Anyone who is caught evading more than a million euros in taxes in Germany must reckon with an unconditional prison sentence, the Federal High Court rules on Tuesday. The decision is a just one, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung applauds: "Evading one million in taxes = prison. That may sound brutal but it's quite normal. It only sounds brutal because until now harsh penal justice has mainly been reserved for the little man on the street: fare dodgers, petty fraudsters and drug addicts. It may be that the jubilation over the ruling on criminal sentences for tax offences is motivated by envy: most people lack both the means and the possibilities to evade a million euros or more in taxes. But the penalties for tax evaders are being made more severe not because of the social envy of the low earners, but to correct an existing imbalance." (08/02/2012)

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All available articles from » Heribert Prantl

Viktor Orbán's right-wing conservative government has launched a charm offensive to woo Germany in recent days. However this new tack complete with a dose of self-criticism is not the result of the government realising its mistakes but rather a lack of funding, writes the left-liberal daily Népszabadság: "It's been a long time since so many Hungarian politicians travelled to Germany as in recent days. In addition to János Martonyi and the chairman of the ruling party Fidesz, János Lázár, a delegation of the foreign policy parliamentary committee was also in Berlin. ... Martonyi said after a meeting with his counterpart Guido Westerwelle that he aims to dispel Germany's worries regarding the policies of the Hungarian government. ... For his part Lázár practised the art of self-criticism during his visit, saying that the Hungarian government had not consulted its European partners as much as it should have done up to now. ... It is a welcome development that leading politicians of the Orbán government want to correct the tarnished image of Hungary they themselves have created. A little support from Germany in the negotiations with the EU Commission and the International Monetary Fund about a loan for Hungary would certainly come in very handy." (08/02/2012)

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All available articles from » András Dési
Who's saying what » Resistance to Hungarian government

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Syria on Tuesday has made it clear that the Western and Arab world have resignedly left the field to Russian diplomacy, writes the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera: "When even EU foreign minister Ashton is now vociferously demanding Assad's departure nothing can conceal the powerlessness of the West and the Arab League after the Russian-Chinese veto at the UN. Assad feels protected by an invisible armour, namely the repeated declarations that there will be no military intervention in Syria. Libya was a tough lesson and still is, even if few in the West are ready to admit this. It cannot be repeated. ... Damascus could trigger a chain reaction with unforeseeable consequences. Against this backdrop Russia is manoeuvring with all the deftness of a bear. Lavrov achieved next to nothing, and yet it would be wrong to describe his mission as insignificant. Russia is relying on a 'Yemeni solution' - a transitional phase after which Assad will be succeeded by someone agreeable to the Kremlin, who will protect its interests in the region." (08/02/2012)

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All available articles from » Franco Venturini
Who's saying what » Arabs fight for freedom

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that she will accompany French President Nicolas Sarkozy to several election campaign events to support him in his battle to be re-elected. Merkel's lobbying is hardly surprising given that Sarkozy's re-election is in her own best interests, the left-liberal daily Der Standard comments: "It is an affront that as chancellor she is not willing to receive the rival candidate (Socialist François Hollande) even briefly in Berlin, as has been standard practice in the past. But it is pretty revolting to see how the two are currently exploiting the Greek crisis for their conservative slogans. The two Conservatives Merkel and her obedient servant Sarkozy ... must really be in a panic to resort to such base tactics. The chancellor fears that her austerity dictatorship would soon come to an end if Hollande took the helm in Paris in May. But the whole affair has an interesting new aspect: European politics has definitely become domestic politics, and vice-versa - now even at the highest level of power politics." (08/02/2012)

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All available articles from » Thomas Mayer

The Romanian Prime Minister designate, Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, plans to present his new cabinet today. Although it will presumably contain many new faces the string-pullers will be the same, complains the daily Adevărul: "The same figures of the [conservative ruling party] PDL will remain behind the scenes.They are trusted cronies who know how to handle a new government. And the power struggle between the various party factions which did so much damage to the previous government will also continue. For the new prime minister that is precisely the problem. To what extent will his ministers be dancing to other pipers? The Ungureanu government will present new faces from the PDL. But from a political perspective that won't mean anything more than a new hairdo. Only after he is sworn in will we see if Ungureanu is content with merely a new hairstyle or whether he wants to adopt another style of government, too. He's got nothing to lose." (08/02/2012)

