The Greek government must fulfill the tough conditions laid out by the EU to get its ailing economy back on track. But in doing so Athens will be giving up control of its own finances, the left-liberal daily El País writes: "Europe has come to Greece's rescue, it's true, but in return Athens will be forced to give up its last remnant of sovereignty: its fiscal prerogative. For a long time there had been suspicions that the public budget was entirely fabricated, but when your deficit goes from 3.7 percent to 12.7 percent in the space of a day it's only logical that the markets you turn to to finance that debt will react unpleasantly. Greece has lost the war: Athens is already waving the white flag. Difficult adjustments that translate into a substantial decrease in real income and heavy debt servicing await the country." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Greece, » Europe

For the left-liberal daily Eleftherotypia the real menace to Greece is not the repercussions of a new austerity programme or EU control of the Greek budget, but possible intervention by the International Monetary Fund: "The problem isn't the restriction of our sovereignty. When we entered the EU we accepted its conditions. The EU does limit our freedom as far as international agreements go - especially in the economic and social sectors. And also our entry into the economic and monetary union, the Eurozone, put an end to Greece's autonomy in matters of monetary policy. The problem is the restriction of democracy. Nothing is less democratic than the IMF. Its history bears testimony to this. The Fund's unpopular, anti-social measures have led the states that needed its help into catastrophe." (14/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Greek)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Greece, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Fanasis Tegopoulos

The EU has failed in its economic supervision of Greece, the conservative daily Magyar Nemzet complains, commenting on Greece's debt crisis: "This raises the inevitable question of what all the experts, advisors, statisticians, and economics departments including their directors are doing in the EU. The question is justified in that the EU has been duped by Greece for decades. Are the economic experts in Brussels just there to give their blessing to any economic data that is put under their noses? If Greece was able to fool those in charge at the EU in such a way shouldn't we be looking for the culprits of the current Greek situation in Brussels? ... As long as the people in Brussels are not held accountable for wrong decisions and omissions the EU will remain alien and suspect to European citizens. It certainly is at the moment." (15/02/2010)

» more information (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Economic Policy, » Greece, » Europe
All available articles from » Tibor Pósa

The murder of a young Egyptian led to heavy rioting in an immigrant district in Milan on Saturday night. North Africans and Latin Americans fought bloody battles with each other in the "no-man's-land of the immigrants", writes Gad Lerner in his blog: "Legal and illegal situations have become so dangerously entangled that no amount of police operations can detangle them. To blame are those who forced the migrants to become concentrated [in certain areas], which on the one hand hinders the process of legalisation and regulation and on the other incites the anger of neighbours, thus preventing social contact. ... Based on an ideological hostility towards foreigners, the Right's security policy ... disappoints the citizens' expectations, pitches them against each other and gives young, second-generation immigrants the feeling that the custodians of the law, if not all Italians, are their enemies." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » Integration, » Social affairs, » Italy
All available articles from » Gad Lerner

Nato troops and local armed forces began the largest anti-Taliban offensive since 2001 in southern Afghanistan on Saturday. British daily The Independent writes that its success must be measured on the long term: "In the best case, Nato and Afghan forces will show that they can operate together; the land recaptured will be adequately secured, and the promised reconstruction will show swift results. The local population will see the benefits both of security and of a local government not beholden to the Taliban. Both Nato and President Karzai would then be able to hold up this part of Helmand Province as proof that peace and security can be restored, not just here, but in the province and the country as a whole. Success could turn the tide of the war and make possible the progressive withdrawal of foreign troops. It will be weeks, not days, before the results of Operation Moshtarak are apparent; reports of early or easy success, from either side, should be treated with utmost caution." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Afghanistan

The German city of Dresden commemorated on the weekend the bombing by the British and American forces at the end of World War II which claimed tens of thousands of lives. Neo-Nazis attempted to exploit the city's destruction 65 years ago for propaganda purposes. The liberal daily Sme warns against comparing the Allied bombing with the crimes of the Nazis: "Dresden is a warning that even in the fight against evil not everything is permitted. Nevertheless Dresden wasn't the catalyst for Nazism, but its consequence. Comparing the bombing of the city with the crimes of the Nazis and the Holocaust is nothing short of a lie. The argument that the Nazis were no worse than their enemies is part of today's Neo-Nazi effort to prove that they too are no worse than the rest of society. Downplaying the crimes of the Nazis is the first step in their attempt to take power and forcibly silence their critics." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Slovak)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » History, » Remembrance culture, » Germany
All available articles from » Peter Morvay

Prominent Flemish social democrats have opened a debate on the Belgian welfare system. The daily De Morgen contends that the system is in need of reform: "It's wrong that so much money is poured into this system, and at the same time pensions in Belgium are among the lowest in Europe. It is also wrong that people get money who don't really need it. There are still many poor people who fall through the holes in the social net, while others use it as a hamock instead of working. This is nothing new, but it is encouraging that in one week three socialists have also placed their finger in the wound. ... The crucial thing is that now the social democratic current, always the biggest defender of the system, is now finally ringing the alarm bell." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Belgium
All available articles from » Yves Desmet

