A leading article in the British daily The Independent comments on the "human tragedy" in Burma and argues that "some real good" can come of the tragedy if the junta now opens the country to international aid efforts. "if Burma's rulers have accepted that this disaster is too big for the country to handle on its own, and that relieving the suffering of their stricken people should take precedence over their hermit instincts, this is progress of a kind. The decision to open the country a crack is still progress, even if the response is born of fear for the regime's survival. ... The Burmese junta might reflect that opening up also holds dangers. The response to the Armenian earthquake helped usher in the greater openness that contributed three years later to the Soviet Union's collapse. A more productive conclusion would be that a closed dictatorship is an anomaly in the modern world and that today's reluctant opening should be a prelude to change." (06/05/2008)

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Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt calls in his weblog for swift aid measures to help Burma. However, he points out that to ensure that this aid reaches the people it will be necessary to exert political pressure on the Burmese junta. "The news from Burma is getting worse and worse. There is talk of thousands of dead and hundreds of thousands who no longer have a roof over their heads. Gunilla Carlsson, the Minister for International Development Cooperation, has promised swift aid from Sweden. But the problem could take on political dimensions because the military regime wants to force the Burmese people to accept the new constitution in a referendum scheduled for Saturday, and is consequently giving foreign aid teams only restricted access. Now political pressure must be exerted so that this aid actually reaches the people." (05/05/2008)

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"Burma's population has been denied a say in the country's affairs for twenty years. Holding a referendum now smacks of dishonest intentions," Sven Hansen writes. "Nevertheless, the junta shows no sign of postponing the plebiscite, and continues to bar the access of vitally needed aid. It is unclear whether the generals are doing this out of a cynical calculation - or whether in their new 'capital' in the country's interior they really lack an overview of the devastation wreaked by the cyclone on the country's coast. In fact the two questions go hand in hand. The junta had intended to prevent media coverage of the referendum. The cyclone has now faced them with a dilemma: either they postpone the referendum and let aid workers into the country, or they hold the referendum as planned and forgo external aid." (06/05/2008)

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Federico Rampini calls on Europe to provide humanitarian aid, but is also concerned about the time after the catastrophe: "The referendum ... is a fraud, a tragic farce, staged by the government to silence international protest in the wake of the bloody suppression of the September uprisings. ... The catastrophe has hit one of the poorest countries in the world, and now there is one priority. We must get blankets, medicine, drinking water and food to Birma as quickly as possible, before epidemics break out. When the emergency is over Burma must not once more sink into oblivion like it did after the bloody events in September, when international attention dwindled and the two superpowers China and India quickly resumed business with the military junta." (06/05/2008)

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David Clark argues that a change in Russian president offers the EU the chance of a new start in diplomatic relations. "After several years of rising tension, hopes are being raised across Europe that tomorrow's inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev as the new president of Russia will mark a significant improvement in relations. ... Whether strong or weak, Russia represents a foreign policy challenge Europe cannot ignore. ... With the EU and Russia due to open negotiations on a new cooperation and free trade agreement in the summer, there is an opportunity to restore balance by setting out a clear choice. Russia can be a close and trusted partner if it is prepared to respect the multilateral rules and democratic standards it has signed up to. But if it continues to use authoritarian and coercive methods at home and abroad, the EU should seek to immunise itself from their effects." (06/05/2008)

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There is no sign of a solution to the conflict between Walloons and Flemish over the partitioning of the bilingual Brussels constituency Brussels-Hal-Vilvorde, Bart Sturtewagen writes: "It no doubt sounds ridiculous that more time is needed to solve this problem, which has existed for forty years now and was prioritised five years ago by former Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. Eleven months have now passed since the last elections. No one can tell me that in all that time there was no chance to reach an agreement among reasonable people. The francophone parties want to force the Flemish to signal their allegiance to a united Belgium. But by postponing the coming vote, they could show that they still believe in a Belgian compromise, and are willing to put their energy into reaching it. The Flemish must show that despite their rightful majority, they have constructive ideas for solving Belgium's conflict of national identity." (06/05/2008)

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In the run-up to Romania's regional elections, Tibor Kis reflects on the dispute involving the country's Hungarian minority. "These days, the two conflicting forces face each other ready for battle. They are eager to assert their political dominance over the Hungarian minority in Transylvania. ... There will be heavy blood loss above all in those ethnically mixed areas where the Hungarian representation on local councils shrinks owing to this lack of unity. ... The scenario now being revealed is bizarre: while the parties of the Hungarian minority fight among themselves, the parties of the Romanian majority population are sounding the battle cry against the 'Hungarian threat'. Meanwhile, the Hungarian mother country can sadly do nothing to prevent the fratricidal warfare in Transylvania. All that remains is the hope that the 1.5 million or so Hungarians living in Romania aren't left disoriented and alone as a result of the infighting between their political representatives. Ultimately, they are the true victims of this unsavoury fratricidal warfare." (06/05/2008)

