Turkey's comments on Israel's military attack against an aid flotilla in the Mediterranean betray its double standards, writes the daily Lietuvos Rytas: "Does Ankara have the right to call the Israelis pirates and bandits? Why don't Turkey and the EU use such terms to describe Egypt, which also blockades the Gaza Strip with military means? And how should we describe Turkey's war against its own Kurdish citizens who are striving for greater autonomy? Forty thousand people have died in the conflict which has lasted for decades. And how to describe Turkey's categoric refusal to acknowledge its genocide of the Armenians? Yes, Israel's leadership has behaved disgracefully, and that must be condemned. ... But questioning Israel's legitimacy and its right to defend itself as the Turkish foreign minister has done testifies to nothing other than hypocrisy and double standards." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Crises / War, » Minorities, » Turkey, » Israel
All available articles from » Arkadijus Vinokuras

Turkey is moving further and further away from the West and causing a geopolitical shift within the Atlantic alliance, writes liberal daily La Stampa: "After just under 60 years of economic, political and even military alliance relations between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated dramatically. Yet this is not the beginning but rather the climax of a negative development that has been going on for some time in Ankara's relations not only with its neighbour Israel but also with the West as a whole. The deadly incident in international waters has triggered a major shift, a geopolitical cataclysm: the breaking away from the Atlantic alliance zone of a country which with 80 million citizens ... was a Nato bulwark for decades . ... We are facing a profound crisis in the once solid and fruitful relations between Turkey and the West." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Crises / War, » Turkey, » Israel
All available articles from » Enzo Bettiza

Turkey is acting against Europe's interests and needs to be clear about its future development, writes the conservative daily ABC commenting on the support for the Gaza Strip aid flotilla and Turkey's mediating role in the conflict with Iran: "It's true that Turkey is a large country with an imperial past that can't be ignored. As an independent nation it has every right to choose its priorities in foreign policy, but as an aspirer to join the European family it should not ignore that there are certain values and interests it cannot afford to neglect. If its objective is to become a regional power in line with its Ottoman past it will have to decide which of its two essences it prefers: being oriented towards Europe or towards the past." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Europe, » Turkey, » Iran, » Israel

The hopes of Kremlin boss Dmitry Medvedev that he would secure visa exemption for his country at the EU-Russia summit in Rostov-on-Don have been dashed. Brussels is primarily interested in improving economic ties with Moscow, the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore concludes: "The Kremlin's goal of modernisation and the scrapping of visa requirements were too ambitious for the summit. Economic ties between Russia and the EU were revived thanks to a partnership for modernisation agreement signed in Rostov. But Moscow is in a hurry to secure visa-free travel for Russians. The Europeans, on the other hand, are afraid of this. They want to tighten controls on the borders of the former Soviet republics, introduce biometric passports and only ease the obligation to register with the authorities for Europeans living and working in Russia for the time being. But modernisation is also achieved through visa-free travel and Medvedev hopes to give the initiative fresh impetus with a proposal he put to the partners: the scrapping of visas for short visits, as was done in 2008 for the football Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea in Moscow." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Russia, » Europe
All available articles from » Antonella Scott

Denmark is currently discussing a comprehensive austerity package in answer to the euro crisis. The country would pare down its traditionally generous social welfare system with the package, the left-liberal Frankfurter Rundschau writes, and criticises that in particular families with many children would be affected by the measures: "The Nordic welfare model is based on the Robin Hood principle: You take from the rich (with high taxes for top earners) and give to the poor (through generous social benefits). The result is enviably harmonious social development. But now the Danish government has obviously chosen the Sheriff of Nottingham to be the lodestar. The crisis package with which the conservative majority in Copenhagen hopes to save 3.2 billion euros weighs most heavily on the shoulders of the weakest. It targets above all the unemployed, large families and immigrants, and because an above average number of immigrants have many children and are unemployed they are hit on all three counts. ... Demographic development is the main challenge for the future in Denmark, too, and it's not so long since the government was calling on families to have more children." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Denmark
All available articles from » Hannes Gamillscheg

The office of president must be treated with the respect and dignity it deserves, writes the daily The Irish Times, commenting sympathetically on the resignation of German president Horst Köhler: "Köhler's purpose was probably ... to contribute an uncontentious explanation for the growing willingness of Germany to contribute to multilateral peacekeeping operations. But, feeling unable to correct what he saw as a deluge of gross misinterpretations, he said he could not stay on in the face of such intense criticism and lack of 'necessary respect for the presidential office'. ... Köhler is accused of being unduly thin-skinned, a prima donna too ready to 'stand on his dignity'. But such expectations of robustness, while applicable to TDs or ministers involved in the rough and tumble of politics, do not sit as comfortably on the shoulders of the circumscribed holders of presidential office. They are the custodians of the office which they must uphold or they have nothing." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Germany

Belgium will elect a new parliament on June 13. The business daily De Tijd complains that the topic of the economy only plays a role in the Flemish regions: "The government that takes up office after June 13 must make unpopular decisions whether it likes it or not. There's no getting around painful cuts. The clearer the parties are on how they intend to deal with this thankless task, the better informed the voters will be and the more able they will be to have a say in the country's economic and social recovery. Unfortunately that only goes for this side of the linguistic divide. ... It is particularly worrying that the Francophone politicians either don't want to or don't dare to prepare their voters for bad news. The result is a two-speed election campaign. While one side of the linguistic divide goes on a painful but necessary search for 22 billion euros, all we hear from the other is 'tout va bien, madame la marquise'." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » Belgium
All available articles from » Bart Haeck

