Following the death of the presumed Toulouse killer, Mohamed Merah, France must finally address its immigration problem, the right-wing conservative daily Magyar Nemzet concludes: "The burning problem in France, immigration, can't be solved by banning the veil and the wearing of religious and cultural symbols. Roughly five million Muslims live in France; many of them, including Mohamed Merah, were born there. According to the way of thinking there, they are all French. So in theory there's no difference between Merah and Gérard Depardieu. Meanwhile Toulouse sends the following message to the next French president: Fundamental changes are needed because - let's face it - there are huge differences between Merah and Depardieu. ... If Paris doesn't recognise the need for these changes France will plunge into a profound social crisis." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Society, » France
All available articles from » Levente Sitkei

Not just in France but in Germany too there are terrorists living among us, the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung points out: "Those who believed that Islamist terrorism was a thing of the past, that the milieu that brought it forth was drying up and the international connections were cut off have been taught a hard lesson. … Although these 'local terrorists' generally don't belong to a closely run organisation - some are in loose contact with each other - this doesn't make them any less dangerous. To bring them all under control the security apparatus would have to be massively expanded. This is unrealistic and undesirable. But we shouldn't allow ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Crises / War, » Germany, » France
All available articles from » Klaus-Dieter Frankenberger

The Toulouse killings brings to light a dangerous culture of hatred among France's immigrant population, writes the conservative daily Le Figaro: "The terrorist wanted to show his hatred for France by targeting the military and the school with his attacks. ... He was supported by his family and probably also by a network. This monster is the creation of a suburban counter-culture that is alienated from our country's legal basis. It's too easy just to swallow yet again the eternal sermon of sociologists or demographers who - if they recognise this isolation at all - are happy to make the state solely responsible for it. The state can never do enough, they feel, although 45 billion euros have been spent on renovation work in the banlieues. The social difficulties do not justify the bitterness felt by this counter-culture in its struggle for dominance. ... Terrorised France is sitting on top of a volcano." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Minorities, » Crime, » Society, » France
All available articles from » Ivan Rioufol

For terrorists like Mohamed Merah may have been, the US has coined the term "lone wolf". But there can be no talk of loneliness here, the left-liberal daily La Repubblica points out and advises the experts to take a closer look at Merah's milieu: "Merah was the citizen of a country whose promises of integration weren't turned into policies that give a Mohamed the same opportunities as a Jacques. The frustration this generates is widespread among second and third generation immigrants. ... The suburbs in particular are breeding grounds for fanaticism, for example the social housing of Les Izards [north-east of Toulouse] where amidst the petty crime and joblessness that permeates everyday life, amidst the drug dealing and homemade Salafism the myth of Al-Qaida as the avenger of encroachments on the rights of Muslims lives on. For Mohamed, too, the rediscovery of a religion that was half the product of calls to join the jihad on the Internet and half homemade offered a way out of the misery. He made that fatal journey to Pakistan that turned him into one of the mujahideen, a holy warrior." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Social affairs, » France
All available articles from » Renzo Guolo

Following the death of the Toulouse shooting spree suspect Mohamed Merah, the far-right French politician Marine Le Pen has warned about the radicalisation of Muslims. Prior to this President Nicolas Sarkozy faced accusations of inciting hatred against immigrants. But the Christian-social daily newspaper Trouw warns of the dangers of trying to exploit the terrorist acts for political purposes: "When it comes to political violence, from terrorism to war, everyone is eager to blame the evil exclusively on the opposing camp. But if it becomes clear that the perpetrator came from one's own ranks one remains silent. ... The reflex of seeing evil as the logical product of the political or religious doctrines of others doesn't tally with the historical facts. They tell us rather that all ideologies can be used for aggressive or murderous interpretations. ... People of all backgrounds are susceptible to being seduced by a utopian violence, a violence aimed at achieving a higher goal. If we don't recognise this, reflecting on terrorism will get us nowhere." (23/03/2012)

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

The major European states, above all Germany and France, are concerned only with their own interests and driving Europe to the brink of the abyss as a result, the left-liberal daily To Ethnos warns: "The joint house of the Europeans threatens to collapse, and it's not Greece, Portugal or Spain that are to blame but Europe's political leaders who have managed to destroy European solidarity. ... The biggest portion of the blame goes to the leaders of the most influential countries with the strongest economies, which at the same time were those who profited most from the founding of the European Union. They have left the single currency and the Union defenceless for the sake of their national interests. This crisis will end, but it will leave deep scars on Europeans' consciousness. ... Unfortunately Europe's current leaders are proving unable to free themselves of the constraints of domestic politics." (22/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Thanasis Lirtsogiannis

Almost all the Danish parties agreed on the so-called "energy transfer" on Thursday that is aimed at making Denmark less dependent on fossil fuels by 2050. As of 2020 than half of the country's electricity is to come from wind energy. The conservative daily Berlingske praises the conservative opposition parties' responsible action: "Among the political aspects it was right for the conservative parties to assume responsibility, because Denmark needs a long-term energy policy. ... But this comes with a price tag. Because although the conservative-liberal parties managed to avoid detrimental extra taxes amounting to two billion kroner [270 million euros], the new agreement will make it even more expensive to be a Dane: by an average of 1,300 kroner [175 euros] per household in 2020." (23/03/2012)

