For the business paper Hospodářské noviny the stricter rules on bonus payments for bank managers passed by the European Parliament represent a political gesture of little consequence for bankers: "From the outside it looks simple: bankers are after the biggest possible gains and will run any and every risk to achieve them. And in doing so they destabilise the financial markets. ... Taking aim at bankers' incomes is a step to appease voters and maintain social peace. ... But it's an open question how well this works in practice. When Britain introduced a 50 percent tax on bonuses exceeding 25,000 pounds [around 30,000 euros] last year the banks raised bankers' fixed incomes and lowered their bonus payments. True, the state's revenues rose by around two billion pounds [around 2.4 billion euros], but the bankers were certainly not any poorer as a result. Now all of Europe's banks will no doubt adopt a similar strategy. ... Consequently the bonus regulation can only be considered a first step." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Europe
All available articles from » Julie Hrstková

The new rules for bonus payments offer banks too many loopholes, writes the daily Tiroler Tageszeitung: "In practice this is nothing other than the status quo cast in the form of an EU law. It is already normal practice in the real economy for most bonuses to be paid out in the form of shares. With its percentage formulations the new rule is more a loophole than a law. The original idea in Strasbourg was to cap benefits with a nominal upper limit. The EU Parliament failed in this attempt - understandably. Because there is no legal basis for telling the private economy how much it can pay its top managers. This guideline is too harmless to be effective. By contrast, top earners at the banks will be rubbing their hands in glee. Their intensive lobbying efforts have definitely paid off." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Banks, » Europe
All available articles from » Beate Troger

Despite the new EU regulations on bankers' bonuses there are still many factors that could precipitate a new financial crisis, writes the conservative daily Die Welt: "Particularly given that [the EU] basically summarised what is already practised at many banks, at least at the management level. A series of large institutions have either already readjusted their bonus systems or are in the process of doing so. So the performance of legislators and regulators must therefore be measured in other areas: When will there finally be binding rules on how much capital banks must have to cover their riskier dealings? How can it be guaranteed that the financial sector covers part of the costs of future crisis? There is much discussion but few concrete results. Europe going solo on this may serve to give the rest of the world a wake-up call, but unfortunately not much more." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Banks, » Europe
All available articles from » Karsten Seibel

The French secretary of state for the Greater Paris region Christian Blanc has resigned over an expense scandal involving 12,000 euros worth of cigars paid for by Blanc's office. The business paper Les Echos writes that people have little tolerance for excesses other than their own: "One must always be wary of details. Christian Blanc had many reasons for thinking that having his administration purchase cigars was a mere bagatelle. ... A dinner at [luxury restaurant] Fouquet's can go unnoticed in the euphoria of an electoral evening, but a little while later it can become a symbolic burden. ... Society lives amidst enormous excesses, but castigates its representatives for neglecting a detail. Herein lies the honour of democracy and the condition of its survival." (08/07/2010)

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

Survivors of the Srebrenica massacre 15 years ago are suing three high-ranking Dutch blue helmet soldiers for war crimes. The Netherlands' policy regarding genocide is disgraceful, writes the daily NRC Handelsblad: "The Dutch government is doing everything to keep the guilty consciences and resentment about its role in these war crimes alive. Virtually nothing has been dealt with appropriately so far. ... The resignation of the government in 2002, a reaction to a balanced inquiry report, was a kind of recognition which found its continuation in special rules for Srebrenica. But an apology remains taboo for fear of the financial and legal repercussions. ... The foreign minister at the time Rita Verdonk was not the only one who suffered from this lack of diplomatic empathy and historical sensibility which plagues the Netherlands. ... In the legal sense, too, Srebrenica is not yet a closed chapter. ... To a large extent the Netherlands only has its own cowardliness to thank for this." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Netherlands, » Bosnien

Germany has declared its willingness to take in two prisoners from the US's Guantánamo Bay detention camp - too few to be anything but a symbolic gesture, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung points out: "Otherwise it would not have refused to take in Muslim Uighurs from Guantánamo in 2009 for fear of provoking China. Otherwise [Interior Minister] de Maizière would not be trying to use Murat Kurnaz to convey the impression that Germany has taken in three people. ... Germany has hesitated to help sort out this complicated mess. Now the German government has arrived very late on the scene. Most of the demonstrably innocent prisoners have already been moved to other countries where they are gradually growing in to their new identities. There were many reasons why Germany didn't want to build these bridges: domestic policy pressures, an obsession with security, legal nonsense. Now the German government has contented itself with this symbolic move." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Germany, » U.S.

The deputy speaker of the Bulgarian parliament Lachezar Ivanov on Wednesday resigned his post after it was revealed that he attempted to prevent the airing of an investigative TV report on corruption among customs officers to protect a friend of his who is himself a customs officer. The daily 24 Chasa calls for further action from the politician: "If he values his honour, simply resigning won't be enough. Lachezar Ivanov must give up his immunity as an MP because there is serious evidence that he abused his office. If he doesn't take his honour so seriously the public prosecutor must intervene and revoke his immunity, as he has done with other MPs. It's not about using Ivanov as a scapegoat. But [his party] Gerb has no alternative but to rise up against him if it wants to defend its main goal thanks to which it rose to power - bringing about total [political] change." (07/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Audiovisual Media, » Press freedom, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Stanimir Vaglenov