The Czech parliamentary elections, which will probably result in a centre-right coalition government, have been met with feelings of relief by the country's intellectuals. Jan Pirk, one of the country's leading heart surgeons, expresses his feelings of national pride in a commentary for the leftist daily Právo: "When I was studying modern heart surgery in the US in 1983/84 I was considered something of an oddity at first. Until I explained that our people has a grand tradition, that [shoe king] Tomáš Baťa was a Czech entrepreneur, the term robot was coined by the Czech writer Karel Čapek and Pilsner beer doesn't come from Bavaria. ... During our election campaign however I stopped being proud of being Czech, because it looked like a majority of our countrymen and women would fall prey to populist promises. ... Nevertheless the elections showed that most Czechs expect more from life than cheap beer, goulash and tickets to football games. Luckily my fears about our people's state of mind were unfounded. Once more I can say I am proud to be Czech." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Jan Pirk

Publicist Mátyás Brendel describes the current tensions between Hungary and Slovakia in the daily Népszava with a fable: "One evening in May a strange encounter took place on the dusty road. A storm was brewing in the sultry heat, and thunder could already be heard from a distance. The two children were locked in combat and didn't budge. ... The situation was serious. Viktor was at least a head taller, and did all he could to get Robert in a headlock. He was stronger and wanted to take advantage of his superiority. But Robert ably fended off his attack. They now had each other in a stranglehold and neither relented. Both shrieked menacingly, as is usual in scuffles between children. After a while other children gathered around the two and egged them on. 'I'll give you a head butt', Viktor threatened. His friends exulted: 'That's right! That's how to deal with Robert! You show him who's stronger!' Viktor tried to push Robert from him, but Robert clung to him all the more firmly. ... The more aggressive he became, the tighter Robert's grip on him became." (01/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU neighbourhood policy, » Hungary, » Slovakia
All available articles from » Mátyás Brendel

Poland's economic growth rate, which for some time has been among the highest in Europe, is likely to slow down in the second quarter, writes the online edition of the news magazine Polityka: "The second quarter will certainly not be strained by the winter, but nor will its results be impressive. We recall that the funeral services in April already put a considerable damper on business and the flood has caused not only enormous material damage but also disrupted normal life in several regions. Naturally the Polish economy is strong enough today to prevent these events from plunging us into a recession. But for now we can only dream of accelerated growth - particularly given that dark clouds are once again gathering over Europe. Many countries, frightened by the panic reactions on the markets, are beginning to cut expenditure and raise taxes in a rush." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Poland
All available articles from » Cezary Kowanda

As part of its austerity measures the Greek government took further steps on Thursday toward reforming its pension system. Greece is forced to accept the dictates of the IMF, writes the left-liberal daily To Vima: "The pension thriller has shown very drastically just how bad Greece's position is. We have little or no negotiating leverage to try to hold on to the benefits we received in the past. Struggles such as the current one over how high pensions will be ... are condemned to failure in advance. ... The unfortunate fact is that the framework agreed upon with our EU partners and the IMF for the rescue of the Greek economy is strictly binding and practically insurmountable. Precisely in this phase where the success of the harsh austerity programme cannot yet be assessed, we have no room for negotiation." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Economic Policy, » Greece, » Europe
All available articles from » Antonis Karakousis

The Confederation of Finnish Industries has caused a flurry with its call for an end to obligatory Swedish language instruction at schools. The daily Kainuun Sanomat comments: "Finland is a bilingual country where a firm knowledge of both official languages and cultures is a precondition for many jobs. But whether it is necessary for primary schoolchildren to learn Swedish is another thing. For example, if Swedish were no longer mandatory in schools would that mean we would not have enough Swedish-language civil servants? Or to put the question another way: is it not the mandatory Swedish courses in schools that guarantee that Swedish-speaking Finns receive the Swedish-language services guaranteed by law, and that businesses have enough experts fluent in Swedish? Is it possible to achieve the same result by making Swedish voluntary? When young people choose a profession they must often learn new languages at technical colleges or university. In such institutions adults may also learn Swedish like any other language, provided they're motivated." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Languages, » Finland

The British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has called for the introduction of a series of measures aimed at curbing excessive alcohol consumption. The Daily Mirror newspaper suggests raising prices for alcoholic beverages: "Anyone who has been out on a Saturday night can testify that binge drinking remains a real problem. A toxic combination of cut-price alcohol and ruthless marketing has created a culture of heavy drinking, especially among under-25s. Which is why MPs need to listen to the demands by health watchdog Nice. It is calling for a huge hike in the cost of the cheapest alcohol to stop the aggressive discounting policies of supermarkets and off-licences. ... Now is the moment to call time on the era of cheap booze and consider introducing a minimum price for alcohol. That's not puritanism but a healthy response to a growing social menace." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health Policy, » United Kingdom

The Romanian NGO ActiveWatch writes in a report that in 2009 around 3,000 journalists were made redundant owing to the crisis. Journalists were also subjected to political pressure during the presidential elections, the weekly Dilema Veche writes: "Politicians and media moguls have turned the press into a boxing ring. The media companies all backed one of the two presidential candidates, ... and placed obedient people in key positions. Some media entrepreneurs even went as far as to make public who they voted for in the election. Many journalists gave in to this pressure and wrote biased reports, committed serious ethical errors and became the 'mercenaries' of information. ... The economic crisis has weakened the media industry, making it more vulnerable to political and economic pressure. In 2009 there were concrete cases of state money being used to purchase flattering news reports. A phenomenon most evident in the local press, where publications ... depend on the revenues from such [advertising] contracts." (02/06/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Audiovisual Media, » Print media, » Online media, » Media policy, » Media economy, » Press freedom, » Romania
All available articles from » Maria Popa