Nato's new strategy is based on the need for huge savings throughout the alliance and for that reason will lead to differences between Europe and the US, writes the liberal daily Der Standard: "Eleven years after the passing of its security strategy Nato is now completely overhauling its concept. ... And once more it is doing so less from a position of strength than under pressure to act. The governments have a huge need to cut costs. London and Berlin alone want to slash many billions of euros in military expenditures. Joint acquisitions and shared troop deployment should make that easer. The US warns against too many cuts and is pushing for the joint installation of a missile defence shield for all of Europe against possible attacks from Iran. The Americans are also demanding a more ambitious stance from the Europeans in the fight against terror. Many Europeans have difficulties here. Such differences will be covered up with pretty compromise formulas. If necessary the US will once again go it alone on this front." (15/10/2010)

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All available articles from » Thomas Mayer

Nato would do well not to overrate its new strategy, writes the left-liberal daily Frankfurther Rundschau: "Such documents are only of limited value as long-term operating instructions. The world is changing too fast for that. Currently, for example, relations with Russia are relatively relaxed. But that could change at any time. The biggest challenge of our day, namely China, is completely omitted from the document. And although the Nato member countries are all cozy with each other at the moment, it must not be forgotten that they have long been at the end of their tether in Afghanistan. But should they come out of this war with more than a black eye new self-doubts will spread throughout the alliance. And no strategic concept is going to help against that." (15/10/2010)

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All available articles from » Thorsten Knuf

Denmark must back Nato's plans for a European missile defence system and convince hesitant France to do the same, writes the right-liberal daily Jyllands-Posten: "It is beyond doubt that such a development would be in the interest of all European countries and it makes sense for Denmark to support the plans. The problem is that France needs to understand that a common European anti-missile system is both an advantage and a responsibility for the country. That France's budget is in a bad state like that of almost all countries after the financial crisis is a poor excuse for holding back a vital development and cutting defence spending. In view of the terrorist threat and the growing number of nuclear powers there is no alternative to the decisions and expenses that will enable Nato to continue guaranteeing security." (15/10/2010)

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In this summer's parliamentary elections the Czechs made considerable use of the country's preferential voting system, casting their ballots for the first time less for certain parties than for individual politicians. Many long-serving yet scandal-tainted politicians were voted out as a result. The business paper Hospodářské noviny writes that Czechs should use the same discretion in local elections taking place today, Friday, and tomorrow. "Shorttaken by preferential voting, politicians are saying: cast your votes for a party, the system of ticking your way diagonally through the parties is too complicated. But this bespeaks their fear that voters well acquainted with the local political situation will use the system to settle accounts with the local Mafiosi. ... Nevertheless, whether we vote today and tomorrow for parties or for strong personalities, whether we tick the boxes of parties or decide in favour of a colourful mix of city councillors - the most important thing is that people get out and vote." (15/10/2010)

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

The rescue of the 33 trapped miners has boosted Chile's image abroad, write the daily Postimees: "Chile is now the country of the rescued miners and no longer the country of [ex-head of state] Allende or Pinochet. And the metals mined in the Latin American country are no longer the first thing that comes to people's minds when they think of Chile. Moreover Chile has shown itself to be a state which takes care of its citizens, in glaring contrast to what the media generally reports about Latin America, China or Africa. ... Yet the accident wasn't even that unusual from a technical point of view: mining accidents are unfortunately a common occurrence and claim thousands of victims each year, particularly in China, but not only there. The rescue operation followed the example of other rescues and the technology wasn't new either. But the special thing about it was that 69 days passed between the accident and the rescue." (15/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Corporations, » Social affairs, » Latin Amerika

The Netherlands' reputation has suffered as a result of its new minority government backed by right-wing populists, writes columnist Rob de Wijk in the daily Trouw: "A country that is focused inwards and is in a crisis cannot defend its interests. Ten years ago this was not a problem, but now it is. Because the rise of Asia and Brazil and problems with shortages of raw materials require an increasingly active foreign policy that is focused on economic interests. ... Defending a country's interests effectively requires a self-assured foreign policy that is based on an open outlook, the rejection of xenophobia, international solidarity and a constructive contribution to international institutions. This is the problem. I'm eager to see how the new government goes about putting Netherlands back on the map to secure our future prosperity when a large part of our parliament has no need of this." (15/10/2010)

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In an interview with the Turkish daily Today's Zaman the renowned linguistics professor and political activist Noam Chomsky recently described the opposition to Turkey's EU accession as "plain racism". The online portal e-vestnik however sees fear behind the rejection: "This is not about racism but first and foremost xenophobia and the well-grounded fear of a poorly developed society that is slowly returning to Islam and turning its back on Atatürk's tradition of a secular state. Yes, there is fear of Islam in Europe and it is spreading from nationalists to liberals. Islam is gaining terrain on the Old Continent and aggressively imposing itself by exploiting the tolerance of societies there. ... Turkey has another 15 to 20 years ahead. Its process of integration is important no matter how it ends and it will change and become more civilised, but only under Europe's influence and according to its rules. That's what matters." (14/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Religion, » Society, » Europe, » Turkey

