The negotiations that have been going on since 2002 and the constitutional debacle in France and the Netherlands in 2006 have caused considerable damage to the EU, writes Oszkár Füzes. "Now Poland is making itself unpopular with more flexible countries. It has a lot to lose in doing so: if Warsaw isn't successful in its bid to have the reform of the 27 states' voting system postponed, it will lose political influence and support. The British have always managed to get their way: so far they have torpedoed anything they didn't like about the constitutional draft. The constitution process has turned into a fiasco. Instead of bringing reform it has done more harm than good to the EU's prestige and capacity to act. But the constitution itself is not to blame; it's the muddled handling of the process. The EU summit could perhaps help to limit the damage." (19/06/2007)

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The newspaper warns that the EU would be ill-advised to give in to Poland's demands for a renegotiation of voting rights within the EU, pointing out that this could encourage other countries to make their own demands. "It's in everyone's interest to make it clear to Poland that there are limits to what it can demand. The German presidency is patently trying to isolate Poland and cast it in the role of a bad European to prove that blackmail won't work. One offer that could make Poland change its stance would be the prospect of a coordinated EU strategy on energy supplies, because Poland rightly fears Russia's propensity to use energy resources as an instrument in security policy... A concession in this area of policy could help draw Poland out of its isolation." (19/06/2007)

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Piotr Zaremba tries to see the upside of the Poles' blockade. He says the Union must ask itself which path it wants to take: "Where are the limits to its centralisation? What should the balance of power be between the strongest and richest countries and those that have only just started on the road to power and wealth? To what extent should the EU act as an alliance of states or an entirely new entity? Today these questions are drowned out by calls to sign an agreement as quickly as possible and get it over with, but tomorrow they could turn out to be crucial. The Union should not be allowed to become a cumbersome, bureaucratic socialist entity. However, greater independence for individual nation states may not necessarily protect against this. The square root formula could offer a guarantee for such protection, although this may also not be the case." (19/06/2007)

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Ulrich Schmid criticises the remarks of certain European politicians who, in view of Poland's blocking tactics in the debate about the distribution of voting rights at the EU's Council of Ministers, are even talking about expelling the country from the EU. "No one denies that the Kaczynskis aren't exactly in love with the EU. Unlike the pronouncedly liberal camp around former Solidarnosc advisor and Foreign Minister under the Buzek government Bronislaw Geremek, and the first prime minister of post-communist Poland, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, who hoped the Union would have a positive influence on the country, the Kaczynski brothers have adopted a more pragmatic stance and are particularly sceptical about further integration and the expansion of federalist elements - as are the English. But the Kaczynskis don't reject the EU, and neither do the Polish people, the majority of whom are very enthusiastic about the Union. The EU profits in many ways from Poland's vital democracy, and even more from Warsaw's expertise in dealing with ex-communist states." (19/06/2007)

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The renowned city planner Dieter Hoffmann-Axthelm reflects on why the "throw-away" society has developed such an obsession with keeping and preserving things: "Modern society wanted to get rid of all the sacred, the grand and all collective emotional ties. But right from the beginning it was disappointed by its increasing inability to create its own new monuments... While from a technical point of view anything is possible and a single generation is capable of constructing buildings that would have taken centuries in the past, the belief in the relation between function and building is disappearing in the heads of those responsible for creating architecture. You can build a royal palace in two years, but it will never be more than a hotel or a bank. A self-confident society may not want to admit that the time could come when it is no longer capable of producing new monuments, but in view of the dwindling ability to create real monuments, buildings have inevitably become nothing more than pure architecture." (19/06/2007)

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The author Elie Wiesel, winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize for Peace, evoked the incarceration of Nazi criminals in an interview with Alessandra Farkas. The Italian justice system has just allowed the former German SS officer Erich Priebke, 93 years old, given a life sentence in 1988, to leave the residence where he is serving his sentence under house arrest, once a day to work. This has provoked strong reaction among Jewish associations and ex-servicemen. "Nazi criminals given life sentences should end their days behind bars. To forget the Holocaust is a crime against memory and crimes against memory can have devastating consequences. I am opposed to the death sentence, even in such cases, but I don't believe in the reduction or slackening of sentences. ... I would like to say to angry young Jewish people that I share and understand their rage." (19/06/2007)

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The daily considers the UK Conservative Party, led by David Cameron. "Cameron's appealing demeanour and fresh approach is the main reason the Tories have improved in the opinion polls. The public remains sceptical, with good reason, over the extent to which he has moulded the party in his own image. ... Mr Cameron needs to demonstrate that he is in control of his party. He must also show that, behind the charm, lies real substance. This does not mean rushing out policies. If they are not thought through properly this would do more harm than good. And, in truth, there is the danger that Mr Brown [Tony Blair's successor] is likely to appropriate them for himself if he likes the look of them. But Mr Cameron needs to show that he is more than just a personable figure; he must demonstrate that he is someone with both the strength and the vision to be a leader of this country. And his party, if it ever wants to return to government, needs to grow up and recognise the electoral realities of 21st century politics." (19/06/2007)

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The daily is outraged by the recent broadcast of a video recorded a year ago in which two Albanian prisoners are maltreated in a police station in Athens. "We knew that the Greek police were very strict with prisoners, especially Albanians, but what we have seen in footage shown on television this weekend is going beyond the bounds. ... We see Albanian prisoners beating one another under the orders of policemen who find the view hilarious, laughing hysterically. Does that strike you as revolting? What is revolting is that this wasn't an isolated first incident. These are everyday scenes that must be denounced. These policemen and their direct superior have indeed been suspended and the Prime Minister has intervened to condemn the behaviour. But nothing will change so long as agents maintain full power and are able to practice their discriminatory action everyday." (19/06/2007)

