The Latvian parliament is currently giving a second reading to a draft law that would ban the public use of symbols from both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. These continue to show up in independent Latvia, above all in demonstrations. The Russian-language daily Vesti is unhappy with the initiative: "Clearly the Latvian members of parliament have nothing better to do. They waste their precious time and taxpayers' money on this question. ... The national-conservative party Nacionālā apvienība, which is part of the governing coalition, even wants to ban the use of Soviet symbols in public. Well, what about public toilets? Or will the Latvian nationalists go even further and ban Soviet symbols in private homes? Who knows, perhaps some people in this country take disloyalty to the point of sleeping with a Soviet flag under their pillows and singing the Soviet anthem to rock themselves to sleep." (17/05/2013)

» full article (external link, Latvian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Remembrance culture, » Latvia, » Eastern Europe

EU Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn said last week that the reunification of Cyprus would give the Cypriot economy a major boost. The liberal English-language daily Hürriyet Daily News calls for reconciliation between the two sides: "There is more than one bitter irony here, the main one being that EU officials are now looking to Turkey as one of the ways out for a crisis-stricken member. This must be hard to swallow for Greek Cypriots who are said to be extremely wary of current calls for a settlement to the Cyprus problem, believing that the Turkish side will take advantage of their woes. ... [But] they will most likely find an interlocutor in Turkey that is not a 'blackmailer,' but rather is cooperative, since an equitable settlement on Cyprus also serves the interests of Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots. The hope is that once their trauma is over this will become more apparent to Greek Cypriots. ... Otherwise, it will be a case of, 'You go your way, and I'll go mine,' which would be of no benefit to anyone." (16/05/2013)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Economy, » Cyprus, » Turkey
All available articles from » Semih İdiz

The Arctic Council ended its Ministerial Meeting in the Northern Swedish city of Kiruna on Wednesday. The liberal daily Aamulehti expects the Council to gain in international stature with time: "The agreement [signed at this year's meeting] on combating oil pollution in the Arctic is the continuation of the Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement. These are important international accords on the future of the Arctic, and will hopefully promote economic relations between the Arctic countries. ... It is to be hoped that in addition to the environmental issues, the Council will also deal with economic and security issues. And that the EU will show an even greater interest in the North than before. The significance of the Arctic Council as the region's central decision making organ will grow, and hopefully solutions will be reached by peaceful means. Internationally the Arctic Council is becoming an increasingly important player, and that's a good thing for Finland." (16/05/2013)

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Environmental Policy, » Energy, » Finland, » Europe, » Global

The Copenhagen criteria, which define whether a country is eligible for EU membership, will turn 20 in June. But as soon as a country joins, its standards on democracy, the rule of law and human rights tend to falter very quickly, the left-liberal daily Politiken criticises: "The election on Sunday in Bulgaria has shown that in some states the Copenhagen criteria are taken far less seriously once the country has become an EU member. ... In Croatia too, which will join in July, the corruption is deep-rooted. ... Corruption is not only dangerous for the economy but perhaps even more dangerous for EU-wide democracy, because citizens of corrupt countries tend to expect a superman who will clean up the whole mess unconditionally. ... To mark the jubilee the EU should develop a new edition of the Copenhagen criteria. This could fortify the member states in the fight against corruption even once the countries are safely in the embrace of the EU." (16/05/2013)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe, » Romania, » Bulgaria

US President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday the resignation of the director of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Steven Miller, after the tax agency came under fire for having subjected groups that are critical of the government to tougher scrutiny than others. After several scandals in the White House, Obama's reputation has nonetheless suffered considerably, the liberal-conservative Neue Zürcher Zeitung observes: "Weak leadership in the Syria crisis, outmanoeuvred in domestic policy and humiliated in the campaign for tougher gun laws, Obama is cutting a pretty poor figure right now. So the affairs mentioned above come at the worst possible time for him. They have the potential to cast him as a president at the head of an ungovernable administration. But they will also ensure that Congress pushes for all manner of inquiries - and takes even less notice of the president's initiatives than before." (16/05/2013)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » U.S.
All available articles from » Andreas Rüesch

