The daily Kurier can't entirely understand the Icelanders' sudden EU-weariness: "The mood can swing that quickly: Only last autumn a majority of the 320,000 Icelanders saw swift accession to the EU as their way out of state bankruptcy. Now that the membership negotiations have officially begun at least six out of ten Icelanders are against it. … It's no wonder people are already betting that Iceland's binding referendum on EU membership will produce a negative result. In Reykjavik people are pointing to their close brothers in Norway, who are doing very well without the EU. But the Icelanders - and anyone else who wants to shelter under the EU's roof - must be clear about one thing: There's no such thing as 'a little EU membership'. It's either all or nothing." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Europe, » Iceland
All available articles from » Otto Klambauer

Iceland's accession to the EU is very uncertain, the daily Keskisuomalainen writes, because the people of Iceland will have the last word on whether it should happen: "The general positions are clear. Iceland is a stable democracy, already belongs to the European Economic Area and the Schengen zone, which facilitates cross-border travel, and its legislation for the most part already fulfils EU requirements. Special issues like whaling and the consequences of the economic crisis are the problem areas. … The Icelanders must themselves want to join the EU, but at the moment a clear majority want the government to withdraw its application for membership, which it filed a year ago in the midst of the economic crisis. So it's doubtful that the people will vote for membership. Norway, too, has rejected the EU twice, in 1972 and 1994." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Iceland

Given the Icelanders' EU scepticism and their bankrupt Icesave bank the daily Delo foresees difficulties with the country's membership talks with the EU: "There are many awkward issues, perhaps even more than Iceland's Foreign Minister Össur Skarphéðinsson expects for the accession negotiations, where the EU member countries will impose special conditions (see Icesave bank). Iceland may not have knocked at the EU's door empty-handed: in addition to its key geostrategic situation the country is prepared to contribute its knowledge and experience on the introduction of renewable energies, an area where Iceland already surpasses even the EU's boldest plans. But as the negotiations begin it's difficult to shrug off the unpleasant feeling that a sad epilogue will follow the dialogue that was initiated with such great ambitions and intentions on both sides." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Iceland
All available articles from » Bozo Masanovic

Rapid EU accession for Iceland would be beneficial to both sides, writes the left-liberal Süddeutsche Zeitung: "It only stands to reason that the Icelanders look to the large family of Europe for protection, bearing in mind their experience in the rough winds of international financial markets. In helping the faltering North-Atlantic nation the EU is above all pursuing geostrategic interests. Every square kilometre of water opened up by the melting ice cap brings new trade routes through the Arctic Ocean and better access to resources. With Iceland on board the EU could secure for itself an appreciable share of Arctic business. And it could have greater influence in seeing to it that the Arctic Region is handled with care. Over and above that Iceland itself would be a boon to the EU... as far as both renewable energies and fisheries are concerned. The Icelanders live primarily from fishing, and do much to ensure that fish stocks are maintained. In this regard they are well ahead of their continental European counterparts, who are mostly content to empty the seas as quickly as they can." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU enlargement, » Environmental Policy, » Economic Policy, » Europe, » Iceland

During his visit to Turkey on Tuesday British Prime Minister David Cameron criticised that certain countries have reservations about Turkey joining the EU. The business paper Il Sole 24 Ore sees this as an open attack against Germany and France: "More than an exercise in public relations, David Cameron's performance came across like a bodybuilding show aimed at warming the Turks' hearts. … The rapprochement with Ankara was of a political nature and with the subject of EU membership touched the sore spot in Turkey's foreign relations. The British prime minister confirmed the traditional Anglo-Saxon line and reaffirmed his support for the project. … His criticism of countries that hinder … membership with their prejudices against Islam and a protectionist vision … did not make direct reference to Paris and Berlin, but it's well-known that they are the strongest opponents to Turkey's EU accession." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » United Kingdom, » Turkey
All available articles from » Leonardo Maisano

Bulgaria will not hold a referendum on Turkey's EU accession as a petition circulated by the extra-parliamentary right-wing conservative VMRO-BND party has failed to gather the required 500,000 signatures. The daily Sega is relieved: "For historical, demographic and economic reasons Turkish accession is a delicate and problematic issue for Romanians. Our society has clearly grasped that the question is not yet on the agenda, and that hardly stands to change for the next ten years and possibly even longer. It would be short-sighted for us to act now and jeopardise our neighbourly relations. ... After all, Turkey is our neighbour and will remain our neighbour regardless of whether it joins the EU or not." (27/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU enlargement, » History, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Europe, » Turkey, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Liuben Obretenov

The French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Pierre Lellouche, said on Tuesday that Romania will jeopardise its accession to the Schengen Area planned for March 2011 if it fails to do more to integrate the Roma population. Many Roma are currently leaving Romania for France and Italy. Laurentiu Mihu welcomes Lellouche's announcement in the daily România Liberă: "Responsibility ... must first and foremost be borne by the Romanian state. Instead of solving its problems it has chosen the most simple and cynical solution for the past 20 years: exporting them. I'm certain that many decision makers in Bucharest were unofficially delighted that crime in their own country was moving abroad. ... In contrast to Italy, France has now brought Romania to its senses with a decisive 'European' instrument: barred access to the Schengen Area. Even if it doesn't look that way, this cold shower could help us to do the right thing." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Migration, » Integration, » Minorities, » France, » Romania
All available articles from » Laurentiu Mihu

