The Portuguese business daily Diário Económico is certain EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso will be re-elected: "The question is whether he'll get an absolute majority or not. … Barroso's first five years weren't easy. Above all because they were marked by the economic crisis in the final phase. Nor were there any clear successes. It's still not clear whether the Lisbon Treaty will be ratified by all member states. … It has to be said that it's not easy to bring 27 countries into line. Not even on the rescue packages could they reach a consensus. If the EU reform does come into force Barroso will be confronted with a new decision-making structure as well as a permanent EU Council president who is more visible in major decisions - particularly if it turns out to be [former British prime minister] Tony Blair. Barroso is now promising a stronger and more ambitious leadership. Everything indicates he'll get a second chance to make a good impression." (16/09/2009)

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

The weekly paper and news portal for politics and opinion Knack doubts that a second term in office for the current EU Commission president would be good for Europe: "José Manuel Barroso has no project for Europe. Hence it's a pity that the Christian Democrats have no candidate who can make a better argument for the Union. Just try to convince the Belgians today of the positive aspects of European cooperation. On the one side the Dutch are doing everything they can to hinder the implementation of the agreement on excavating the Scheldt [allowing greater access to the Belgian port of Antwerp]. And on the other hand Germany is buying jobs at Opel at the expense of - among other things - the plant in Antwerp. More important than the trench war over cushy positions in Brussels is the referendum in Ireland scheduled for the start of October. ... The Treaty of Lisbon must make Europe more functional. Stronger. Even if many European politicians don't give the impression that it's really important to them. And Barroso is certainly not the man who's going to change their minds." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Hubert van Humbeeck

In the daily Le Monde the socialist MEP and Chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Pervenche Berès, argues against reelecting the EU Commission president: "In his 'document on political orientation' José Manuel Barroso argued that the crisis has affected the economy, the financial world and our values. But he forgets that it is also a social and environmental crisis, showing that he is not the man who the Europeans, Europe and the world need. Courage and a vision are needed to strike a path out of the current crisis. Barroso lacks both. ... He says he is fighting for a vision, but then he allows himself a base election manoeuvre that only justifies his nickname 'Chameleon'. ... The question is not whether the problem is with the man or his political orientation. In Barroso's case the combination of both has led to an unsuitable result." (15/09/2009)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Pervenche Berès

In the Polish daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna Andrzej Talaga complains that the big EU states Germany and France are only accepting a further term in office for José Manuel Barroso as EU Commission president provided they can continue to implement strong national policies: "The disputes over the election of the European Commission president have shown that the motor of European integration is sputtering to a halt. France and Germany, formerly the key driving force of the EU, have put on the brakes. It is now time for the smaller countries - including Poland - to pick up the baton and act as the most important Europeans. Today one may ask: is there anything at all that Berlin and Paris have not done to flaut the basic principles of the Community? They support their own economies by violating the Maastricht budget criteria and the principles of the free market. And they are compromising the institutions of the Community." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Andrzej Talaga

Arūnas Valinskas, speaker of the lithuanian parliament, was removed from office this week after he refused to resign voluntarily. The daily Diena examines political culture in its neighbouring country: "Valinskas has long been accused of having contacts with the underworld, even though neither the public prosecutors nor the police were able to find proof of this. But then a photo of him with a gangster boss was published, and even then he didn't want to give in to [President] Dalia Grybauskaitė's demand that he resign, simply pointing out that he had a wide circle of friends. … Valinska's political career has thus ended and if he had resigned without a fuss the average voter would have forgotten the whole affair before the next elections. But as things stand the Valinskas affair has highlighted a lack of traditions in the political culture. Valinskas simply had no sense of what a politician can and can't do." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, Latvian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Lithuania
All available articles from » Askolds Rodins

