Columnist Roger Cohen sees cause for celebration in the imminent independence of Kosovo, though "Serbia will rail against what its prime minister calls 'this fictitious state on Serbian territory,' and the Russian bear will growl, and Balkan tensions will flare for a while ... . The fact is the independence of Kosovo is justified, unique and unavoidable. ... Serbia lost a nationalist gamble on Kosovo a long time ago; the differences stemming from it are unbridgeable. Further delay of the inescapable can only damage the region. ... European Union foreign ministers meet Monday and may agree on a 'platform' statement saying conditions for recognition have been met. A clear majority of the 27 European Union members - certainly no less than 20 - are expected to recognize Kosovo rapidly. ...Unanimity would be nice but broad consensus is sufficient. ... More important, the United States and Europe will march in step, not a frequent occurrence of late." (14/02/2008)

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"Most chancelleries are observing Kosovo on the verge of independence with a mixture of hope and anxiety", writes Laurent Moyse. "Once again, the EU is playing with fire in its own backyard. If it appears obvious that the cohabitation of Serbs and Albanians in the same state is basically a failure, the conditions in which this separation is taking place are far from ideal. ... Most striking is the fact that the Balkans symbolise Europe's inability to cement multiethnic societies. After the partition of Czechoslovakia and the dismantling of Tito's Yugoslavia, not all 20th century national constructions escaped the whims of autonomy. By failing to understand the vicissitudes of History, Europe is struggling to find a coherent response to the crisis that is perturbing it." (13/02/2008)

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There is no reason why the Balkans shouldn't be integrated in the EU, Ervin Hladnik writes, calling for the recognition of Kosovo: "Even today people are still saying that the war in former Yugoslavia began after Germany recognised the first two states to declare their independence [Slovenia and Croatia]. At the time there was just as much worry [as today] that the move would endanger the interests of neighbouring countries and destabilise the EU. There were fears of economic losses or even the political disintegration of the EU. ... Now that Kosovo has stated its intention to declare independence, similar warnings are being issued as in Slovenia in 1991. ... The recognition of Kosovo will make the province into a state in which the Albanians will be responsible for everything, including the safety of the Serbian minority. If that is what the people there want then there is really no point in stopping them." (14/02/2008)

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Ivo Indjev criticises Bulgaria's failure to adopt an official position on Kosovo: "The EU supports Kosovo's independence and thus as an EU member Bulgaria is by implication on [Kosovo's] side. But tacitly ... the government is trying to sell its 'sitting on the fence' to the public as flexibility. In reality it is afraid of getting its face slapped - not by its own citizens but by the mighty hand of the Kremlin. ... We should not kid ourselves that we are neutral. When Bulgaria opposed nationalist tendencies in the Balkans and in 1992 became the first country to recognise the state of Macedonia, it became visible on the geo-political map. Foreign policy is, however, a projection of the mood at home. Seen in those terms one can say that in 1992 and in 1999 [when Bulgaria adopted a pro-NATO position in the conflict with Serbia] Bulgaria acted like an independent country - whereas now it is behaving like 'Russia's unfaithful wife'." (14/02/2008)

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Not only political independence will present a major challenge to the government of an independent Kosovo. It will also be hard to get the economy going, believes Thomas Muster. Currently annual per capita GDP is only 1,100 euros - well below that of other countries in the region. In fact, though, Kosovo has large reserves of raw materials like lignite, lead or zinc. "The current state of Kosovo's economy does ... little to inspire confidence. Among the province's some two million inhabitants around 40 percent of those able to work are unemployed. Here youth and long-term unemployment are particularly serious problems. The infrastructure and energy supply are both in a wretched state, and in view of the volatile political environment and widespread corruption, foreign investors are showing little interest in making generous commitments." (14/02/2008)

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The journalist Adrian Hamilton criticizes the use of the term 'democracy' in foreign policy. "Western demands on governments, of whatever hue, to sign up to a list of democratic tick boxes as the price of aid, support or whatever, have proved largely self-defeating. ... They have laid Britain and America open to an endless charge of hypocrisy. We have said that elected leaders must be supported, and then promptly sought to crush the forces of Hamas voted in by the Palestinians. We have urged democracy on the Middle East, only to prostrate ourselves before Saudi Arabia. ... We may talk of democracy as a set of values; to most of the world it is a mechanism of power. And over the last decade - in Thailand, Pakistan, Kenya, Uzbekistan, ... - the resort to the vote has been simply a means of sustaining tribes or tyrants in power." (14/02/2008)