Portugal is facing its worst economic crisis in 50 years. It's easy to understand why, writes Nuno Garoupa in the business paper Jornal de Negócios: "Portugal joined the EU in 1986 with a deficient structure, with many economic and social problems and a low productivity. To overcome these weaknesses Europe provided generous funding. Unfortunately these huge sums were to a large extent consumed rather than invested in modernising its structure. The living standards of the Portuguese improved, but not their productivity. ... When the EU money no longer sufficed to finance a country with a stagnating economy and low productivity but the living standards of a rich country Portugal discovered the joys of external debt. Aided by the euro and low interest rates the Portuguese financed ... everything with the money of others. ... Now, confronted with much higher interest rates and having failed to make an effort to catch up since 1986, the country is stuck in a process of impoverishment and in the quagmire of a stagnant and highly indebted economy." (14/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Economy, » Portugal, » Europe
All available articles from » Nuno Garoupa

The euro's exchange rate rose considerably on Thursday, topping the 1.41 US dollar mark at times. The business paper Expansión sees Europe as the victim of the situation: "Once again Europe is being made to pay for the weakness of the US and China's refusal to revaluate its currency. The potential damage to the European economy as it seeks a way out of the recession is obvious: an expensive euro will affect above all its main motor Germany, which is fuelled by exports, and Spain which is pinning its hopes for recovery on increased foreign demand for its products. The next episode of this battle will be played out at the G20 summit on November 11 and 12 in Seoul. Will Europe be able to hold out until then with such an expensive euro?" (15/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Fiscal Policy, » Germany, » Spain, » Europe, » U.S., » China

Poland has begun to privatise property expropriated by the state under communism. Tomasz Pietryga complains in the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita that the state allowed the real estate to deteriorate deplorably: "Yesterday I read the report by the Supreme Chamber of Control [NIK] on the state of the properties expropriated by the state in accordance with the PKWN [Polish Committee of National Liberation, the Stalinist interim leadership committee] decree on agricultural reform. This report and the photos it contains make staggering reading. The state of most farmyards, manors and other buildings administered by the communities and the state's Agricultural Property Agency [ANR] is catastrophic. Part of the real estate is irreparably damaged and no longer habitable. The NIK points to gross neglect on the part of the ANR and the communities which did nothing to preserve the destroyed or run-down buildings for years on end." (15/10/2010)

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The Greek government is planning to open 17 new rehabilitation clinics for drug addicts. There are currently more than 5,000 applications with an average waiting time of six years. The left-liberal daily Ta Nea praises the move: "People without a future aggravate the problem of declining living standards in the city. For the past few years the state has observed this situation from a distance without being able to react. ... If the government doesn't want the problem to go on and worsen it must act swiftly. ... Finally drug addicts are to be treated as patients and finally they will all be granted the right to withdrawal treatment. ... Yet the fear remains that the problems of the cities as we know them will simply be transferred to hospital waiting rooms." (14/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Health Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Social affairs, » Society, » Greece

The state-run Italian television broadcaster Rai has suspended TV presenter Michele Santoro for ten days for insulting Rai chairman Mauro Masi. A ridiculous disciplinary measure symptomatic of the alarming phenomenon of militant neo-journalism, writes the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera: "Brawling has taken the place of normal discussion. ... Things have deteriorated to the point where we see pathological behaviour as natural and journalism as a form of political battle. Contempt for those who think differently and aggressiveness as a sign of professional masculinity: this is the monster that is prowling our TV screens and the pages of our newspapers in many different guises. ... For the neo-journalists the decision to have neither friends nor foes ... is not an expression of honesty but of hypocrisy. ... Militant media will no longer need to back the politicians, they will replace them. ... They will cease to follow political developments and start dictating them." (15/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Media policy, » Media, » Italy
All available articles from » Beppe Severgnini

In the battle over the sale of the highly indebted football club Liverpool FC to a US investment group a British court gave the green light for the deal to go ahead on Thursday evening. English football should model itself on Germany's professional football league, the Bundesliga, writes the left-liberal daily The Independent: "The lesson from the judicial torments of Liverpool supporters this week is that England's clubs need to be in the hands of the only individuals who have their long-term interests at heart: their fans. Germany has shown that this is possible. The Bundesliga authorities demand that all clubs be majority-owned by member associations and they are forbidden from spending profligately on player registrations and wages. This framework has delivered competitive football, reasonable ticket prices, profits for clubs and financial stability across the league. The idea of implementing a similar structure in English club football has long been dismissed by the complacent and arrogant individuals who run the domestic game as a romantic dream." (15/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » Germany, » United Kingdom

Since the beginning of last year Finnish television has been broadcasting urgent warnings of bears roaming free in the wilderness. The daily Kaleva finds the warnings exaggerated and writes that people who run into bears in the wild should simply stay calm, talk loud and walk backwards as if nothing had happened: "The bear is no beast of prey that attacks people for no reason. In general this circumspect animal tries to avoid people. Although the bear population has grown and bears have spread to many parts of the country, very few people have ever encountered one in the wild. In such a situation the bear warnings on TV seem greatly exaggerated. ... The function of a warning is to inform people of immediate dangers that threaten human lives, property or the environment. ... But the bear warnings are far too virulent. No doubt they only increase people's unfounded fears of bears and foment hatred against them." (14/10/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Agriculture, » Media, » Finland