The Luxembourg newspaper Le Quotidien is all for Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker becoming president of the EU. But it questions whether Juncker will be able to win over the rest of Europe: "Other European heavy-weights have also thrown their hats into the ring. In 2004 it looked like everything would have gone Juncker's way if the European Constitution had been adopted. But now it's a completely different story. The British are determined to back Tony Blair come what may. Although he does enjoy an incontestable international popularity, his 'Eurosceptic' track record is dubious to say the least. But it remains to be seen whether the Europeans want Juncker as much as we do here in Luxembourg." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Luxembourg, » Europe

In the ongoing debate about potential EU presidents Tony Blair's candidacy has come under attack in his own country. According to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Blair is too power-crazed for the position: "Under the Lisbon Treaty, the president will chair the European Council and attend G8 and G20 summits. In theory, he will be a delegate of the 27 EU leaders, conveying their views to the world. In Mr Blair's hands, however, this job would inevitably be enlarged and aggrandised. The first international crisis would see him jetting off for some personal power diplomacy. He might notionally be travelling as the emissary of EU leaders. In practice, however, Mr Blair would soon become the focal point of Europe's response to any major eventuality. And so the powers of this unelected and unaccountable position would grow. To anyone opposed to losing more sovereignty to Europe, that is reason enough to reject Mr Blair." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » United Kingdom, » Europe

The Czech constitutional court in Brno has postponed its decision on the Lisbon Treaty and is thus influencing the election of the EU president, the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore writes: "Coming at a time when [Czech President Václac] Klaus had backed down and declared his willingness to sign the Treaty, the adjournment of the judges in Prague [sic] has reshuffled the cards. … At this point perhaps only one thing is for sure - that the candidacies of [Tony] Blair and [Jean-Claude] Juncker will cancel each other out. While for many Blair is not pro-European enough, Juncker is regarded as too European, so now the search is on for a third man. The names that are currently doing the rounds don't exactly have us on the edge of our seats: Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, former Finnish prime minister Paavo Lipponen or former Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » Czech Republic, » Europe
All available articles from » Adriana Cerretelli

Charisma or competence, Tony Blair or Jean-Claude Juncker? It won't be easy to choose the right EU president, not least because all 27 member states will have a say, writes the regional newspaper Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace: "Behind the rivalry [between Blair and Juncker] lurks a fundamental question: what sort of president does the European Union want? Above all a charismatic - if controversial - man, or a champion of the European cause, albeit little known to the world? ... The post has fuzzy contours. It was accepted only reluctantly by most small and medium-sized states, who remain attached to the current system of a rotating presidency and are still worried that the larger countries may dominate things entirely. As soon as the last Czech hurdle is passed, perhaps next week, the 27 will once more have to reach a consensus." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » France, » Europe

The federal police in the US city of Chicago have arrested two men who are charged with planning a terrorist attack on the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten. The daily Berlingske Tidende comments: "Since the publishing of the Muhammad cartoons in Jyllands-Posten four years ago there have been times when the Muhammad crisis almost took on the character of an internal Danish discussion about the question of what was really at stake here: freedom of opinion or respect for religious minorities. But now that concrete plans for a terrorist attack against Denmark and in particular Jyllands-Posten have been uncovered, this fruitless debate must finally be replaced by an awareness of the brutal reality: Denmark is a terrorist target and all members of Danish society irrespective of their political convictions must now stand together in the battle against this threat to free society." (28/10/2009)

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

The Czech Constitutional Court has postponed its hearings regarding the charges brought by 17 EU-critical senators against the Treaty of Lisbon until next week. A number of people have gathered before the court building to demonstrate against the Treaty. Journalist Radovan Stoklasa dedicates his blog for Lidovky.cz to one of the demonstrators, a student: "The student justifies his opposition saying he doesn't want us to obey orders from Brussels the way we used to obey orders from Moscow. … It takes a good dose of fantasy not to mention stupidity to compare our membership in the EU with the old times. We joined the EU voluntarily on the basis of a referendum. And if we are forced to do certain things as members it's because of the rules that govern any community. But this is precisely where the Czechs have a problem: Twenty years after the revolution we still haven't understood that democracy doesn't mean just doing what we want to do." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » History, » Czech Republic, » Europe
All available articles from » Radovan Stoklasa

