Les Echos newspaper stresses the significance of the European Central Bank in the current banking crisis. "One thing is clear: we need a concerted response. But what did we see on the weekend? A series of disordered measures, with each country trying to manage the problems encountered by its own national banks. The problem is that no concerted EU initiative can be expected in the near future. ... Everything indicates the leaders of Europe were marching to a different tune than that of the [international] markets. ... In the meantime, the much disparaged European Central Bank is the sole continental institution capable of a transnational response. ... It has become indispensable. Without the active support of the ECB, most banks would no longer be able to go about their business." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Europe
All available articles from » François Vidal

La Repubblica newspaper underscores Europe's inability to react suitably to the banking crisis. "The bank crash whirlwind has hit Europe. ... The continent is now discovering that there is something worse than the crisis in America, namely having its own banking institutes that are too big to be saved and that have outgrown the proportions of [banks in] the old nation states. It is frightening to witness Europe's blatant political and institutional shortcomings. The Union is not even in a position to come up with the likes of the Paulson Plan [for saving the US banks]. Although European banks have long been global players, in the EU there is not a single binding authority for the financial markets. The European Central Bank has nothing like the power of America's Federal Reserve System." (30/09/2008)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Europe, » U.S.
All available articles from » Federico Rampini

In view of the bank crisis the business newspaper Cinco Días calls for the establishment of a European finance ministry: "The European Central Bank and the European governments must coordinate their instruments in order to be well armed to face a crisis like the current one, the consequences of which we cannot yet foresee. Up to now the stringency of controls, the capital requirements and the allocation of funding in the case of unpaid loans have varied from country to country. But the current circumstances make it imperative to adopt standardised criteria. It would no doubt be advisable to adopt the most stringent regulations, in this case those in Spain. And if everything goes wrong Europe needs not only a common central bank but also a common finance ministry endowed with its own budget, one which is sufficient to save the system from collapse." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Europe

The daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende warns of the danger of cancelling out the laws that govern the free market. "The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made a clear statement: With its current system Europe cannot respond to a crisis like that in the US in the same way the latter has. The IMF recommends more regulation and control of banks, which can be tempting in the present situation. However we should ensure that the mechanisms of the free market are soon re-established. Otherwise we will end up in a crisis like the one in the 1930s when the screws were tightened to such an extent that the economy didn't recover until the 1950s. Hopefully we have learned from history so that this part of it will not be repeated." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Financial Markets, » Europe

Belarusian opposition parties will continue to be absent from the country's parliament. In Sunday's election all 110 seats were taken by the camp of authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko. The left-liberal newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza sees the vote as a defeat for the EU: "Sunday's election in Belarus was not really about filling seats in the country's parliament. It was a choice between receiving European benefits and having [European] sanctions lifted on the one hand, or going with the Russian pipeline with cheap gas and oil on the other. And in fact, as is usually the case with our neighbour, there was really only one person who cast his ballot: Alexander Lukashenko. ... This is a defeat for European diplomacy, for the Polish foreign ministry and for its head Radosław Sikorski, who negotiated with the Belarusian foreign minister in the name of the EU before the elections. The derision with which Lukashenko has responded is a sad and bitter lesson, which only goes to show that there is no sense in trying to do business with a dictator. But that does not mean we should forget Belarus entirely. We must seek to bring the Belarusian people closer to Europe, for example through easing visa procedures. We must give the Belarusian opposition our firm support." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Europe, » Belarus
All available articles from » Waclaw Radziwinowicz

During a visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to a summit in France, the European Union and India have agreed to double their trade volume within five years to 100 billion euros per year. Jean-Joseph Boillot, co-founder of the Euro-India Economic & Business Group (EIEBG), analyses in Les Echos the relations between the two trading partners: "People talk about an identity crisis, an institutional crisis. But one often forgets that every new definition of Europe is the identification of a 'European interest' in the globalised world, and thus vis-à-vis the new historical actors who are trying to re-establish themselves as major powers. Over the course of the summer we have observed this with China and Russia. ... It is sometimes amusing to read that India is an economic 'dwarf' compared with Europe. But what Europe? A collection of 'small' countries or a large democratic bloc capable of making the concessions necessary for it to exist tomorrow?" (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » France, » Asia, » Europe
All available articles from » Jean-Joseph Boillot

