The extreme cold snap that has had Europe in its grip for the past two weeks has claimed 300 lives, 135 in Ukraine alone, 68 in Poland and 60 in Russia. These figures show how precarious life in Eastern Europe remains, writes the left-liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau: "The bitterest example is Ukraine. ... Oligarchs have amassed billions and flaunt their luxury yachts and other status symbols. The general populace, by contrast, is freezing and hungry. ... But there's still much to be done in the EU - as well as in Europe's economic miracle, Poland. ... More than a dozen people have died of carbon monoxide poisoning in their homes because their heating systems were defective. ... The West-East divide remains vast in Europe. It can only be overcome when the EU and its strongest members like Germany and France place social harmonisation high on their agendas." (08/02/2012)

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

Around 200 Church dignitaries and experts are discussing sexual abuse in the Catholic Church at a four-day Vatican conference that ends on Thursday. The left-liberal news portal Polityka Online applauds the conference's objectives but demands more transparency: "Zero tolerance for sexual abuse in the Church. This is what the psychologists and pastors should have in mind in discussing the paedophile scandals. With this conference the Vatican is sending a message to the world that it is indeed taking this disgusting matter seriously, that it condemns it and is not afraid to face up to the truth. ... But it remains unclear whether media representatives will be given access to the conference, and Pope Benedict XVI refuses to appear in person. His presence would add weight to the conference and make the Church's message even more credible. This doubt must be dispelled before the end of the conference. If it isn't, the impression will remain that the conference was little more than a PR stunt." (08/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Crime, » Vatican
All available articles from » Adam Szostkiewicz

The Czech railway company wants to introduce special compartments for women in trains, an idea from Austria aimed at boosting security. The liberal daily Sme doesn't think much of the idea: "According to a spokesman for Czech Railways, certain women find it unpleasant to sit together with men in a closed compartment. So certain wagons will be fitted out with a special pictogram (a man with a red line through him?), and when a man sets foot inside he will be ushered out again by an attendant. No one says that travelling by night in a passenger train is the safest way to get around. And of course a leering traveller can spoil your trip. But that's no reason to declare all men potential criminals, or to stylise women as victims. In that case we should also set up compartments for white people who don't like travelling with Roma. ... You don't instil a feeling of security in women or other travellers by setting up special compartments, but by putting more police officers on the trains." (07/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Gender equality, » Crime, » Society, » Czech Republic, » Austria
All available articles from » Miriam Zsilleová

Fewer and fewer British children are learning a second language in school. This puts the UK at a disadvantage in many respects, writes the liberal-conservative daily The Times: "Native English speakers, being understood anywhere in the developed world, are notoriously reluctant to learn foreign languages and diffident about speaking them. There are costs to a culture of monolingualism. It hampers British companies in international markets. It restricts the recruitment opportunities for British nationals in multinational enterprises. It diminishes Britain's voice in diplomacy. This country's living standards and influence are less than they might be, because languages are increasingly a specialist interest rather than a common stock of knowledge. Possessing another language may not literally yield, as Charlemagne put it, a second soul. But it will provide to future generations the incalculable gift of enabling them to see the world through the eyes of others." (07/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Upbringing / Education, » United Kingdom

According to several surveys the Lithuanians' trust in state institutions has declined considerably. The poor state of the country's society underscores this, writes political expert Vytautas Dumbliauskas on the online portal of Lithuania's public radio broadcaster LRT: "Only between four and five percent of the respondents trust the Lithuanian parliament - in European countries with a long democratic tradition that figure is between 40 and 60 percent. Even fever people trust the political parties, which are not state institutions but assume a mediating role between the citizens and the state. In comparison to older democracies we Lithuanians place much less trust in our legal system, our police force or our education system. ... People's trust in each other is also very low, according to sociological studies. ... An important feature of societies where people have little trust in institutions or each other is a weak civil society. And this in turn fosters the uncontrolled expansion of state bureaucracy. The state becomes a anonymous machine against which the populace feels powerless and disillusioned." (06/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Society, » Lithuania
All available articles from » Dumbliauskas, Vytautas