The left-liberal daily El País comments that Tunisia has become one of the world's least obvious dictatorships following the re-election of President Zine El Abidine Ben Alí after 22 years in power: "Ben Alí has tried to conceal the authoritarian character of his power by presenting himself as a master in the battle against jihadism and a defender of women's rights. He thus exploits the progress his country has made in these areas in comparison with its neighbouring countries. So far this elementary strategy has worked to such an extent that it has made Tunisia's regime one of the most inconspicuous dictatorships in the world." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Gender equality, » Tunisia

The BBC invited Nick Griffin, head of the right-wing extremist British National Party (BNP) to appear last weekend on the talkshow Question Time. This led to heated discussion about whether the BBC should give Griffin a forum to air his views. The weekly magazine and news portal Knack writes that the real problem lies with the established parties: "Elderly and socially underprivileged people feel threatened and abandoned, and are hence receptive to parties that take advantage of their unease. The real drama is that they often end up supporting people like Griffin or [Dutch right-wing populist Geert] Wilders. [The former leader of the Bosnian Serbs] Radovan Karadžić is on trial in The Hague for putting the very sort of ideology into practice which both of these men stand for. For that reason the question is not whether the BBC should allow 'Nazi Nick' a say, but why the traditional parties have for so long neglected a problem that reeks to high heaven." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Audiovisual Media, » United Kingdom, » Netherlands
All available articles from » Hubert van Humbeeck

Prompted by the so-called gambling affair in which businessmen are said to have attempted to influence the Polish government, Prime Minister Donald Tusk now plans to ban gambling machines. An absurd idea, writes the news magazine Newsweek Polska: "In the next five years amusement arcades with ... so-called one-armed bandits are to disappear. In the past these have been the fastest-growing segment within the gambling sector with proceeds of seven to eight billion złoty [roughly 1.8 billion euros]. ... It looks as if a distinction were being made between good and bad gambling. Bad gambling is gambling ... that can no longer be administered by the government, and which brings its owners disproportionately large incomes compared with what the state earns through taxes. Good gambling, by contrast, is the one that is strictly regulated by the state [for example casinos] and which brings the state considerably more money." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Corporations, » Poland
All available articles from » Miłosz Węglewski

Writing for the daily Sega Bulgarian cultural scientist Ivaylo Ditchev expresses his disappointment with the results of the fall of the communist dictatorship in 1989 and sees a resemblance with the effects of the student movements in 1968: "We thought the collapse of communism, which seemed more like something out of the 19th century, would bring a new 'People's Spring' with more national sovereignty, more democratic participation in state affairs, more civil responsibility and more morals. The solidarity, however, turned out to be more of a national esprit de corps the worst example of which is Czech [President Václav] Klaus. And civil participation has fared even worse. … The fall of communism was the delayed explosion of processes that had been artificially suppressed for many years. In this sense for Eastern Europe the events of 1989 were not a repetition of 1789, despite certain parallels that were drawn with the French Revolution. They had much more in common with the student revolutions of 1968, for the latter were also shaped by individualism, the rejection of social norms, the spirit of consumerism and hedonism." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Remembrance culture, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Ivailo Dichev