Világgazdaság business newspaper reflects on the immigration policy package launched by the French EU Council presidency: "The 'immigration pact' was ... a flagship of the ... EU Council presidency. ... [It] consists ... of five major sub-areas: the curbing of illegal immigration, the employment of legal immigrants, cooperation with the countries of origin, the harmonisation of refugee policy and the intensification of surveillance on the EU's outer borders. Paris has neither presented new regulations nor promoted the setting up of a ... border patrol. Nor has it made any arrangements for setting up financial aid for the countries where the immigrants come from. France has simply tied up several already existing projects into one package: ... At the same time one should note that the 'success of the French EU council presidency' is based on clever marketing rather than the result of genuine effort." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Migration, » France, » Europe
All available articles from » György Fóris

The British Conservative shadow chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has called for an 'era of austerity' at the Conservative Party conference, saying that the government's coffers were empty. The Times comments that the statement is long overdue: "Everyone in the country now knows that Britain has been living on a mountain of debt that made us feel big when it should have given us vertigo. That the economy is on the slide, and that the Government's cupboard is bare. But these things needed to be spelt out. Mr Osborne did not describe detailed policies. But he did lay out the parameters of a future Conservative government. He rightly defended the principles of 'responsible' free-market capitalism, while warning bankers that they should pay to help to clear up the mess they created. ... The Conservative proposals to create an office of budgetary responsibility - the mouthful of a name is presumably meant to add weight to the concept - are therefore timely. When Government bets the house, it is playing with the people's money. It must be as responsible and transparent about its dealings and its debt as it demands that bankers be." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » United Kingdom

Andreas Theyssen calls in the Financial Times Deutschland for Europeans to take a tougher stance on Euroscepticism. "We have grown accustomed to the idea that EU scepticism has long since become mainstream. But now it has taken on a new quality: socially acceptable and politically successful EU phobia. We should under no circumstances allow ourselves to become accustomed to this. In Austria the ruling SPÖ won the elections with an explicitly anti-EU campaign. ... The Czech Republic which is an EU member has a president, Vaclav Klaus, whose Brussels phobia is legendary. In Ireland, billionaire Declan Ganley organised a campaign that ensured that his countrymen voted against the EU treaty ... thus plunging the entire Union into a state of paralysis. And now that EU-predator is getting ready to unite the anti-European forces in the Czech Republic, Sweden, France, the UK and Poland. And are the pro-Europeans responding? Those who haven't gone underground are simply staring as if hypnotised, like a rabbit watching a snake. Yet the time has come to finally show our commitment to the European Union, one of the most fascinating projects in modern history. The time has come to turn our attention from the - undoubtedly ongoing - bureaucratic pussy-footing in Brussels and point to the true nature of the EU. ... The EU is certainly in need of reform, but it is a project worth fighting for. Therefore the pro-Europeans should under no circumstances leave the stage to the Ganleys, the Klaus's and the Haiders." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Weltanschauung, » Europe
All available articles from » Andreas Theyssen

The daily newspaper Delo attributes the success of the right-wing populist parties to the emphasis politicians placed on the Austrian identity ahead of Austria's parliamentary elections: "It is possible that many Austrians really are concerned about the dilution of the Austrian identity owing to the influx of immigrants, particularly in the big cities where the crime rate is rising as a result. But the politicians have neglected to put the whole situation in the right perspective and make clear to voters that the school system, which is hostile to immigrants, is also to blame. ... Austrians prefer to compare [the parallel economic] success with the times when economic performance was not yet strained by globalisation but remained within the safe confines of the state, which was at the time neutral in political terms and 'pure' with regard to race. ... The Austrian politicians have failed miserably to make it clear to the people that the times have radically changed and that the state is successfully adapting to these changes. In the hope of winning votes both the left-wing and the right-wing parties have packaged the successes as the achievements of 'Austrianness' and sought to blame the immigrants, the states to the East and the EU for the failures. ... It is highly likely that the adherents of Austro-nationalism will try to make it politically correct once more." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, Slovenian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Austria
All available articles from » Barbara Kramzar