Several employees of a Lithuanian authority were caught partying wildly in a drunken state during working hours on Thursday. Alcoholism is widespread among bureaucrats and is eating away at the state, the daily Vilniaus Diena writes: "One may well be surprised at the combination of drinking and democracy, but not in the case of bureaucrats with their butts stuck to their seats. ... Institutional alcohol consumption is a glaring problem here in Lithuania but for decades there have been efforts to hide the fact. Parties are more important here than working, among other things because the work of most bureaucrats is basically superfluous. So we don't even notice when they don't do their work properly. Civil servants mostly don't work for people directly but simply fulfil the tasks of other bureaucrats and institutions. Over the years a kind of bureaucratic conscience has developed. Nowadays the individual interests and rituals of the bureaucrats are more important than the state itself, which has wallowed for so long in democratic cynicism." (06/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Health and Medicine, » Lithuania
All available articles from » Saulius Pocius

The British are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne. She is at the height of her popularity now, writes the liberal-conservative daily The Times: "Like most monarchs, the Queen has seen her popularity rise and fall, as deference has given way to respect, myths and mystery have been dispelled, publicity has taken its toll on privacy and changing social mores have questioned and sometimes rejected the institution of monarchy itself. She has maintained her composure, dignity and authority throughout these vicissitudes. And she has arrived at a point now, at the age of 85, where her personal standing and popularity have rarely been higher. There is a sense throughout the country, among people of all ages, faiths and ethnic groups, and also in her cherished Commonwealth, that the Queen has served the nation well. And as she begins the 61st year of her reign, there is a sense of expectation, indeed excitement, that this jubilee will be celebrated with an exuberance not seen in Britain for more than a century." (06/02/2012)

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

The Netherlands has been gripped by ice skating fever. For the first time in 15 years the Elfstedentocht (Eleven Cities Tour), the world's longest ice-skating marathon on natural ice, could take place again this week. The 200-kilometre tour around the eleven Frisian cities is causing a little too much excitement, the Christian-social daily Trouw believes: "In the winter, when everything looks dead, nature helps us to believe that not everything has come to an end. ... The ice skaters who glide through the landscape demonstrate that they are in control of life and death. Then we organise festivals on the ice. We challenge the ice by trampling on it in unison. It is so typical of our culture that after one day of frost people immediately start talking about the Eleven Cities Tour. Our culture revolves around immediate gratification. We want everything, and we want it now. The Eleven Cities Tour is no longer a celebration of victory at the end of a harsh winter but an orgy to which we are entitled - or so we believe." (06/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Society, » Netherlands
All available articles from » Jan van Dijk

According to the most recent census, Romania has lost more than a tenth of its population in the past ten years. The shrinkage is due not only to the declining birthrate but also to massive emigration, writes the daily Adevărul: "Those who emigrated have nevertheless been present the whole time, because they've sent back huge sums of money. With these funds millions of Romanians have been able to escape abject poverty, and a whole generation of children has been able to go to school under reasonable conditions. And in many villages flush toilets were installed for the first time - a huge improvement. ... But we shouldn't cede to the illusion that many of these emigrants will come back home to stimulate the economy. Because they've settled down elsewhere, not just because of the salaries but also because of the schools for their children, the hospials and streets - everything which is important for a good life, that is. ... The fact is that Romania is simply not a pleasant place to live right now. It's up to us to make it one." (06/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Demographics, » Society, » Romania
All available articles from » Ovidiu Nahoi

In recent days up to 50,000 people have demonstrated against the Anti-Counterfeit Trading Agreement (Acta). Informatics professor Wojciech Cellary condemns their actions in the left-liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "They are well educated and have accumulated considerable knowledge at university. ... All with the aim of selling that knowledge in the form of digital products and services and living on the money they earn from this. But they will only receive the money they are due if people are made to pay for Internet content. Because today the Internet is the main platform for selling knowledge and creative achievements. But they don't want this. They want all the content to be free of charge because they have no money to pay for it. But things can't go on like this. You can't expect to earn your money through your knowledge and creativity on the Internet yet at the same time demand that the knowledge and creative achievements of others be available for free. This is a blatant contradiction!" (03/02/2012)

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More from the press review on the subject » Online media, » Media policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Wojciech Cellary