Borut Grgič of the Institute for Strategic Studies in Ljubljana writes in the daily Delo that Europe must cooperate with Azerbaijan to secure natural gas supplies from the region: "European policy with regards to the Caspian Region is nothing short of tragic. Last year Europe looked on while Georgia was set ablaze. The Armenian army is still occupying more than 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and Russia and China are sharing the Caspian natural gas between them to the detriment of Europe. If things go on like this Europe will find itself entirely cut off from the Caspian Sea. And for the people - and the elites - of the South Caucasus region Europe will be less an inspiration than a source of uncertainty. If Europe is interested in securing access to Central Asia and Caspian gas it needs a new regional strategy based on a fresh approach. Europe needs to build up a strong base of cooperation with Azerbaijan - and it need's Azerbaijan's support. The country is an energy producer and the most important transport link between Europe and Central Asia. Europe has no other way into Central Asia if the road through Baku is closed." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Energy, » Europe, » Azerbaijan
All available articles from » Borut Grgic

Acting on pressure from the EU, the Dutch financial group ING has divested itself of its insurance branch. Large banks that have received government bailouts must now downsize to become less vulnerable. This is a step in the right direction, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant: "When the crisis erupted the European Commission was obliged to back off somewhat from member states that wanted to maintain their own financial sector at all costs. The terrain that Brussels had to relinquish is now being quickly recaptured. To the anger of the public, Europe's banks seemed at first to have made it through the credit crisis rather unscathed - with profits and bonuses once more rising to the skies. But Brussels has [now] intervened where national governments have feared to tread, namely in affronting their own financial sectors. In so doing the EU has demonstrated its advantage over governments and supervisory authorities that have failed to show initiative on this matter." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Banks, » Netherlands, » Europe

Last Monday the euro climbed to an annual high of just over 1.50 dollars. In the business paper Expansión Federico Steinberg looks at the dangers of the euro becoming too strong: "In reaction to the panic following the bankruptcy of [US investment bank] Lehman Brothers there was a 'stampede for security' that led to a strong upvaluation of the dollar, even though the crisis originated in the US. But as soon as normality started to return to the financial markets the pre-crisis trend reappeared whereby the foreign trade deficit and the US's accumulation of foreign debts in combination with the stability of China's exchange rate result in a readjustment of the global imbalance that boosts demand for the euro. A strong euro helps to curb inflation and sinks the oil price, but in the current situation with its deflationary pressures and weak demand a strong currency could undermine the incipient recovery in the eurozone." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Federico Steinberg

In accordance with the wishes of the late Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman, his house has been auctioned off to the highest bidder. The building has been purchased by the Norwegian Gude Gudeson, who plans to turn it into a meeting place for artists together with Bergman's daughter Linn Ullmann. The daily Svenska Dagbladet writes that the move is true to the spirit of Bergman, who steered well clear of the state's influence: "When the house was still up for sale ... many people said indignantly that the state must step in. Otherwise, they argued, Bergman's artistic legacy would be misappropriated. The debate was a reminder of how deeply lodged in our heads the idea is that an all-embracing state is a necessary condition for culture. But Bergman himself was an example of the contrary. His films were produced largely without the influence of film policy. On the contrary, he considered himself to have been driven into exile by the country's overzealous tax collectors. That Bergman's house on [the Baltic island] Fårö has now been turned into a private cultural institute seems like the logical consequence of a career that was successful more in spite of than with the aid of the state." (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Film, » Sweden
All available articles from » Per Gudmundson

In a much awaited judgement a criminal court in Paris has found the Church of Scientology and several of its leading members guilty of organised fraud, ordering them to pay high fines. However the prosecutor's demand that the Church - classified as a sect in France - be disbanded is impossible for two reasons, writes the conservative daily Die Welt: "The legal reason: When a reform package on legal simplification was passed, a clause was struck from the law 'by accident' which would have made a ban possible. The social and political reason: Of course the court could have postponed its judgement until the missing clause was once more reintegrated into the law. But it seems that what was lacking was the will to do so. ... Although Scientology is demonstrably guilty of criminal misdeeds, the French justice system has not acted accordingly. Scientology can pay the fines from its petty cash and carry on with its activities that amount practically to dispossession. This is no great day for Justitia. Congratulations Scientology!" (28/10/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social movements, » Weltanschauung, » France
All available articles from » Dietrich Alexander