ECB chief Mario Draghi's call for a new European growth pact is a good idea but the details need to be quickly worked out, writes the liberal business paper Financial Times Deutschland: "What does he mean by 'growth pact'? And how can it be made compatible with the current formula of austerity, austerity, austerity we are supposed to adhere to? For now, the ECB chief has left it to others to find the answers to these questions. ... After all, growth policy can mean many things, from the more long-term project of opening service markets that have so far been closed to faster, debt-financed government spending programmes. ... The discussion launched by Mario Draghi must provide quick answers to these questions. ... Recapitalisation measures for the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the issue of loans for transnational infrastructural projects are for example one efficient way of addressing the task in hand. Speedy reallocation of EU structural and regional funding is another." (26/04/2012)

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Draghi's call for a growth pact goes in the right direction, writes the left-liberal daily La Repubblica: "The crisis in the Netherlands, the preliminary results of the French presidential election, the unexpectedly deep recession in Spain and Italy are bringing about the first steps towards a policy that seeks to avoid the downwards spiral of excessive austerity measures and recession. Because ultimately this spiral will hinder the rebalancing of the budgets of the southern EU countries. Draghi's call highlights the fear of such a turn of events, as does Berlin's praise for [Italian President] Giorgio Napolitano, who called for more growth. At present it's all just words, but we haven't heard such words for some time. The point is not to pitch growth against austerity. ... The austerity policy needs to be complemented with measures that seem immediately plausible to the financial markets, but don't spur further tax hikes." (26/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Tito Boeri
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

In view of the political developments in France and the Netherlands, the liberal daily Financial Times calls for an end to austerity policies: "Both citizens and elites in Europe seem to feel the need to stop this nonsense. The collapse of the Dutch government and the victory of François Hollande in the first round of the French presidential elections point in the same direction: a rebellion against austerity. But this could be just the beginning: upcoming elections in Greece, next month's Irish referendum and the French legislative elections in June might well turn this into a major crisis. Looking at the damage that angry citizens have inflicted on the EU in the past decade, European leaders would do well to take their anxieties seriously." (26/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » France, » Netherlands, » Europe
All available articles from » José Ignacio Torreblanca
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The euro crisis has caused the downfall of several governments in the past couple of years, also as a result of the austerity policy, the left-liberal daily Ta Nea observes: "Papandreou (Greece), Berlusconi (Italy), Cowen (Ireland) , Radičová (Slovakia), Pahor (Slovenia), Rutte (the Netherlands) - within a year the euro crisis has swallowed up so many prime ministers that the European landscape resembles a political cemetery. The political elites have been trying to save the European currency for two years now - with a devastating austerity policy. ... And the crisis isn't just affecting the South. For the first time a government in the North - whose countries form the very core of the euro - has collapsed under the pressure of the crisis. … The euro countries long believed that the European currency made them immune to crises. But now the crisis has hit the hard core of the monetary union. And once again a maxim from economic history has been confirmed: the currency cannot define the fate of a country; it is the country that defines the fate of the currency." (26/04/2012)

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

The EU Commission wants to spend just under seven percent more next year than in 2012, a demand that has met with heavy criticism from net payers. In view of the disparities among the EU countries the daily Delo sees the proposal as justified: "That the Commission is no model of frugality when it comes to the privileges of its officials doesn't exactly justify the demand for a larger budget. And some of the major projects in Mediterranean states that were financed with European funding have fallen short of their target. An empty motorway in eastern Greece is hardly serving as an economic motor. ... But above all the new members would suffer if there were cutbacks in structural funding. In its efforts to boost economic growth, the already politically destabilised EU can't afford to allow the gap between poor and rich to grow even wider. And with less money you can hardly achieve more Europe." (26/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Peter Žerjavič

Portugal's President Aníbal António Cavaco Silva appealed for social cohesion in his crisis-stricken country in a speech marking the 38th anniversary of the Portuguese "Carnation Revolution" on Wednesday. But he forgot to denounce the injustices resulting from the government's austerity policy, which threaten to undermine solidarity in the country, the business paper Jornal de Negócios points out: "If anyone poses a threat to our most important value, social and political cohesion, it's [Prime Minister] Passos Coelho. This cohesion is not a given. It requires the constant attention of those in power and measures that maintain a sense of fairness in these times of austerity. ... It's important to be realistic. ... The reality shows that the austerity programme is affecting some more than others, and precisely this circumstance paves the way for failure and discord." (26/04/2012)

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

The Ukrainian ex-head of government Yulia Tymoshenko claims that she was beaten in prison and began a hunger strike last Friday in protest. Meanwhile a video has surfaced on the Internet apparently showing Tymoshenko pacing around her cell without appearing to be in any pain. The country has already come out the loser, the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita: "One thing is for sure: these goings-on will further damage Ukraine's reputation abroad. They show that those in power either wanted to hurt their political opponents or no longer have the situation under control and are permitting flagrant human rights abuses. Ultimately Yulia Tymoshenko will turn into someone like the opposition activist Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma. And Ukraine will become a country ruled by a dictatorial hand. Its integration into the EU has receded into the distant future." (26/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Poland, » Ukraine, » Asia
All available articles from » Piotr Kościński

