France and Germany must also do their bit in Afghanistan, the British tabloid The Sun demands: "But the EU's big two, France and Germany, still won't pull their weight. Britain has more troops in the field than those two put together. This is a golden opportunity to smash the Taliban. Commanders are optimistic of a major breakthrough. Britain and America do the heavy lifting, as usual. Yet victory will benefit those countries with the least stomach for the fight. France and Germany have ducked their responsibilities too long. This is their war, not just ours. So let them get stuck in." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Germany, » France, » United Kingdom, » U.S., » Afghanistan

By deploying additional troops to Afghanistan Germany could influence events in a positive way, writes the left-liberal Berliner Zeitung: "That need not necessarily mean just sending troops. ... Experts have long been saying that what Afghanistan really needs is hundreds - if not thousands - of military police. This blend of soldier and police officer is best suited for the creation of a force in Afghanistan similar to the French Gendarmerie or the Italian Carabinieri. The Afghans need such a force to contribute as much a possible to security in their country. With such a contribution the German government would be providing active support to Obama's plan. However debate on this subject is barely audible in Germany. The government is content to put off one decision after the next. But muddling along was never the right tactic." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Germany, » U.S., » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Damir Fras

Finland has also received a request from Nato to boost its troops in Afghanistan. The daily Karjalainen argues that in future the conditions for foreign deployments should be formulated in concrete terms: "In this situation Finland can hardly shirk its international responsibility, but the region needs more well-trained and better armed Finnish soldiers. We should bear in mind that Afghanistan is not a peace-keeping operation in the true sense, but rather a military operation. In future peacekeeping missions and what participation in a war means need to be defined more precisely. And the conditions for taking part in a war must also be defined. Moreover we need to accept that the war in Afghanistan is a prolonged affair." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Finland, » Global, » Afghanistan

The US and Europe can't afford to turn their backs on the war in Afghanistan, writes the liberal daily La Stampa commenting on the hesitant attitude of Nato states regarding boosting their troops in Afghanistan: "The link between the conflict in Afghanistan and the extremely rapid redefinition of the international balance of power currently underway is perhaps not so obvious but it is crucial. … This is why [US President Barack] Obama can't give up, he can't withdraw from the trial of strength with Iran and he must increase US influence in Iraq. … The West is on the way to becoming a minority. It is important - and this also goes for Europe - that this minority doesn't become a marginal figure on top of that." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Europe, » U.S., » Afghanistan
All available articles from » Lucia Annunziata

The International Court of Justice in The Hague has been deliberating since Tuesday on the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. Serbia has refused to recognise the unilateral declaration, and last year submitted to the court a demand for a legal opinion on the matter. The left-liberal daily Eleftherotypia analyses the proceedings: "The court's decision won't be binding, but it could create a unique precedent with repercussions for dozens of other cases all over the world. For this reason countries like Spain with strong separatist movements are keeping a close eye on the outcome of the proceedings. In all probability no real decision will be taken, precisely because it would have enormous repercussions. Consequently the court will avoid giving a precise description of what international law stipulates in such cases." (02/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Separatism, » Serbia, » Kosovo
All available articles from » Theodoros Kanellos

A delegation of the Dutch parliament has cancelled its trip to Turkey because the government there refused to host right-wing populist Geert Wilders. This means it will miss the chance to become acquainted with the diversity of opinion in Turkey, the left-leaning opinion forum Joop.nl writes: "This cancellation speaks of an enormous lack of respect towards trade unions, human rights organisations and fellow MPs [in Turkey]. Obviously the parliamentarians are only interested in brief conversations and photocalls with Turkish ministers rather than genuine content debates with politicians and activists. … They could have voiced their criticism of all the irregularities in Turkey in the full glare of the Turkish media. … What a waste of an opportunity to bring the Dutch doubts about Turkey to the public's attention and inform themselves about the broad spectrum of Turkish opinion." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » Netherlands, » Turkey
All available articles from » Joost Lagendijk

As a sovereign nation, Switzerland has decided against allowing new minarets to be built on its territory. But the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg may see fit to curtail this form of sovereignty, writes the weekly Die Weltwoche: "Although the referendum result leaves nothing to be desired in terms of clarity, the defeated opponents of the ban seem to have difficulty respecting the will of the people. ... The clear Yes in favour of banning minarets will no doubt only be the start of a fundamental - and thrilling - conflict. At stake is the legal basis of state sovereignty and self-determination. Should Strasbourg decide that the decision of the Swiss people is inadmissable, we are in for a gripping showdown that would also have enormous repercussions in domestic politics. Interesting times are ahead, particularly regarding the next Swiss elections." (25/11/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Philipp Gut

The minaret ban is a Swiss foible, concludes Domingos Amaral, director of the Portuguese edition of the Men's magazine GQ, pointing out that it doesn't reflect Europe's relationship with Muslims in the daily Correio da Manhã: "It's logical that for the majority of people this is just another episode of the old war between Europe and Islam … . For many it's only logical that the blame lies with the Islamists. … But because the Europeans need the Muslims … to work on their construction sites and clean the streets they reluctantly accept that their streets are filled with burkas and mosques. The truth is that the Europeans are afraid of bombs and religious excesses and are therefore beginning to react. First it was the famous cartoons in Denmark. … Now it's the minarets … . The Swiss are … anything but tolerant and love banning things. … So this is not just another episode in the Europe-Islam war but first and foremost another typical Swiss foible." (02/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Minorities, » Switzerland, » Europe
All available articles from » Domingos Amaral