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The Estonian ministry of education commissioned the production of a documentary on the subject of prostitution destined to be shown at secondary schools. Now the film is ready and the newspaper takes a very critical view of it, claiming it promotes prostitution rather than presenting it as a serious social problem. "The film sends a hidden message to sexually inhibited boys to acquire their first sexual experiences with prostitutes, while girls are implicitly told this could be a way to make a career. On the other hand it makes no reference whatsoever to the health risks, either physical or emotional, involved in prostitution. Nor does it deal with the spread of Aids... Estonia is increasingly dominated by the consumer mentality which does not perceive prostitution as a moral or a human rights issue. This educational film reflects this immature consumerist attitude." (19/06/2007)

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The daily considers the separation of the couple formed by former French presidential candidate Ségolène Royal and the Secretary General of the Socialist Party (PS), François Hollande. "On Sunday evening [June 17th], the PS and its leader, François Hollande, weren't able to take advantage of the good results they obtained [the left won more seats than expected in the legislative elections]. The announcement of Ségolène Royal's separation became the centre of attention in the evening's television. The former presidential candidate had already shown in the past that she saw nothing wrong with mixing public and private life. This was illustrated with the photos of her pregnancy published in Paris-Match in 1993 when she was Minister of the Environment. Today, after having announced her desire to leave the Socialist Party, currently in the hands of her ex-companion, she has sabotaged his victory... Ségolène exemplifies certain media figures who are against having information on their private lives exposed... unless it suits them." (19/06/2007)

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The journalist Erwan Desplanques notes that several recent cases of censorship in the French press have been divulged on the Internet. "The information always comes from the Net, which seems to be gaining new strength from the pressure placed on traditional media. The Net also provides an opportunity to get even, or at least to confirm the Net as a real alternative, not always dependable, but always fiercely independent, in the old style of newspapers. ... So an article is censored? Very well, here it is on the Net, sprinkled over a continually growing number of sites. So widespread that it becomes an 'event' recuperated by the headlines transforming the censor's scissors into a boomerang. The written press treated the Internet as a rival for a long time. Now it is discovering how this new technology has also become a guarantee of its freedom." (16/06/2007)

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Viewers watching the Czech public broadcaster CT last Sunday were shown images of a nuclear explosion in the Riesengebirge. Normally the TV programme "Panorama" shows live pictures from the country's touristic regions, taken by cameras installed at fixed locations. The Czech group of artists Ztohoven [out of there!] confessed to having sabotaged one of the cameras, saying the objective was to highlight the manipulability of television. Martin Zvěřina comments: "Despite the shocked reaction of some viewers, the TV explosion staged by Ztohoven did have its uses, quite apart from its artistic success. For instance we learnt that 'Panorama', which supposedly broadcasts innocent informative images, is basically just paid advertising. But even more important is that we got to see how quickly and forcefully the management of the Czech public broadcasting station can act, particularly where money's involved." (19/06/2007)

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A majority of cinemas remained shut on June 18th in Spain, in protest against a bill aimed at reforming the film industry. Cinema directors are refusing to introduce a quota system that would oblige them to programme at least 25% of Spanish or European films. "Business men who know what the general public likes say that Spanish cinema doesn't interest the majority of audiences, with only 5 out of every 100 viewers choosing to watch films made in our country", reveals the daily. "To impose this quota will inflict a grave prejudice on cinema owners. This newspaper has always been against all forms of cultural exception. And as this bill is criticised by all sectors linked to this industry, it would be best for the minister of Culture to reconsider its contents." (19/06/2007)

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Every ten years the Bavarian town of Oberammergau presents its Passion Play, in which over half the members of the community take part as amateur actors. Until now the depiction of the Stations of the Cross has always begun at 9:30 am and ended at 18:30 pm. But now the residents of Oberammergau have decided in a referendum that the Passion Play 2010 won't begin until the afternoon and will reach its climax late in the evening - in accordance with director Christian Stückl's wishes. Stückl argued that this way the lighting would be more favourable. Matthias Heine explains that this kind of dispute has a long tradition in the city: "Since the residents of Oberammergau first made their vow in 1633 to perform a play depicting all ten years of the suffering and death of Christ if God spared them from the effects of the bubonic plague and the Thirty Year War, there have been a number of intrigues involving casting and the dramatic form of the play. So when Florian Streibl, the leader of the detractors of the late performance option, announced he would accept the results of the referendum it struck one as an act of true Christian piety." (19/06/2007)

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The young Spanish matador José Tomás shone out on Sunday, June 18th, in Barcelona's arena, despite strong anti-bullfighting sentiment in the capital. "Three ears and a triumphant exit through the main doors crowned a spectacular day. The return of José Tomás in this arena proved that bullfighting is doing very well in Catalonia, and this despite radical nationalists and republicans bending over backwards to distort reality. By adopting an anti-bullfighting stance they are only further distancing themselves from the large majority of citizens who, aficionados or not, have a great respect for bullfighting. ... The struggle to get rid of national emblems like the Spanish anthem or flag is bound to fail because of the natural resilience of society that has naturally been combining Spanish and Catalan identity for centuries." (19/06/2007)

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