Volvo car manufacturer has announced further mass lay-offs. The Göteborgs-Posten comments that the company's precarious situation has many causes, including the international financial crisis. And the high fuel consumption of Volvo motors does not go down well in our ecologically conscious times, the paper writes. "We must now hope that the low point has been reached and that a turnaround is possible. At the next Paris Motor Show for example, Volvo will present new engines with lower fuel consumption. ... It is to be hoped that America's bank bailout will lead to greater financial stability and more trust. But we should not underestimate the time necessary for economic recovery. For Volvo one of the main concerns should be to attend to its brand name and accentuate its efforts to raise quality. If the planned savings measures hinder this, the company risks jumping out of the frying pan into the fire." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Financial Markets, » Sweden, » U.S., » Global

Cotidianul newspaper comments on the statistics published by the International Labour Organisation (ILO): "The Romanians are not exactly a people who feel called to demonstrate solidarity with their jobs. Between 1996 and 2006 only 326 industrial disputes were registered in the country, most of them in 1999: there were 85 in that year alone, while in 2006 there were only two. ... In that same period of time over 11,000 disputes were registered in Denmark. ... And one certainly can't claim Romanian employees are better off than Danish employees. ... But other types of solidarity have manifested themselves in the mean time. One is the result of widespread dissatisfaction ... and the other the result of inherent pessimism. I refer here to the community the government holds responsible for everything that goes wrong in the country. ... But denouncing an institution that one could basically change democratically incites the citizens to revolt against the politicians. ... The effect of such behaviour is more than visible: it is obvious in their absence from any kind of elections." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, Romanian)
More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » Razvan Mihai Vintilescu

Denmark's Liberals and Social Democrats have proposed replacing the license fees for Denmark's broadcasters with a media tax. The Danish daily Dagbladet contends that the most important argument against this proposal is obvious. If radio and television stations were to be funded through taxes "the granting of funding could in principle come up for discussion every time the state budget is passed in the Folketing [the Danish parliament]. ... Even as these lines are being written Denmark's media giants are gathering at a conference. ... They are warming up for the big battle over media grants next year. The very survival of many media is at stake here. For it's not just Danish broadcasters who receive support but also the majority of Denmark's media. The more aware one becomes of the extent to which Denmark's pluralistic media landscape depends on help from the state, the more important it becomes to keep politicians at a little more than arm's length. A media tax would be a small step in the wrong direction." (30/09/2008)

» more information (external link, Danish)
More from the press review on the subject » Audiovisual Media, » Media policy, » Denmark

As Poland prepares to introduce the euro in 2011, a dispute has broken out as to whose image should adorn the coin. The Süddeutsche Zeitung comments: "All Poles agree on one thing: the image of the late Pope John Paul II must figure on one of the coins. ... But that's as far as the consensus goes. The list is long. ... Lech Wałęsa is also being mentioned. The only one among the potential candidates who is still alive, Wałęsa promptly responded that he would agree to having his face on one of the coins, adding modestly that it should be one of the more valuable denominations. Wałęsa's numerous critics have expressed nothing but ridicule for these remarks. First of all it must be conclusively proven that the Nobel Prize winner was not an informant for the communist regime, they say." (30/09/2008)

» more information (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Public Culture, » Poland
All available articles from » Knut Krohn

In two years it will be mandatory for drivers in Spain to switch on their headlamps during the day. The conservative newspaper ABC feels that is too long to wait: "We are too late In Spain, too late perhaps for those who could have avoided an accident if the measures had been introduced earlier. ... In Spain we seem to need an EU guideline before we do anything. I cannot understand this. If the measure has been proven effective, then what are we waiting for? In any event I hope that the interior ministry doesn't do the same as they did with warning triangles for breakdowns. In Europe it had been mandatory for years to have cars equipped with warning triangles. Spain followed much later, but when someone noticed what a good idea it was we decided to show we were far more clever by making it mandatory for cars to have two triangles. I hope we will not soon be forced to switch on four headlamps when we drive." (30/09/2008)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Spain, » Europe
All available articles from » Francisco del Brio