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

Faced with the threat of a recession, Finland's government plans to raise taxes and make massive cuts. In addition, the country's employers' associations and unions agreed on Thursday to raise the retirement age. The liberal daily Karjalainen praises the general mood of compromise. "Luckily the two governing parties, the employers' associations and the unions haven't lost sight of reality. Finland's situation is completely different than it was presented as being after the elections, although there is also a glimmer of hope. ... Politicians and parties must now act responsibly. The employers' associations and unions have also demonstrated responsibility in reaching an agreement on raising the retirement age. The changes to the retirement system, which will prolong people's working lives by roughly 14 months, are bitter, but urgently needed." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Labour market, » Economy, » Finland

The Lithuanian parliamentarian Vincas Babilius of the Liberal and Centre Union LiCS party caused a traffic accident while drunk, according to eyewitnesses. He then left the scene of the accident and went into hospital the next day. Yet again a politician goes unpunished, the Portal diena.lt writes in frustration: "Theoretically he could have waited for the police, paid the fine and - if he had been driving under the influence of alcohol - resigned his post as member of parliament. In practice, however, things have once again taken the usual course. ... If the victim of the accident is to be believed, the politician appeared to be drunk and offered him a large amount of money, which he refused. Then the parliamentarian took down his licence number and took a taxi home. When the story came out the next day, Vincas Babilius was suddenly in hospital - for heart problems. So typical, so annoying." (22/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Crime, » Lithuania
All available articles from » Irma Verbienė

Romania will soon be entirely under the governance of an uneducated and immoral political class, the author Mircea Cărtărescu fears in the daily Evenimentul Zilei: "Communism without doubt played a key role here. The social transformation brought about by the collapse of communism also produced a change in mentality: from then on class hatred was propagated, the weak intellectual elite destroyed and uneducated, uncouth people rose to power. Today their successors are using what was probably the greatest achievement of the fall of communism - the right of free speech - as a long ball. We see on a daily basis how educated people are hunted down by people who have no moral authority or intellect. They are simply popular because of their shortcomings as professionals and human beings. … Soon a new elite will rise to power in Romania. And it won't be the educated middle class of which we all dream, but the representatives of a new brand of populism compared to whom the powerful of the past decades were just amateurs." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Society, » Romania
All available articles from » Mircea Cărtărescu

On March 25, 1957, six European states laid the groundwork for the European Union with the Treaty of Rome. 55 years later Europe's future does not look very rosy at all, writes the blogger Svetozar Dimitrov in the daily Novinar: "Greek media print collages of Merkel in Wehrmacht uniform. For their part the Germans ask - not without reason - why their country should go on feeding the thankless Greeks. In the Netherlands [right-wing populist] Geert Wilders must answer for his critique of Islam in court. For his party's website, however, which incites hatred against Central and Eastern Europeans, he hasn't been punished at all. Europe's financial and social problems have brought many prejudices to light. The awkwardly concealed disunity within the European Union is increasingly obvious and poses the question of how our continent's future will look if the Europeans say farewell to their common project once and for all." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Integration, » History, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Svetozar Dimitrov

In none of the 34 OECD countries is the pay gap between men and women as large as it is in Germany. According to the organisation, German women earn on average 25 percent less than men. As Germany celebrates Equal Pay Day, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung points to the economic advantages of reducing the gender pay gap: "In the long run Germany won't be able to afford its poorly-paid women. Child poverty is particularly prevalent among the children of low-earning single mothers who are also often candidates for poverty in retirement too. Female pensioners in Western Germany receive only 40 percent of the pensions paid to their male counterparts. ... Companies, politicians, bargaining partners, parents, teachers and the women themselves - all of them can do something about this. ... Companies should make an effort to introduce fair pay systems and working hours. That would make for more satisfied workers and improve the working climate and productivity in the process. ... The state, for its part, should invest in childcare and remove incentives for women to take too much time off work to look after their little ones." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Gender equality, » Germany
All available articles from » Alexandra Borchardt

According to recent figures put out by Ireland's Central Statistics Office, the country's GDP shrank by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. Nevertheless the Irish government's austerity measures will lead to growth in the long term, writes the chief economist of the Polish Kredyt Bank, Jakub Borowski, in his column for the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "Certainly, the government could say that it makes more sense from a political point of view to go the way of controlled bankruptcy than to economise, because such a bankruptcy would only hurt for a short time and would disburden the national budget. But nevertheless the reforms must be implemented, because austerity measures are always the basic prerequisite - even when the debts have been partly written off. The entire Eurozone is condemned to stricter budget policies in the long term, even if it will be a few years before they produce decent levels of economic growth." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Economy, » Ireland
All available articles from » Jakub Borowski

Several corruption scandals involving both major political parties have come to light in Spain in recent months. Corruption is deeply rooted in Spanish society, the liberal daily La Vanguardia concludes: "The wave of corruption that is spreading through Spain like an epidemic is not just the product of a few isolated individuals lacking in morals. It is not just the consequence of a party that has gone astray because all of them are implicated. ... The corruption can't be blamed on the parties alone, since neither the judiciary nor the monarchy have remained unsullied. So could it be the product of our society? We scoff at the honest, calling them puritans, the meritocracy is fighting a losing battle and the framework for our social activity is always the gang, the group, the family, in other words 'my people'. Journalism, too, talks in these terms: either you're with me or against me. 'I'll back you but you must also back me, regardless of whether I do wrong or right." (23/03/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Ethics, » Crime, » Society, » Spain
All available articles from » Antoni Puigverd