The EU's green light for the genetically modified Amflora potato is the result of the business interests of diverse multinationals, writes the founder of the slow food movement Carlo Petrini in the left-liberal daily La Repubblica: "Europe is a tempting bite for the producers of genetically modified organisms (GMO). The continent was of strategic importance for their plans to conquer the world, but then something went wrong - delays, mistrust and the opposition of citizens, legally binding precautionary measures - with the result that last year the proportion of land used for GMO cultivation went down by 12 percent on the continent. I am utterly convinced that if the multinational producers of GMO don't secure access to those markets that remain closed to them in the next two years they will drastically revise their plans. They would face huge financial losses and this is the real reason behind this umpteenth assault against common sense and the will of Europe's citizens with the goal of having the Amflora potato authorised." (03/03/2010)

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All available articles from » Carlo Petrini

Even if the French remain staunchly against green genetic engineering, genetically modified crops can help reduce world hunger, writes the business daily Les Echos: "There are still those who insist that taking the slightest agricultural risk is out of the question. ... But a growing number of our European neighbours are converting to genetically modified organisms, following the example of agricultural giants US and Brazil. As a result French farmers will find themselves shut out of this technological revolution. This one-sided attitude in France is all the more incomprehensible in that the so vilified genetically modified organisms will provide a partial solution to world hunger and have a hand in bringing about sustainable development. With yesterday's announcement authorisng a genetically modified potato, the European Commission has once again stimulated the debate. A fine idea." (03/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Agriculture, » France
All available articles from » David Barroux

The EU Commission's decision to authorise the genetically engineered potato Amflora will further heat up controversy in Bulgaria, writes the daily Novinar: "What to make of this EU resolution? That the Union is changing its policy on genetically modified organisms? That the new potato is just the start and that a veritable wave of genetic plants will sweep over Europe? That the Union is buckling under the enormous pressure exerted by the genetic engineering lobby? That we have no choice but to accept genetically modified foods because we're all in the same boat? Who knows. But there is no doubt that the decision won't fail to stir things up even more in Bulgaria, coming as it does at a time when the clashes between pros and cons in the debate over genetically modified organisms have brought things to a standstill." (03/03/2010)

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All available articles from » Maria Mancheva

A lively debate on national identity has been going on for several years in the Netherlands. Philosopher Rob Wijnberg lists in the daily NRC Handelsblad five factors - individualisation, de-ideologisation, economisation, globalisation and medialisation - behind the Dutch desire for community: "The self-dependent consumer inhabiting a wide world without truths has a need for a clearly delimited community which offers a sense of security on the basis of shared morals. In this respect the stormy rise of the [right-wing populist Party for Freedom] PVV should come as no surprise. The party answers individualisation by putting the morals of the majority over the freedom of the (foreign) individual; it fills the ideological void by raising national culture to an absolute norm; it combats the economisation of the public system; it takes a clear stand against global institutions like the 'European superstate'; and it cultivates like no other the mistrust and cynicism inspired by the mass media." (03/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Weltanschauung, » Netherlands
All available articles from » Rob Wijnberg

In her novel Bitter Bitch, which has been translated into several languages, Swedish author Maria Sveland describes the enormous frustration felt by countless women who live in the country that is widely considered to be a model of equal rights for women. Writing in the daily Dagens Nyheter Jenny Jewert puts the ball back in the women's court: "Many of us are thankful for all the political progress that the generations of women before us achieved. You gave us the opportunity and the desire to have a career. But at the same time the bitter bitch inside us is forced to realise that we live with your sons, who often possess an amazing ability to ignore dying geraniums, as well as bits of food on the floor and empty toilet paper holders. Why else would a book like Bitter Bitch have become such a hit? No parliamentary decision can stipulate who sorts out the washing or who mows the lawn. But a system for splitting parental allowance and the money paid by the state to parents looking after children would be a necessary structural change which would help future families. In both political blocks there are forces working for this which need our support." (03/03/2010)

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All available articles from » Jenny Jewert