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All available articles from » Ion M. Ionita

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy cranked up the pressure on Greece to enact the promised reforms on Monday. Europe should start thinking about what will happen if Greece really files for bankruptcy, writes the business paper Cinco Días: "The Eurozone needs an emergency plan to deal with a potential explosion in Greece. Athens' most recent provocation will likely lead to a temporary solution. Otherwise the Greek banks will go bankrupt. And the rest of the Eurozone needs a plan to prevent the panic from spreading in the financial world. Europe's hard liners, led by Germany, have lost their patience with the repeated broken promises of the Greek government. ... But is the rest of Europe really ready to throw in the towel? If that happens it won't just be the Greek government that goes bust." (07/02/2012)

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All available articles from » Hugo Dixon
Who's saying what » Greece in dire straits, » Ways out of the debt crisis

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a joint television interview with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Monday, requested by the latter in the hope of boosting his chances in the upcoming presidential elections on April 22. Although Sarkozy and Merkel have accomplished much together, the Franco-German motor is perfectly capable of running smoothly without Sarkozy, the liberal business paper Les Echos comments: "It's easy to make fun of the leaders' implicit argument that 'you don't change a winning team'. And it's very tempting indeed in view of the patent failure of the Greek recovery. ... Of course, Angela Merkel would work with François Hollande if he were elected, because the Franco-German alliance transcends political differences. And perhaps that would be a good thing. Nevertheless to believe that everything that has been achieved these past years could be undone with one stroke of the pen, or that a change at the Elysée would be enough to renew growth and confidence in Europe would be very naive indeed." (07/02/2012)

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All available articles from » Dominique Seux

With their calls for setting up a special account for Greece German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have launched a new attempt to strip Athens of its financial sovereignty. The account, to which Greece would not have access, is meant to guarantee payment for creditors. This demand is as impossible as that for an EU budget commissioner for Greece and simply serves to prepare for Greece's bankruptcy, the liberal business paper the Financial Times Deutschland concludes: "No one wants to face accusations of not having done everything possible to prevent the first bankruptcy of a Eurozone member. ... Making such unrealisable demands is therefore much more convenient than having to muscle through unpopular rescue packages for Greece in one's own country, especially for Angela Merkel. If the worst comes to the worst and the Greeks refuse to go along with the demands they would then only have themselves to blame for their insolvency and their euro exit. After all they could have accepted the EU budget commissioner, or alternatively the blocked account (and the other reforms and rescue packages)." (07/02/2012)

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Who's saying what » Greece in dire straits, » Ways out of the debt crisis

The Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov travels to Damascus today to hold talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The liberal daily Göteborgs-Posten doubts that the talks will end the bloodshed in Syria. "Russia has a unique opportunity to exert pressure on Syria's dictator. ... But there is not much hope. Lavrov is seeking political dialogue. But Assad is literally fighting for his survival after having rejected all the options for a compromise. Everything points to the civil war continuing and the situation further deteriorating in Syria before it finally improves. ... Russia and China bear a heavy burden of responsibility for this, having consistently ignored the suffering and acted solely according to the principle that nations don't have friends, only interests." (07/02/2012)

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Who's saying what » Arabs fight for freedom

Tens of thousands of Russians gathered in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Saturday to demonstrate against Vladimir Putin. The presidential election on March 4 could see Putin sorely disappointed, writes the left-liberal daily El País: "The huge protests probably still won't prevent Putin from being elected Russian president for the third time. The opposition is not a coherent political force and lacks a national leader. Moreover the current prime minister is still the most popular politician, even with 20 percentage points less in the polls than he had at the end of 2010. He has been able to do as he pleased over the past 12 years, but now his position is weaker. He knows that the presidential elections - which can no longer be rigged so easily - will be an acid test of his popularity. If a second round is necessary because he falls short of the 50 percent he needs that would be an unprecedented humiliation for the man who won landslide victories the previous two times." (06/02/2012)

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