The UK registered a double-dip recession in the first quarter of this year for the first time since 2009, according to recent figures put out by the Office for National Statistics in London. Prime Minister David Cameron is now really in a tight spot, the business paper Les Echos writes: "The UK is under considerable pressure from the rating agencies to preserve its precious triple A. All the more so after its finances worsened last March. Even though the government achieved its objective of a deficit of 8.3 percent for the 2011-2012 fiscal year that ended in March, it seems unlikely that it will reach its goal of 7.6 percent for 2012-2013 without additional austerity measures. But they, in turn, would impede growth and hence reduce tax revenues. It's a balancing act for the British government, which unlike the countries in the south of the Eurozone has so far managed to avoid the wrath of the markets." (26/04/2012)

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All available articles from » Jacques Hubert-Rodier
Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

The Hungarian energy company Mol has announced plans to withdraw from the European Nabucco gas pipeline project. In view of the project's unclear situation the daily Standart finds the company's move understandable: "Originally Nabucco was supposed to be completed by 2013, then the date was pushed back to 2015 or 2017. No one really knows. After countless business trips to Azerbaijan and assurances that Nabucco was a priority there's still no sign of the gas. So it's entirely understandable that Hungary is at the end of its tether. … After eight years Orbán is tired of waiting for European solidarity and is now trying to secure energy independence for his country on his own. For its part, without a joint stance vis-à-vis Russia Europe has little chance in the fight for fair prices and terms of delivery. Unfortunately Europe lacks a joint position and everyone is trying to save themselves as best they can." (25/04/2012)

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All available articles from » Georgi Daskalov

A recent ruling by the European Court of Justice has stipulated that migrants to Austria must prove they have a basic knowledge of German before moving to the country. This does not, however, apply to Turkish citizens, owing to an Association Agreement between Turkey and the EU. But this exception will only aggravate the current problems, writes the liberal daily Kurier: "For the most part Turkish Austrians don't come from the modern upper classes but from rural areas with low levels of education. In many neighbourhoods of Vienna they've practically reconstructed their villages: with their own shops, media, restaurants and cafés and even (state subsidised) kindergartens where no German is spoken but Islamic values are upheld. When a mother has to go to the hospital she needs an interpreter (and when to top it all an asylum for refugees is set up in a migrant hotspot like Vienna's Favoriten district, the city's policies simply leave you speechless). The judgement by the European Court of Justice against tightening the laws on migrants is a another mosaic tile on the path to a parallel society." (24/04/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Migration, » Integration, » Austria, » Turkey
All available articles from » Martina Salomon

The Lithuanian parliament voted after the first reading in favour of an amendment to the constitution according to which the family would be based on a marriage between a man and woman and which would also define the relations between parents and children. The Web portal Delfi takes a sarcastic view of the initiative: "Divorce should actually be banned in Lithuania with the aim of strengthening the family. ... This would keep roughly 40 percent of the country's married couples together, because that's how many separate [each year]. And those who manage to live together the longest (regardless of all the rows and the traumatised children) could be given social benefits. Conversely we could save money if we scrapped benefits for those forms of partnership that don't fit in with the amendment to Article 38 of the constitution proposed by right-wing politicians. This amendment stipulates that a family is founded only when a couple marries." (25/04/2012)

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All available articles from » Lina Žigelytė

Slovakian media are currently debating whether the country has too many holidays. The leftist daily Pravda writes that the question should not be answered solely on the basis of economic considerations: "Slovakia has 15 state holidays. The call to change this always comes when one economist or another states grimly to the cameras what an impact these holidays have on our GDP. ... It's true that we work significantly less than our forefathers, but we are also significantly more productive. Having Saturdays off and the 5-day work week is now taken for granted. But it's not the number of working days that are important, but the number of hours we work. With our 1,749 hours per year, we're right in the midfield. The Koreans work 2,193 hours, the Germans only 1,408. Whether we slash some hours or add more shouldn't depend on the economy, but on the meaning a holiday has for our national identity." (26/04/2012)

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All available articles from » Marián Repa

Three prominent Belgian journalists at the Flemish broadcaster VRT have come in for heavy criticism since they reported on incidents of sexual harassment by well-known presenters in the 1980s. But their complaints must be taken seriously, writes the feminist Vera Claes in the liberal daily De Standaard: "These women have remained silent for so long because they - back then, as now - find the consequences even worse than the assaults. Because women who reported such incidents back then suffered negative consequences: the atmosphere on the job was poisoned, personal relationships were shattered, they were subject to relocation, bullying and marital conflict. ... With their recent courageous revelations, they are not seeking to settle political or personal scores. They are criticising a society in which power is more important than respect. When this power - in the past, but unfortunately even today - remains for the most part in the hands of the infamous Old Boys' Network, unwanted intimacies are never far off." (26/04/2012)

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All available articles from » Vera Claes

The Spanish government and the Spanish Football Federation signed an agreement on Wednesday obliging clubs to repay their high debts to the state - 673 million euros - in the coming year. The business paper Cinco Días approves: "The fact that the government even had to stress that football's debts 'must be paid by football' shows how important is is in the current budget situation to make clear that the tax office is not willing to make unjustified exceptions for anyone. ... Of course we mustn't forget that Spanish football represents an important source of income for the treasury. In times of austerity, the tax authorities and the state can't spare a single euro. ... So the iron fist the government is applying to get the budget under control must be complemented by the consistent message that all Spaniards share the responsibility of balancing the budget and there can be no exceptions." (26/04/2012)

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