The German Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that the German regulations on data storage violate the country's constitution, and that the EU guidelines they are based on are not adequately implemented. The left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung analyses the ruling: "The judgement is harsh, but not harsh enough. Certainly, it rules that data stored up to now must be deleted, but at the same time it allows data to be extensively stored and relayed in the future. The problem is that on the basis of the dangers set out in the judgement, storing data would have had to be banned altogether. The judges didn't dare take such a step however because that would mean an all-out legal battle with the European Union. ... But the time when conflict can no longer be avoided is just around the corner. ... The upshot is that although the fundamental dangers of data storage have been lessened somewhat, they have not been eliminated. The court knows what a threat to freedom is bundled up in the issue of data storage." (03/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Germany, » Europe
All available articles from » Heribert Prantl

The local elections in the Netherlands taking place today, Wednesday, are seen as a test run for the early parliamentary elections called after the collapse of the country's grand coalition government. The traditional parties have allowed right-wing populist Geert Wilders' favourite themes to dominate the campaign, the Belgian daily De Standaard writes: "The debate was mainly about the subjects of security, migration and the position of Muslims within society. ... But the Netherlands, like most other EU countries, is facing huge economic and social challenges. The voters of the Christian Democrat CDA, the social democratic PvdA and the liberal VVD heard little about structural solutions and measures aimed at securing future prosperity. ... They never managed to put the subject of the economy at the top of the agenda but instead allowed Wilders to drag them on to his turf. The traditional parties have thus moved into territory where they can only lose." (03/03/2010)

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All available articles from » Bart Beirlant

EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso today presents proposals for Europe's new common economic and growth strategy. The business paper Diário Económico writes it off as humbug given the present circumstances: "To present economic goals for 2020 now, at a time when no one can guarantee the economic rescue of Greece ... is like a surreal or autistic joke. No one doubts the efforts being made by the EU Commission ... to find a solution for Greece, but they may not be enough. At present a bailout by German banks is under discussion. This is a solution that emphasises the intergovernmental component of the EU and weakens the project of European integration. ... Barroso's new agenda should concentrate on a common economic government for Europe, with a common budgetary policy that promotes a common economic policy. This is the priority. Everything else is just the empty talk of Brussels bureaucrats." (03/03/2010)

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All available articles from » Bruno Proença

Following a proposal put forward by the far-right Slovak National Party (SNS), the Slovakian parliament has passed a law to strengthen patriotism among the young. In future the national anthem is to be played every Monday at schools, and the state flag, the preamble to the constitution and the coat of arms are to be displayed in classrooms. This is patriotism by decree, writes the liberal daily Sme: "True patriotism stems from an inner pride of belonging to a nation, and a knowledge of the country's history, its successes and the sacrifices it has made. It can't be drummed into people. ... Patriotism also includes the respect shown to other nations, and in our case also the national minorities. This law, however, will lead to nothing but a pseudo-patriotism based on anything but conviction." (03/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Minorities, » Slovakia
All available articles from » Jarmila Jamborová, » Radoslav Deák

The Spanish examining magistrate Eloy Velasco has uncovered evidence that the Venezuelan government led by Hugo Chávez has lent support to terrorist organisations Eta and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). Chávez responded by rejecting the accusations as "sad remains of colonialism". This is not enough, the liberal daily La Vanguardia writes: "The Spanish government has reacted correctly. It has asked for explanations through diplomatic channels and reserved the option to make the corresponding decisions. What it has received so far is not satisfactory. The Venezuelan government's reaction was disparaging and poorly conceived. ... And to try to sway public opinion with references to the colonial past is an insult to intelligence. The past is what it was and the present is subject to political and economic tensions, but to portray the terrorist connection as an anti-colonial virtue reveals tactlessness and lacking composure." (03/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Social movements, » Spain, » Latin Amerika

The US carmaker General Motors (GM) has announced that it will invest three times as much money as initially planned in overhauling its European subsidiary Opel. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung puts this change of heart down to pressure from European states. "The latest development has a certain charm, because GM has finally had to be more precise about what value it places on the future of its European subsidiary (Opel/Vauxhall). Up to now the Americans had simply relied on the European countries where [Opel] has plants supplying the money. The displeasure caused by the debacle over Opel's sale to Magna has had a certain disciplinary effect on the GM management." (03/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Matthias Benz