The policies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the current economic crisis are comparable with those of Margaret Thatcher, writes economist Pedro Lains in the business paper Jornal de Negócios: "Although with more pragmatism than ideology Merkel is currently pursuing a similar course to Thatcher's in the 1980s. If Germany got it's way financial discipline would rule in politics, not the money-wasting of the states which in Merkel's eyes is fatal for growth. For Europe she wants less integration and more stipulation of costs as well as regulations on who covers them. What will this stance bring Merkel? Does she represent the majority in Germany? Or is there a more pro-European Germany that is passively waiting for the crisis to end? Merkel's election results of recent months are encouraging for Europe. Perhaps Merkel will suffer the same fate as her predecessor: she'll be toppled once she's solved the main problems. But even if she loses she will win. For Europe will no longer work the way it did when she took office." (07/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Economic Policy, » Germany, » United Kingdom, » Europe
All available articles from » Pedro Lains

The economic research institute Euromonitor International predicts that Poland will have fewer and fewer corner shops. Discount stores with their low prices are to blame for this development, the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita concludes: "Not so long ago it was supermarkets and hypermarkets that were the greatest enemies of our small shops. A special law was meant to prevent their expansion, which threatened to ruin the trade structures back then. But the enemy was ill-defined and the consequences are now obvious. Because it's not the supermarkets that have killed off the traditional businesses ... but the considerably smaller discount stores, which have sprung up like mushrooms even in very small villages. Customers go for the lowest prices, and nothing can change this." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Poland
All available articles from » Wojciech Romański

Only 67 percent of Romanian secondary school pupils passed their final exams this year, roughly ten percent less than in previous years. The Education Ministry sees this as proof that it has successfully combated cheating, tidings welcomed by Emilian Isaila in the daily Adevărul: "The fact that generations of pupils cheated in their secondary school exams means that millions of youths have been released into society without the slightest feeling of responsibility. These young people come of age in a vague reality that can be changed at will by cheating. ... It's no wonder that for the rest of their lives they look for the easiest way, for shortcuts to their dreams. I think those who cheat on their final exams would give you a baffled look if you said there's no such thing as the easy way. Even if the shows on television would have us believe that beauty and wealth were available for everyone, reality is another thing altogether. But how can you explain that to people who have learned from the start that cheating is the quickest way to success?" (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Romania
All available articles from » Emilian Isaila

The Greek parliament passed a controversial pension reform law on Wednesday. The trade unions have responded today, Thursday, with a general strike. The conservative daily Kathimerini welcomes the reform and urges citizens to be understanding: "Unfortunately up to now the debate about our future has not been honest. ... Most people didn't share the government's concern about the nightmare of bankruptcy. They were not convinced that the changes were a matter of survival and not a punishment for a crime they didn't commit. With the adopted reforms the government is closing ranks and showing its partners and creditors that the Greeks are taking the restructuring of their economy seriously. But the real battle consists in convincing the citizens that their sacrifices won't be in vain and that these reforms will lead to a society that will overcome the existing imbalances in the distribution of rights and obligations among the different groups." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Greece
All available articles from » Nikos Konstandaras

The UK's supreme court has granted two gay men from Iran and Camerun the right to asylum because they face persecution in their home countries. With this ruling the court rejected the line of the British Home Office, which wanted to deport them arguing that they could keep their sex lives secret in their home countries. The left-liberal daily The Guardian celebrates the ruling as a milestone in social development: "It is only because of the progress gay rights have made in the west during the last 50 years that the law can now clearly see it as an issue of fundamental human rights. It is only by the distance we have travelled as a society that we are now obliged to offer protection to those who would face prison, rape, torture or death for their sexual identity. ... Key to any democracy is a living law. This case shows the continued vitality of the refugee convention and its ability to move with changing times. This judgement should be celebrated as a victory for progressive thought; but at the same time it is nothing more than justice being done." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Social affairs, » United Kingdom, » Africa, » Iran
All available articles from » Bernard Keenan

Swedish feminist Gudrun Schyman has burned 100,000 crowns (roughly 10,000 euros) to draw attention to the low salaries earned by women. The daily Expressen finds the move tasteless and explains the reasons behind the wage differential: "Women opt more often for the public sector and work less often in industry, although that's where the better-paid jobs are. It is important to give young people a clear idea of the salaries available in the various sectors before they decide which course their education should take. It is important that employers should encourage women to seek out new, more demanding jobs. Ultimately, however, women are the ones who decide on the work they do. For that reason burning money is nothing more than an ostentatious show, one that shows little respect for those who have little money to start with." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Gender equality, » Sweden

Twenty years after its independence Lithuania is still dominated by the fear of Russia and a possible Russian invasion, notes the news portal Delfi: "The fact is however that the Russians aren't coming, because we are under Nato protection and have armed forces at our disposal that are currently being modernised and reformed. And if the Russians aren't coming, neither are the Belarusians or anyone else. Fate has condemned us to freedom and we will never forgive it. We behave as if we were still occupied. Sociological studies show that we don't like - or even hate - our governments, as if they were an occupying force. We don't trust our parties because we associate them with the parties of the occupiers. But we will never feel like rulers in our own country if we continue to view those who rule it as occupiers. And as long as we go on doing that we will continue to believe that nothing belongs to us here, and will never stop fleeing as if occupiers were persecuting us." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » Migration, » Lithuania, » Russia
All available articles from » Jurgis Jurgelis

After its victory in the semi-final against Germany Spain has made it to the World Cup final for the first time ever. In honour of Catalan player Carles Puyol's winning goal the sports paper AS uses a half-Spanish, half-Catalan headline: "Visca España", long live Spain. In this way the Madrid-based paper pays tribute to Puyol in his mother tongue: "Puyol, long live the mother who gave birth to you! ... The captain of FC Barcelona plans to leave the national team. But the time has not yet come. He must help us after victory has been claimed in South Africa. He must go on right up to the Euro 2012, because his personality drives the others. Because the new arrivals like Javi Martínez and others still to come must be infected with his dedication, his passion for the colours of the national team." (08/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Sport, » Federalism, » Separatism, » Spain
All available articles from » Joaquín Maroto