In a surprise move the Czech Social Democrats have rejected the planned dissolution of parliament on constitutional grounds, thus precluding early elections. The transition cabinet under unaffiliated Prime Minister Jan Fischer must continue to govern, and that's a good thing, writes the daily Die Presse: "People never tire of saying that each country has the politicians it deserves. But no. The Czechs truly do not deserve politicians like the ones they now have. ... It's the politicians in Prague who have failed, and who are now looking like fools. The result: there will be no elections in the Czech Republic in October, nor in November, but as originally planned only in June of next year. However it may well be the best option for a government made up of sober-minded experts and civil servants to handle the country's affairs for a longer period of time. The parties might even learn something, and their leaders may gradually come to their senses." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Burkhard Bischof

The liberal daily La Vanguardia assesses the results of Norway's parliamentary elections on Monday as a victory for civil values and functioning public institutions: "The result is the triumph of moderate centre-left policies over the populist and even xenophobic temptations of the Progress Party, which for the duration of the campaign played on the fears of Norwegians regarding Islamic immigrants who already make up ten percent of the population. Tax policies were also part of the campaign in a country where the standard of living is among the highest in the world, with extensive and efficient public services. In exchange [for these advantages] the Norwegians put up with high taxes. Yet it was his management of the economy and the promise to preserve and even extend social policies that secured [Prime Minister Jens] Stoltenberg his victory." (16/09/2009)

» more information (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » Integration, » Economic Policy, » Elections, » Norway

Writing in the weekly Observator Cultural Doina Ioanid bemoans the lack of a civil society in Romania, particularly as politicians tend to ignore the country's real problems: "Civil society remains silent. After so many years of accepting state power the Romanians have lost their voice and attitude. Worse still, they have forgotten how to be citizens and defend their fortress. Instead they are content with the right to stare vacantly at the television. To be concrete, being a citizen requires assuming responsibility and taking a stance on what happens around you. Passiveness and a lack of intervention is the worst that can happen to a new state like ours. Yes, there are associations and foundations and NGOs, but they are few and they are weak. Then there's the intellectuals as formers of opinion. But their presence still doesn't allow us to distance ourselves from all that is going wrong or violating civil rights, to be able to criticise or sanction it. … Twenty years after the fall of communism the Romanians have forgotten how to take a stance. They have forgotten that rights and obligations go hand in hand. They are content to assist the politicians in their confused actions, powerless and dormant. Perhaps the time has come to wake up." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Social movements, » Romania
All available articles from » Doina Ioanid

Three months before the Copenhagen climate conference, Tom Burke, one of the founding directors of the organisation for sustainable development E3G, writes in the liberal daily The Independent that debate on climate change must focus on human costs: "The Forum's report estimated that by 2030 the health of some 660 million people might be seriously affected by natural disasters. This is almost twice the number of people expected to suffer from diabetes by then. As the doctors point out, other health impacts will arise from changes in the distribution or frequency of occurrence of disease carriers. A third set of climate impacts affecting health arise from the infrastructure disruptions generated by a changing climate. Extreme weather events not only do direct harm to people, they also destroy or prevent access to hospitals and clinics. The displacement and conflict resulting from loss of food or clean water cause not only physical harm, but also much mental distress - as yet a much overlooked aspect of the health effects of climate change." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Demographics, » Global
All available articles from » Tom Burke

The privatised telephone company France Télécom has stopped all plans for restructuring until the end of October in the wake of numerous employee suicides within just a few months. The business daily Il Sole 24 Ore writes: "The suicide drama has hit a business that from a financial point of view has remained very solid and competitive ... even in these times of crisis. Despite its good health the colossus is nevertheless also trying to cut employee numbers (which have sunk from 140,000 in 2002 to the current 100,000). It is now having recourse to outsourced materials and young workers with temporary contracts, and is transferring call centers to countries like Morocco, where French-speaking employees are easy to find (at low prices). ... All union representatives are calling for an immediate stop to internal restructuring, which is almost always the cause of unease among employees." (16/09/2009)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Trade unions, » France
All available articles from » Leonardo Martinelli

