The British prime minister had no choice but to say No at the EU summit in Brussels, the liberal business paper Handelsblatt writes, saying the focus should now be on common ground: "Even under normal circumstances it would have been hopeless to expect Cameron to approve the EU's conversion into a fiscal union as a first step towards political union without receiving anything to show for it at home. But given that the justification for this step was the rescue of a currency the logic of which the British still doubt today it was utterly impossible. The impending new Stability Pact among the 26 remaining EU member states has widened the rift between the UK and the Continent. ... This is reflected in the clear backing his country has now given him. ... It would be better now to focus on what the two sides still have in common and what can serve both their interests instead of ranting against the Brits. And a functioning common market is right at the top of the list here." (13/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Matthias Thibaut

If Europe loses the UK it will lose its most innovative member state, the left-liberal daily El País warns: "Despite its critical positions which have  hindered a number of advances, we must remember the crucial contributions of a country that, as the analyst Charles Grant put it 'encouraged the EU to look outwards and see globalisation more as an opportunity than a threat.' From development cooperation to a European research area, many European projects would look very different today without the UK's influence. And it's difficult to imagine that without the UK the EU would have dared to break up hugely influential national monopolies like the telephone companies or airlines. If the UK leaves, the EU will lose not only military, academic and financial clout but also a country that has demonstrated that it is much better able to renew its public administration and policies than continental Europe." (13/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Jordi Vaquer
Who's saying what » Contentious issue: The Roma, » Europe's speed

The British veto of the latest EU plans testify to a democratic desire to respect the will of the people, writes the left-liberal daily Delo: "Even if the Brits have never stopped stirring up trouble and making things more complicated with their Euroscepticism, you can't reproach them for not campaigning for a free, large and open Union. And these goals are well worth fighting for. All the more so as in these times of crisis they are shared by the large majority of 'normal democratic citizens'. They often look at Brussels with a scepticism akin to that of the British. The self-proclaimed rescuers of the euro and the EU, by contrast, now want in the name of 'efficiency' to extirpate this last remnant of respect for the people of Europe - and the right to national sovereignty along with it." (13/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Damijan Slabe
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis, » Europe's speed

David Cameron's EU veto may have delighted his Conservative Party, but in the British parliamentary debate on Monday a majority of MPs were outspokenly in favour of the EU, writes the left-liberal daily The Guardian: "Mr Cameron's walkout went down a storm with his party, but the recognition that he is marching Britain towards Never Never Land seems to be gaining ground now. Yesterday's Commons exchanges were the voice of a parliament which, for all its bluster, does not embrace isolationism. There is more momentum now behind re-engaging than disengaging. Quite right too. Mr Cameron should never have left the table. Now he must be made to return to it." (13/12/2011)

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Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis, » Europe's speed

The Czech President Václav Klaus spoke out on Monday against his country's participation in the extension of the euro bailout fund. The plan stands to cost the country ten percent of its currency reserves. The liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes sees his point. "It's about a principle. The Czech people want the euro no more than Czech business wants it. Even part of the Eurozone no longer wants the euro. Opinion polls show that the majority of Germans want the deutschemark back. All it would take is an election defeat for Mrs Merkel and we'll be surprised to see how fast the Eurozone collapses. And now we're being asked to support the euro, which is preventing Europe from recovering, with 90 billion koruna? With a loan that will never be repaid? ... We would only be shooting ourselves in the foot." (13/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Markéta Šichtařová
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

In an interview that took place after last week's EU summit Finland's finance minister Jutta Urpilainen rejected the idea of applying the majority rule principle for the ESM crisis mechanism on constitutional grounds. The prime minister, by contrast, holds participation in the ESM for necessary, as does the liberal daily Kaleva: "The need for unanimity in decision making has paralysed EU processes. It has enabled single states to cause havoc in the decision-making process in order to push through their own interests. The main thing is to be clear about what is good for Finland. Dependent as it is on exports, it would hardly be to Finland's advantage to isolate itself. Nor would the collapse of the euro be in our interest, as tempting as Sweden with its koruna may be. The government must focus on closing its ranks and explain clearly which line of approach the government as a whole backs." (13/12/2011)