A few months before Hungarian parliamentary elections take place next spring, the conservative intellectual Frigyes Solymosi writes in the left-liberal daily Népszabadság on how Hungary may move forward as a nation: "When the Iron Curtain fell no one seriously believed that 20 years later we would have the same standard of living as the West. The precondition for slowly catching up with Western Europe has never been a secret. We've simply not been able to live up to it. ... Our history teaches us that crises may only be surmounted by achieving social and political peace and national unity. This presupposes a dialogue between the variously minded political camps. This opportunity will finally arise after the parliamentary elections in spring of 2010. ... Every single one of us must be convinced that all of those people born and living in Hungary belong to the Hungarian nation, independently of what views they hold or what philosophies they adhere to. The parties, in turn, must regard each other not as enemies, but at most as adversaries." (02/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Hungary
All available articles from » Frigyes Solymosi

The Spanish government led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has announced a reform of the labour market in view of the high number of people who have recently lost their jobs. This opens the way for the introduction of short-time work according to the German model. The left liberal daily El País welcomes the move: "Zapatero is right when he says you can't create jobs without economic growth. But this doesn't rule out special political measures to limit the loss of jobs or win them back, as other countries are doing. There are certainly possibilities in this area, such as the initiative … tested in Germany whereby you subsidise companies that are willing to shorten working hours instead of making redundancies. Such subsidies are certainly less costly than paying unemployment benefit."   (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Germany, » Spain

The EU finance ministers have reached an agreement on a new financial supervisory framework. The current supervisory authorities are to cease being mere observers and become effective inspectors. This could give Europe a head start over the US, writes the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore: "The pressure of the financial crisis is no longer as strong as it was a few months ago, but the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is still taking its toll on trust … . Following the agreement at Ecofin, [the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council] the ball has now passed into the EU Council's court and there's no saying for sure that it will accept the agreement unquestioningly. … Many European MPs appear intent on making use of their right to participate in decisions and make their opinions heard. If the obstacles within this new negotiating party prove not to be insurmountable … the new European supervisory bodies could already become active in 2010. If this is the case Europe would be quicker than … the US." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Adriana Cerretelli

Thousands of students have demonstrated in Riga against the Latvian government's plans to cut back on university funding, and called for the resignation of culture minister Tatjana Koķe. Koķe has said she would speak with individual student representatives, but not "with the mass of students." The daily Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze finds this expression unfortunate: "In psychology the term 'mass' indicates an easily manipulated crowd which has no opinion of its own, doesn't think logically and whose participants aren't capable of independent action. It only shows the arrogance of those in power that they suggest such a division between the 'mass' on the one hand and the 'elite' on the other. In comparison to the unrest of January 13 in Riga, this protest was not nocturnal rioting. On the contrary it brought forward well-formulated demands, and the students looked like anything but an agitated amorphous mass." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Cultural Policy, » Social movements, » Science / Research, » Latvia
All available articles from » Baiba Lulle

Debate is heating up in Estonia over the introduction of same sex marriages. The daily Postimees calls on both sides to remain calm and objective: "A law on same sex marriages wouldn't mean the slightest change in most people's daily lives, but it would mean rethinking our cultural and social practices. And something like that takes time. On the one side you've got the firebrand advocates of gay rights, and on the other you've got a just as passionate set of opponents. Meanwhile everybody else tries to ignore the topic as best they can. Those opposed to same sex marriages are castigated as fuddy-duddy hypocrites, while homosexuals are attacked as sickos. Neither of these positions are at all constructive, and with arguments like that nothing will ever change. Plus everyone of course has the right to protection, but they also have the right to their own opinion." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Estonia

Neither consumers nor companies have developed a great amount of environmental awareness in Poland. Igor Zalewski of the daily Polska jokes about the first attempts of companies to save paper by using electronic invoices: "Nowadays environmentalism is almost as trendy as making jokes about the Kaczyński brothers [the politicians Lech und Jarosław Kaczyński]. … There are already some examples of our appreciation for nature. Certain companies are trying to persuade their customers to dispense with paper invoices and do their invoicing in electronic form instead. The wood saved this way will benefit future generations. … Then there's this cable television company called UPC that also no longer wants to send paper invoices and is trying to get its customers to accept electronic invoices. However it has an interesting way of going about this: it sends its customers the message about saving on wood on paper in letter form." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Corporations, » Poland
All available articles from » Igor Zalewski

In the past hackers were hunted down like criminals but recently computer companies have started to seek their services, the daily Sega observes: "The war between hackers and the rest of the world has become part of everyday life. In the beginning they were harmless rebels. Many of them, however, are now using their skills to cheat companies and banks out of their money. In recent times a new trend can be observed: many companies have decided to take advantage of the services of these 'garage geniuses' instead of putting them behind bars. … In some countries like China there are even hundreds of hacker schools that not only work legally but have turned into a regular industry." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Svetoslav Abrosimov

When Romanian friends of his visited him in Belgium, the Brussels correspondent for the paper România Liberă Dan Alexe once more appreciated how much more important the car is in Eastern Europe than in the West: "At home you have to bring your kids to school in a Jeep. And then once you're there you either have to park half on the pavement or with one wheel on the tram line until the kids have finally got out, regardless of how many cars or trams you block. ... Why ride a bike through the city like some poor clod - like a 'loser' - when it's so enjoyable to honk your way through the strees with the music blasting as if you were in a James Bond film, or as if the street was no more than the backdrop to a video game. In our world you've got to have a car ... and you've got to honk while you're driving it. I honk, therefore I am." (03/12/2009)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health Policy, » Environmental Policy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Belgium, » Europe, » Eastern Europe, » Western Europe, » Romania
All available articles from » Dan Alexe