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The newspaper publishes a leading article on the draft EU guidelines for a common immigration policy: "Tomorrow Zapatero's government must make a major decision: either it hides behind the European Commission to avoid a domestic policy debate on immigration, or it votes against the guidelines, which are hardly compatible with a constitutional state. ... During the years of economic upswing, a blind eye was turned to the employment of illegal immigrants. But now that things look different, the consequences of mistakes made in the past cannot be ironed out in a hurry. A solution will be difficult to find and it is commendable that the Commission is seeking to come up with one. But with these measures? No!" (06/05/2008)

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Sweden is one of the few countries where paying for sex is a punishable offence. The United Nations has announced plans to take a closer look at the law to determine whether Sweden can be used as a model case. The Swedish government feels vindicated in its tough stance, but researcher Susanne Dodillet expresses doubts in an article published in the Swedish daily: "This law is based neither on empirical research nor on a well thought-out philosophy. It's therefore all the more worrying that this new inquiry doesn't call the criminalisation of those who buy sex into question. ... Are we doing women a favour by classifying them as the weaker party which is unable to assume responsibility in the sex trade? ... All these paragraphs [in the law] are an expression of symbolic policies which lack an equalising impact." (06/05/2008)

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Lithuanian journalist Daiva Repeckaite criticises the anti-Americanism rife in Europe, which is often the result of insufficient knowledge: "We project our fears and anxieties onto the USA, although often we know nothing about American society. Sometimes a single pleasant - or unpleasant - experience is all it takes for our prejudices to be revealed as groundless. But sometimes even a shock is not enough, and the only solution is for us to be directly confronted with our own ignorance. Anti-Americanism is fashionable in Europe, as I have gathered from countless discussions, articles and films portraying America as a decadent society. ... But perhaps such ignorance is simply convenient, because it is so easy to portray the USA as a jungle of predatory capitalism." (06/05/2008)

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Former Portuguese President Mário Soares reflects on the state of the European Union: "The political Europe for which I fought and in which I firmly believe is going nowhere. It is deadlocked, and its future is uncertain. It suffers from the paralysis - not to say mediocrity - of certain politicians. The citizen's Europe has become an illusion, although the European Parliament gained consistency and credibility over the last legislative period. Nevertheless, everyone seems to be waiting for better times that refuse to materialise. ... That is why no one talks about the future. They only talk about overcoming current catastrophes. ... The various crises - in the economy, energy policy, the environment and now food supplies - become intertwined and aggravated as a result of the general inability to meet them with innovative proposals. ... The world lacks an active EU which is sure of its role as a global player. But how can Europe be a global player when its key politicians show and entire lack of dynamism and political will and are incapable of giving the slightest indication of where we should go from here?" (06/05/2008)

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The Copenhagen-based daily Berlingske Tidende examines the laws of the market and the question of why food and fuel prices have risen so drastically in recent times. The newspaper notes that the oil refineries have posted substantial profits and comments: "This pushes up the prices for diesel and petrol. The thousands of Danes who traded their petrol-driven cars for diesel cars recently are the losers here, because a litre of diesel fuel now costs just as much as a litre of petrol. That is what happens when demand rises. ... People should switch to camels. According to a report in the Financial Times last Saturday, rising oil prices have led to the comeback of camels. Two years ago a camel cost the same as a goat in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Now they cost ten times as much." (06/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Finn Mortensen

Canadian economist and Nobel Prize winner Robert Mundell warns in an interview of the consequences of the high euro exchange rate, and calls for a rapid lowering of interest rates: "While the US economy will soon recover from the real estate crisis, Europe's economy may be harmed in the long term by the strong euro. This makes most countries in the Eurozone far less competitive, not only compared with China and India, but also vis-à-vis the USA. ... To stop the euro's rise, the European Central Bank should sink euro interest rates according to the US model. ... A central bank must not suddenly change course, otherwise it loses its credibility." (05/05/2008)

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All available articles from » Eric Frey

Steffen Fründt examines a "phenomenon that is causing delight on the one side and dismay on the other. Since the advent of cheap flights shrank the Continent, booze-binge tourism has developed into a branch of its own. Above all the British are invading Europe's metropolises in hordes with their stag nights and organised pub crawls. ... This drink-driven clientele is not nearly as welcome as it once was in its destinations of choice." As an example Fründt cites "Prague, where the two million cheap-flight tourists who visit the city each year now make up the largest group of visitors to the city and organisers like 'Prague Piss-Up' make millions by selling them the combination of dark beer and sex. And in Riga, too, a city councillor recently warned that with its booming liquor and sex industry the Latvian capital could soon become the 'Bangkok of Europe'." (06/05/2008)

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In Berlin's Neukölln district, a mosque recently opened in a building that was formerly a church. Nathalie Versieux, the newspaper's Germany correspondent, reflects on the event. "At first sight it is difficult to comprehend why this location has caused so much excitement. ... Nevertheless the building has provoked a lively controversy. ... 'The new tenant is called Muhammad' wrote the Tagesspiegel newspaper. ... But what should be done with such churches now that they have lost their original purpose? In just 17 years, 20 Protestant churches out of a total 2,000 and 20 Catholic churches out of 200 have been closed. ... The pressing nature of the issue has led German bishops to adopt a code of conduct: destroying a church may be considered only as a last resort. Selling a building to another religion is out of the question. ... The subject is all the more delicate because Islam is growing here, adding to the perplexity of Germany's Christians." (05/05/2008)

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