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Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The mass demonstrations in Russia over the past week have resonated across the world and have frequently been described as the end of the Putin era. The liberal daily Sme warns that it would be foolish to assume that all the demonstrators are committed democrats: "The European media have been vying with each other with their headlines about Putin's weakening grip on power and the emergence of a new civil society in Russia. Certainly it has been a long time since Russia witnessed such mass protests that pose a problem for the regime. But a few thousand protesters in Moscow, which has twice as many inhabitants as the whole of Slovakia, are just a drop in the ocean. ... It wouldn't hurt to be more reserved in assessing the level of opposition against Putin. Communists and fascists are no closer to a democracy and civil society than the current regime. Not everyone who fights against a dictatorship wants to replace it with a democratic system." (13/12/2011)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Russia
All available articles from » Peter Morvay

Mass demonstrations and the rival candidacy of billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov are jeopardising Putin's plan to heave himself back into power as president in the upcoming elections, writes Ivo Indjev in his blog: "Putin's hope that imprisoning Mikhail Khodorkovsky would scare off political rivals is a thing of the past. Yesterday Mikhail Prokhorov was the first to assume the role of the battering ram. Prochorov, also a billionaire, also young, intelligent and an ambitious new-generation Russian, declared his intention to join the race for the presidency. ... What's more, he wants to team up with Alexei Kudrin, the former Russian finance minister who knows the system like the back of his hand. Together with the mass protests that adds up to three attacks in just a few days. This political snowball still has ten times that much to grow before the parliamentary elections on March 4.  It's still too early to write the darling of Russia's power-mongers off completely but one thing is clear: Being Vladimir Putin is not what it used to be." (12/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Ivo Indjev

At their summit on Friday in Brussels the EU states rejected amendments to the EU treaties and agreed to a pact on more budgetary discipline instead. This was all a Berlin strategy motivated by domestic policy considerations, writes Italy's ex-prime minister Giuliano Amato in the liberal business paper Il Sole 24 Ore: "I find it hard to believe that one can cling to false solutions with such tenacity. This includes the unnecessary scenario of proposals to change the EU treaties. It doesn't take a genius to see that such a proposal could lead to the UK leaving the EU. ... And because everyone was aware of this one can safely assume that Merkel and Sarkozy were also in the picture. This makes it seem likely that the proposal was made with the intention of withdrawing it and paving the way for the multilateral pact that was the real goal. ... I fear that Berlin's insistence is motivated by internal considerations. The Germans must be convinced that their government can teach those states budgetary discipline that in their eyes can't be relied on to practice it on their own." (11/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Giuliano Amato

France can handle a downgrading of its high credit rating, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in an interview published on Monday in the daily Le Monde. His words fed speculation that the downgrading might just be a matter of time. The liberal business paper Les Echos urges calm: "We stare at our triple A with our eyes glued to the rating thermometer. Already the markets see it as a lost cause. But if the topic didn't carry so much weight in the run-up to the presidential elections there'd be no reason to make such a fuss, and for a number of reasons: several other European triple As have also seen a steep rise in their risk premiums (Finland, Austria, the Netherlands ...). Even Germany recently encountered difficulties selling its government bonds. The US, downgraded to AA+ not so long ago, continues with business as usual thanks to the Federal Reserve and its status as a financial superpower, despite its current political weakness. But if Europe can't overcome its own weaknesses, the rating thermometer won't forgive it." (13/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Favilla
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