Bus and truck drivers have been on strike since Tuesday in Finland, in protest at failed collective negotiations. The strike comes at the worst possible time, writes the daily Karjalainen: "The streets are the tiny veins that enable the circulation system to function, and they are crucial for the welfare of the entire nation. This is precisely why the strike is hitting a sensitive area at the wrong time. And the situation for the entire country is further complicated by the fact that the tender shoot of recovery cannot blossom under a prolonged strike, but will whither and die. ... In the current situation Finland cannot afford the slightest restriction of its business activity. Strikes - including the one threatened by longshoremen tomorrow - must be prevented with every means at our disposal. There is no relationship between the possible benefit to be gained from strikes in key sectors and the damage they wreak on society." (03/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Social affairs, » Finland

Following years of ligitation the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that a gay man living in the Polish city of Stettin has the right to inherit the apartment he shared with his deceased partner. The conservative daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna welcomes the decision: "Two people begin living together. They share suffering and happiness, as well as the apartment they live in. And they stay in this relationship until death parts them. They are not married because there is no same-sex marriage. They don't enter a civil partnership because the state does not recognise such partnerships. And the local authority takes over the apartment [following the death of the owner]. Which social interest is being served here? Certainly not that of a state which uses taxes and loans to induce singles to enter a relationship. And which is convinced that people behave more predictably if they share their lives and their homes with a second person." (03/03/2010)

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In the past twelve years cocaine consumption has increased five-fold among people aged between 16 and 59. The drug, which used to be reserved for the upper classes, is nowadays being openly consumed by people from all classes, The Daily Telegraph warns: "Harmful use - whether of cocaine, alcohol, over-eating, or any other self-destructive behaviour – is a symptom of an underlying malaise. This is when a desperate person starts worshipping a substance, or turning it into the primary relationship and the primary source of pleasure. Then what happens is that the substance or the behaviour starts possessing the person. Much better ... that humans should gain this kind of satisfaction from other living people, from meaningful work, and from families especially. So rather than focusing on symptoms, politicians might better spend their time thinking why, under their management, the structures that used to hold society together and support people to have healthy and fulfilled lives seem to have crumbled." (02/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Social movements, » Health and Medicine, » Social affairs, » United Kingdom, » Global
All available articles from » Andrew M Brown

The former Czech prosecutor Ludmila Brožová-Polednová, who helped to bring opposition figures to the gallows in the Stalinist show trial against Milada Horáková in 1950, could be released from prison. She was sentenced to six years' imprisonment in 2008, but now stands to be released by presidential amnesty. The liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes comments: "Certainly, many are complaining that the torturers from the time of totalitarianism are abusing democratic rights. 'We wanted justice and all we got was the rule of law', such people say. But the crucial thing is that the prosecutor has been tried and convicted. At least in her case it has been shown that the communist judiciary was guilty of crimes. Whether she leaves prison or not is unimportant. The main thing is that she had to go to jail, if only for a short time. Participation in judicial murder is a crime. An amnesty can't change that." (03/03/2010)

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All available articles from » Vladimír Kučera

In Lombardy and Latium the lists of Prime Minister Silvio Berusconi's right-wing alliance have been excluded from the local elections slated for the end of March. In these times so trying for the prime minister there is now a hagiographic "iSilvio" application for the iPhone, writes the liberal daily Der Standard: "The morass of corruption is blubbering to such an extent that it's too much even for Berlusconi's partisans. And if it were only possible, the Cavaliere himself wouldn't hestitate to dissolve his alliance to ride off into the sunset. ... The reputation of Roman politics has been so badly damaged that it's being viewed unfavourably even in Italy. Seen in this light iSilvio is a nifty consolation application - for the prime minister and that minority of Italians who remain loyal to him despite everything." (03/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Online media, » Italy
All available articles from » Christoph Prantner