Britain's Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne published on Tuesday his first annual energy statement, announcing he wants to focus more on renewable energies. The Daily Telegraph criticises him for refusing to support nuclear energy: "It is a source of wonder that a minister charged with ensuring energy security for this country places so much faith in a non-fossil source that is wholly dependent on the vagaries of the weather. It is vital that we foster renewables, and vital too that we insulate buildings more effectively. But neither can be a substitute for conventionally generated electricity. And the cleanest and the safest form - as BP's recent woes illustrate - is nuclear. Mr Huhne's stubborn unwillingness to embrace it could cost the country very dear in the decades ahead." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » United Kingdom

US economist Raghuram Rajan attributes the financial crisis among other things to social injustice and the incompetent battle against it in the US. He explains why in the business paper Világgazdaság: "Before the recent financial crisis, politicians on both camps in the United States egged on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant government-backed mortgage agencies, to support low-income lending in their constituencies. There was a deeper concern behind this newly discovered passion for housing for the poor: growing income inequality. Since the 1970's, wages for workers at the 90th percentile of the wage distribution in the US ... have grown much faster than wages for the median worker ... such as factory workers and office assistants. ... The political response to rising inequality ... was to expand lending to households, especially low-income households. The benefits - growing consumption and more jobs - were immediate, whereas paying the inevitable bill could be postponed into the future. ... The broader implication is that we need to look beyond greedy bankers and spineless regulators ... for the root causes of this crisis. ... America needs to tackle inequality at its root, by giving more Americans the ability to compete in the global marketplace. This is much harder than doling out credit, but more effective in the long run." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Fiscal Policy, » Global
All available articles from » Raghuram Rajan

The British oil company BP announced Tuesday it would pay compensation amounting to 14 million euros to CEO Tony Hayward, who it has now been confirmed will resign. At the same time the company announced losses of 13 billion euros for the second quarter of this year. Scandalous, the left-leaning daily De Morgen finds: "Criticism of such a pay-off is no longer called for because before you know it you're a spokesman for the envy-society that doesn't understand how the modern market society works and what incredible responsibility CEOs bear in it. … No one doubts that hard work and major responsibility should be rewarded but the bonuses with which top CEOs are spoiled nowadays are not just exorbitant, they're scandalous. Particularly when they're not able to prevent catastrophes or achieve company results that could justify such an income." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Corporations, » United Kingdom, » U.S.
All available articles from » Yves Desmet

After encountering severe difficulties as a result of the financial crisis the Swiss major bank UBS announced on Tuesday unexpectedly high second-quarter profits of two billion Swiss francs (roughly 1.5 billion euros). No reason to celebrate, writes the Tages-Anzeiger: "UBS' old leadership did far too much damage to go back to business as usual after three quarterly results in the black. The fact that customers are still withdrawing their funds is proof that the trust has not yet returned. But the question of trust cannot be assessed in terms of money alone. The Swiss people still don't know if they can trust the new bankers (who as a rule haven't changed). Lip service has been paid to all kinds of lessons from the crisis, none of which have yet been implemented on the political level - for example the question of state protection for large enterprises upon whose survival the system depends. The bankers are still suspected of torpedoing regulations. The more their business gets back to normal, the more often they will prove susceptible to such temptation." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Financial Markets, » Banks, » Switzerland
All available articles from » Bruno Schletti

A study by the University of Nikosia concludes that the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus has resulted in economic losses of more than 100 billion euros for Greek Cypriots. The liberal daily Phileleftheros writes that the world community must learn from these losses: "This economic data also refutes Turkish propaganda that claims the Greek Cypriots don't wish for a solution. The per capita income of Greek Cypriots sank between 1974 and 1990. ... They lost 15.78 billion euros because they cannot access or exploit their property. The total value of their property in the occupied zone amounts to 82.1 billion euros. In view of such massive losses how can the international community believe the people are not striving for a solution?" (27/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Economic Policy, » Cyprus, » Turkey

The Catalan parliament will decide today, Wednesday, whether to ban bullfights in the autonomous Spanish region. Everything points to an end to the Corrida in Catalonia, writes the liberal daily Pražský deník: "This is a dispute in which everyone is right. Of course the bullfight is an old Spanish tradition. And of course it constitutes cruelty to animals, which is considered barbaric in Europe. This is all reminiscent of the passionate British debate on fox hunting. ... Wouldn't it be a shame for the corrida to disappear altogether? Paradoxically what it has going for it is that the person in the arena is not automatically the winner. In this life-and-death struggle the animal sometimes comes out on top. The wounded and killed toreros are proof that this conflict is honourable and that the bull's chances are far better here than in the slaughterhouse. ... But it is also about politics. Barcelona wants to show the world that it is different from Madrid, where bullfights have been designated part of the cultural heritage." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Spain
All available articles from » Ivan Hoffman

The Portuguese government under Prime Minister José Sócrates has decided to close a further 701 primary and secondary schools. As a result roughly 10,000 pupils will have to travel to more distant schools. The business paper Diário Económico finds this unacceptable: "The Portuguese have known since yesterday that they have the lowest birth rate in Europe [sic]. This situation has become increasingly exacerbated in the last decade ... while the government has done little if nothing to counter it in the last five years. And even if it denies the charge, the key reason in both cases has been economic factors: saving, saving and more saving. With our birth rate and education policy, Portugal runs the risk of ending up with no more than a single school in future. It would be huge, very easy on the state budget and presumably in Lisbon. It could be called The Grand School of Engineer José Sócrates." (28/07/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social affairs, » Portugal, » Europe
All available articles from » Vitor Costa