Unidentified persons spread a rumour over the Internet in Latvia that the commercial bank Swedbank was on the brink of insolvency on the weekend, prompting thousands of the bank's customers to rush to take out their savings. The business paper Dienas Bizness hopes that the culprits will be found: "This is desirable because the panic at the cash dispensers has shown how a small rumour can trigger a huge avalanche. If the rumour was deliberately circulated even if it was aimed against a private company it can be regarded as a malicious act against the Latvian state. Swedbank is the biggest bank in the country and is therefore of systemic importance. If it were to collapse it would not bode well for Latvia's economic future. ... People's concern is understandable: two major banks have gone bankrupt within three years, and this is why harmless events can trigger a panic. Back in 2007 no one would have paid any attention if such and such a bank closed one of its branches but today even that is enough to spread doubts." (13/12/2011)

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According to statistics published on Monday, unemployment in Ireland currently lies at more than 14 percent. The liberal daily the Irish Examiner calls on the Irish to spend generously in the Christmas season so as to create jobs: "Though no one expected any good news it is more than sobering to remind ourselves that, as we approach Christmas, 14.4 percent of the workforce are unemployed. This cold statistic hides great human tragedy. It hides too emigration figures we all know are keeping the figures at yesterday's mark. It is especially sad that more than half - 56.percent - of those without a job have been dependent on social welfare for more than a year. Though we should not need reminding we should remember that every cent we spend this Christmas has the potential to reduce those chilling figures and create or sustain jobs never more precious." (13/12/2011)

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As of today, Thursday, six stricter rules that are part of the EU Stability Pact take effect for indebted Eurozone countries. The EU Commission now has the power to intervene when a country has not yet got deep into debt but shows signs of significant economic imbalances. However this new complex of rules known as the six pack won't make much of a difference, writes the conservative business paper Naftemporiki: "This seems to be the wrong answer to a major challenge. And the fact that the rules take effect today doesn't change the situation. ... Anyone who doubts this just need look at how the markets behaved yesterday or listen to Moody's comments. Moody's is threatening to downgrade the credit status of several countries and the Eurozone as a whole, and has expressed doubts about the survival of the euro. This battle is being fought with the wrong weapons. And the tormenting question remains: how many more mistakes can today's Europe afford to make in the midst of this serious crisis?" (13/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Nikos Frantzis
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The publisher of the Baseler Zeitung, Moritz Suter, gave up all his functions at the newspaper on Monday and sold his shares in the company to Rahel Blocher, the daughter of Christoph Blocher, vice president of the national conservative Swiss People's Party. Now it's plain for all that the Blochers are an oligarch family, the liberal Tages-Anzeiger comments: "The rotten deal that the Blochers' family business Robinvest struck with the newspaper demonstrates how hungry for power and control Blocher is. Father and daughter spent 70 million on a publisher that is 100 million in debt. Even when the audit uncovered a 30 million gap in the pension scheme this was simply shrugged off. This is the kind of mistake only a billionaire can afford. But the temptation of getting its hands on a chief editor like Markus Somm and in all probability a publishing chief like Filippo Leutenegger, two highly experienced supporters, was worth dozens of millions for the family. Switzerland now has an authentic oligarch family with the Blochers: along with its own castle, party, companies, factories and newspapers."  (13/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Constantin Seibt

The abbess of a Romanian Orthodox convent in the village of Tăriceni gave birth to twins at the end of November. The Church is still deliberating over how to punish this violation of Church doctrine. The weekly paper Dilema Veche pokes fun at the media's heckling against the woman: "The persecution of the nun who has given birth to twins has reached unbelievable proportions. Since we can't infiltrate the hospital with the diligent, truth-seeking reporters to see this oh so ghastly sinner who desecrated the sanctuary, we've started to imagine the most perverse scenarios. We've fantasised about orgies at holy sites, obscenities we had never imagined, sex scenes that defy the wildest imagination. ... There is no right to privacy. Let's not forget, we're dealing with a woman of the Church here, and we, the virtuous who are without sin, want justice. The right to privacy is a fad of the Catholic Church and a stupidity of democracy. And it holds no sway with us - we want to see it all." (13/12/2011)

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All available articles from » Cătălin Stefanescu