Writer László Márton reflects in the weekend supplement of the left-leaning daily Népszava on the phenomenon of intellectuals who toady to those in power: "Some prominent intellectuals supported Mussolini's fascism until their illusions of radical social change were shattered. After turning their backs on Mussolini most ended up in prisons or internment camps. It is interesting that not a single leading Spanish intellectual backed the Franco Regime. Hitler also had the support of only a single intellectual, but his name was Martin Heidegger. In any event his case is an exception because he backed Hitler's National Socialism for 'metaphysical' reasons. ... Those intellectuals who distinguish themselves within the walls of tyranny or in the shadow of power are not only defaced but also repugnant individuals. Many intellectuals of this sort lived in Hungary during the time of actually existing socialism." (13/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Weltanschauung, » Hungary, » Global
All available articles from » László Márton

In the weekly Die Weltwoche Pierre Heumann criticises the Catholic Church for passively accepting persecution of Christian minorities in Muslim countries: "Widespead discrimination and persecution have compelled many Christians to emigrate, while others are lured with money into converting to Islam. ... Those persecuted can hardly count on the help of the Christian West, which wants to avoid further straining the already tense relations with the Muslim world by stepping in on behalf of the Christians. Not even the Vatican stands up for the rights of the oppressed. On his visit to Bethlehem last year Pope Benedict XVI put all his energy into winning over the Palestinians. He denounced Israel's building of the wall and demanded the Palestinian right of return, but he didn't say a word about the lot of Christians in Bethlehem." (10/02/2010)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Global
All available articles from » Pierre Heumann

According to media reports, the EU finance ministers will nominate the head of the Portuguese central bank Vítor Constâncio as vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB) at their summit meeting on Thursday. The business paper Diário Económico welcomes the news: "This is good news because it means a Portuguese is being granted recognition by the head of the European Central Bank. But not all Portuguese would agree. Why not? The current head of the Portuguese central bank has political significance and few forgive him for having penned the so-called Constâncio Report in 2005, which envisaged a budget deficit of 6.8 percent. And only recently the problems of the BCP, BPN and BPP banks were attributed to his alleged lack of supervision. The truth is that in the most recent financial crisis Portugal was one of the countries that was least affected by the problems with the bank systems." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Portugal, » Europe
All available articles from » Francisco Ferreira da Silva

A delegation of Irish bishops convenes today in Rome for two days of meetings with Pope Benedict XVI on the child abuse scandals involving the Irish clergy. The Irish Times calls on the Vatican to seize the initiative: "That the meetings in the Apostolic Palace in St Peter's are happening ... is surely a welcome implicit repudiation of suggestions from Rome that the crisis facing the Irish church is a domestic matter. ... The Vatican must go further, by opening its archives to show its own role in responding to sex abuse cases in Ireland instead of hiding behind the cloak of diplomatic protocol and 'sovereign immunity'. ... There are concerns that the Vatican's refusal to promulgate a mandatory worldwide code of conduct on child protection stems from fears of legally acknowledging, particularly to US courts, its authority over national churches, implicitly conceding that priests and bishops are actually its agents in a legal sense. Such an acknowledgment could have costly legal consequences." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Ireland

Potential adoptive parents have great difficulties adopting a child in Poland because the family courts are loathe to make final decisions about whether a child can be adopted, the conservative daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna writes, and calls on the judges to take action: "The family courts are far too careless about the legal situation of children living in children's homes. The experts appear to have long been aware of the solution to this problem. In their opinion it lies in the hands of precisely these family courts. They should check families that have been deprived of their parental rights on a regular basis. Naturally they should ensure that the children can be returned to these families and also look into whether the mother who drinks too much is in therapy or the jobless father is seeking work. And also tell them clearly that they have six months to improve or they will lose their children for good. ... It would suffice to finally implement these proposals, which have been known for years." (15/02/2010)

» more information (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Social affairs, » Poland
All available articles from » Renata Kim

Following a sharp drop in circulation the Swiss publisher Ringier-Verlag is selling one of its main Romanian newspapers, the daily Evenimentul Zilei, to an entrepreneur from Romania. Ion Cristoiu, a former employee with the newspaper, takes a critical view of the sale in the daily Adevărul: "With the exception of 'România liberă' [in which German publisher WAZ has a stake] and a few low-circulation weeklies, all the other newspapers in Romania are in the hands of power [Romanian publishers who have strong ties to politics and the economy]. This is why a large number of readers each day found information in 'Evenimentul' which other newspapers kept from them and were also reaffirmed in their political views. And what was also important: our critical stance created greater credibility. Unlike the current newspapers and TV stations, 'Evenimentul Zilei' couldn't be suspected of acting in the interests of a [Romanian] mogul. The miracle of 'Evenimentul' has now disappeared." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Audiovisual Media, » Publishing houses, » Print media, » Switzerland, » Romania
All available articles from » Ion Cristoiu

As the e-book reader gains in popularity it will inevitably take over an increasing share of the market. The liberal daily NRC Handelsblad fears that authors' rights may suffer as a result: "The book sector can learn from the mistakes of the sluggish music and film industries, which are still not doing enough to bring electronic versions of their products to consumers. The book industry must decide unanimously for the e-book, it must agree on percentages, create its own sales sites and do its best to win the biggest slice of the pie. And it must take quick action against pirates and rule-breakers before a status quo sets in that presents itself like some kind of natural law. At the same time publishers and booksellers must not let themselves be intimidated by Internet robber barons who cast themselves in the role of Robin Hood but are above all out for their own gain. If they don't, not just they themselves but also the authors have much to lose." (15/02/2010)

» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Publishing houses, » Online media, » Netherlands