The EU finance ministers on Tuesday gave the European Commission the mandate to initiate negotiations for new tax agreements with five non-member states. Austria was the last to give up its resistance to the idea. The left-liberal daily Der Standard says the results of the meeting don't go far enough: "We could observe what the more than lamentable practice looks like at the most recent meeting of the EU finance ministers: for the umpteenth time they postponed the proposals for curtailing VAT fraud, the machinations with pre-tax deductions all over the EU thanks to which criminals rake in billions. ... One suspects that the EU is not really serious about its fight against tax evasion. Beyond all their big talk the only thing the leaders have been able to agree on is a mandate for negotiations with (important) Switzerland and other small non-member countries [Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino] - without any credibility within the EU. Pathetic. ... And Austria? It doesn't count for anything. The government has demonstrated that at the national level the lack of consensus can be even more pronounced." (15/05/2013)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Tax Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Thomas Mayer
Who's saying what » Europe fights tax evasion

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected for talks in Washington tomorrow. The most important issue during his visit will be the situation in Syria, columnist Joost Lagendijk notes in the conservative daily Zaman, commenting on Turkey's changeable expectations of the US: "For me it's less remarkable that US President Obama wants to stay out of the Syrian swamp than that Ankara is so insistent on the US intervening. This shows once again how quickly and surprisingly the expectations of US policy in the Middle East can change. Ten years ago an overwhelming majority of Turks were against a US invasion of Iraq. Two years ago the Turkish government first opposed foreign military intervention then quickly changed its mind. Washington comes under fire regardless of whether it intervenes in the region (Libya) or doesn't (Syria)." (15/05/2013)

» full article (external link, Turkish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Crises / War, » U.S., » Turkey, » Middle East
All available articles from » Joost Lagendijk

According to the Associated Press news agency (AP), the US government last year secretly seized telephone records of reporters and journalists who work for the agency. This prompted US media to accuse the White House of intimidation on Tuesday. US President Barack Obama's image is getting worse and worse, the conservative daily ABC observes: "In a democratic country the decisions of the executive are made in the president's name, and it's not enough to say that spying on journalists is a bad thing. If the phone-tapping was carried out without his permission or knowledge, those responsible must resign or be replaced immediately. ... You get the feeling that the US intelligence services invest more time and effort in tracking down citizens who are a nuisance to the government than those who represent a real threat to society. Obama's image is suffering enormously as more and more dark aspects of his administration become known." (15/05/2013)

» to the homepage (external link, ABC)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Press freedom, » Justice, » U.S.

In Slovenia, the government and trade unions of the public sector have brought their negotiations on planned austerity measures to a successful conclusion. As of June salaries are to be cut by 0.5 to 5 percent and the sickness benefit will go down. The online edition of Žurnal24 writes that always making cuts in the public sector is the wrong approach: "It's clear that it's not enough to simply have a public sector. It must also function properly, and for that to be the case its employees must receive adequate pay. ... The question is always who will end up paying for the cutbacks. It looks like the government is concerned only with cutting salaries instead of trying to find out what we really need and what we don't, like for example company cars, telephones and flats provided by companies. And the government should also finally start levying taxes on second and third properties and anything above that owned by private individuals." (15/05/2013)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Tax Policy, » Slovenia, » Eastern Europe
All available articles from » Tjaša Pureber

At the behest of Finland's Supreme Administrative Court, the country's Finance Ministry on Tuesday published the country's bilateral agreement with Greece regarding collateral for the Greek bailout loans. The agreement had hitherto remained secret. A long overdo step, the liberal daily Turun Sanomat writes: "The decision of the Supreme Administrative Court deserves recognition. It promotes transparency, which Finland has always demanded and promoted in the EU, but does not always guarantee for itself. The guarantee package is an international agreement of decisive interest to the taxpayers and the politicians who represent them. The citizens and the media that cater to them also have a justified need for information. Finland has also signed a similar agreement with Spain. It should also be published." (15/05/2013)

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Euro crisis, » Greece, » Finland