The car parts supplier Magna has come under considerable pressure from its own customers due to its planned takeover of Opel. The largest German car manufacturers are threatening to cancel their orders with Magna for fear that technological knowledge will be leaked to Russia. The conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments: "BMW, Daimler and VW are clearly facing the fact that in future they will have no futher innovative components such as electronic parts developed by Magna. The fear is that such know-how will then fall into the hands of their competitor Opel. For Magna, its customers' disapproval of its new role as carmaker has life-threatening proportions. Of course not all producers are going to cancel all their orders. But Magna is already in an extremely difficult situation. In the first half of the year the sales volume of the world's third largest supplier after Bosch and Denso shrank by almost one half to 5 billion euros. [Until now] those responsible for this drop have primarily been customers in America." (16/09/2009)

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Germany, » Austria
All available articles from » Christoph Ruhkamp

The EU Commission wants to introduce legislation on the financing of property ownership under which the object purchased can serve as security for a mortgage only up to 40 percent instead of 70 percent, as is the case at present. The Finnish daily Kymen Sanomat argues that the EU's idea ignores the facts of life in Finland: "The homes of Finns are small by European standards, but more expensive. The reasons for this lie in the country's historical development, its social structures and living standards. Nature also plays a special role - owing to the climatic conditions construction is more expensive here than further south. For a Finn who wants to improve his housing conditions the only possibility is usually to buy a one-family house or move from a smaller one to a bigger one. For this, the most expensive investment in his lifetime, he often needs a large loan. It's crucial that the home he purchases can count as security for the majority of the loan. He has no other securities or guarantees at his disposal." (15/09/2009)

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Economic Policy, » Social affairs, » Finland
All available articles from » Markku Espo

After a year of financial crisis the US needs to restore trust in the financial system and avoid new mistakes that could lead to another crisis, the daily Dnevnik writes: "It wasn't long before the dilemma over whether to abandon speculators to their deserved fate at the risk of jeopardising the entire system received the expected and realistic answer. In these days US President Barack Obama repeated that answer. While announcing on Monday a banking system reform he referred to companies that were 'too big to fail'. Consequently he announced plans not only to monitor those in charge more closely but also for the [financial markets] to be partially state regulated. … But the ingenious financial wizards … are [still] paid handsomely for making profit in unbelievably original ways. Laws and regulations often lag behind … . This game is an old one and goes on forever. Farewell until the next crisis." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Corporations, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » U.S.
All available articles from » Andrej Brstovšek

Denmark's armed forces are trying to prevent the publishing of a book entitled Fighters - At War with the Elite in which author Thomas Rathsack recounts his experiences as a soldier in Afghanistan. The army has also appealed to newspapers not to publish the texts. The daily Jyllands-Posten concludes that the incident shows how little the armed forces know about Denmark's media culture: "That five days after the news appeared, the chief of the armed forces, Tim Sloth Jørgensen, is trying to make the said unsaid and openly calling for the lending and dissemination of review copies to be prevented is testimony to naivety and a lack of understanding of how modern communication works. We will comply and not cooperate in the dissemination of the book. But that won't prevent us - rather it encourages us - from examining what all the fuss is about and what went wrong." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Print media, » Denmark

In August the Swiss bank UBS presented a report comparing living standards in several European countries, with Bulgaria bringing up the rear. The daily Dnevnik writes that Bulgaria was less affected by the economic crisis because of its low living standard: "Apart from job cuts, the repercussions of the crisis were not particularly strong here. For example unlike there [in other European countries], there were no price reductions [for day-to-day consumer items] that could have led to a rise in consumption, which in turn would have reflated the economy. ... Our being used to a standard of living that above all targets subsistence has saved us the despair and the stress sparked in other European countries by the decline in the quality of life." (16/09/2009)

» full article (external link, Bulgarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Bulgaria