pavel Koutecký: "This is probably the longest documentary anyone has ever shot about a state leader. The camera accompanied Václav Havel over several decades - from the moment he became president of the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution to his retirement from politics. It was in 2003 that he left the president's office to his successor and political rival Václav Klaus. But in Citizen Havel we also see images of the famous Czech in his role as ex-president. The film's statistics are extraordinary. Its creators ... have pulled off an enormous feat, editing hundreds of hours of footage first down to 45 hours, and then down to just 119 minutes for this film version. The result is a compressed portrait of the 73-year-old statesman who has become a political legend in his own lifetime." (29/04/2009)

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The daily Diena expresses annoyance with the Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat after the latter described Riga as the most dangerous destination in the world for Finnish tourists: "There are without doubt cities that are far more dangerous (not only for Finnish) tourists. In Mexico City, for example, even official travel guides advise tourists not to resist if someone tries to take their money from them because they could end up being shot - and (touch wood) things haven't gone that far here in Riga. The newspaper confines itself to citing a representative of the Finnish police who claimed that nowhere else did Finns fall victim to crime so systematically. However one should add that hardly any other city has so many Finnish visitors as Tallinn. But even if such information is exaggerated it is nonetheless better that tourists in general be warned. After all, even we residents of Riga can't guarantee that all our taxi drivers are honest." (29/04/2009)

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All available articles from » Laila Pakalnina