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The former Dutch deputy Ayaan Hirsi Ali analyses the links between democracy and religion in an interview with Jose Maria Marti. "As a group of principles, Islam is very consistent, very coherent, very simple and not at all compatible with liberal democracy. The principles of liberal democracy consider human life an end in itself, whereas Islam says that a satisfactory life can only be obtained by submitting oneself to the will of God. ... Catholicism isn't compatible with democracy either, but Christian societies have established a separation between Church and State. As a result, this religion does not have the power to punish those who fail to respect its principles. ... I think that the majority of Muslims could assimilate the principles of democracy if they had the same debate as the Catholics, accepting that dogmas can be questioned and that these questions can lead to answers that won't please them." (13/02/2008)

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After the death of an Italian soldier on February 13th in Afghanistan, Franco Venturini considers the presence of Italian troops in this country. "A tragic event has been thrust upon the Italian electoral campaign. Absorbed by questions more likely to influence the ballot box, our internal debate had overlooked Italy's international presence and the risks it entails, especially in Afghanistan where strategic confusion and dissension among allies have reached a critical point ... . The NATO summit in Bucharest [in April], may be saved by Nicolas Sarkozy, who will announce the reinforcement of French troops. But the real question, that no increase of troops will resolve, is that of strategic orientation ... . Without this, numerous sacrifices, such as that of Giovanni Pezzulo, are likely to go down in history as pointless deaths." (14/02/2008)

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Aivars Ozolins believes that as a member of NATO Latvia has an obligation to commit itself more strongly in Afghanistan: "The security of the Europeans depends to a great extent on NATO's ability to fight the Taliban, which is growing stronger again, and to bring economic stability to Afghanistan. That will take a lot of time and effort, but failing to do so would be a major blow for NATO. While defeat is currently unlikely, there are still major differences of opinion within the alliance. Unfortunately, Latvia's role in this debate is not very constructive and lacks foresight. ... NATO managed to win the Cold War without ever waging war, but it was always prepared to protect Western civilisation from destruction. Now that there is no longer a common enemy and NATO missions take place outside the territory of the alliance, it has become more difficult to formulate common goals." (14/02/2008)

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Jörg Haider, the right-wing populist premier of the Austrian state of Carinthia, has tabled a law that would make it impossible to build mosques in the state. Two percent of the population of Carinthia is Muslim. Elisabeth Steiner writes: "With the aid of a 'special commission on local architecture' it will in practice be possible to stop the future construction of 'unusual buildings' that do not accord with the architectural traditions of Carinthia and Central European culture. It has apparently been forgotten that the Bosnian Muslims, for instance, who are now the main group of Muslims in Carinthia, once formed an elite unit in the army of the Habsburg monarchy. This monarchy recognised Islam as a religious community in 1912. And indeed it was for this reason that the first attempt to introduce such a law, which contained an explicit ban on building mosques and minarets, failed. For this would have denied Muslims the right to practice their religion." (14/02/2008)

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EU commissioner Franco Frattini has presented "food for thought" on the issue of equipping Europe to deal with illegal immigration by using sophisticated electronic technology. One proposal is to record all those entering or leaving a country in a central data bank from 2015 onwards. In addition, travellers from non-EU countries would have to submit a finger print when applying for a visa. Thorsten Knuf thinks this is going too far: "Frattini seems to believe that technical means can be used to achieve total control over the borders. He even wants to use satellites, unmanned aircraft and secret service agents to track down African boat people and stop them entering the EU. His motto seems to be: we want to know everything -- using all means at our disposal. People are increasingly getting the feeling they are at the mercy of the state. More surveillance means less freedom, so there must be good reasons for it in every individual case. Following the USA, Europe is now becoming obsessed with collecting data." (14/02/2008)

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For the second time in two months, Greece was paralysed on February 13th by a general strike against the reform of pension schemes. According to the economic daily, Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis is under "pressure from the EU, which is asking Greece to think of its position within the Union if it does not reform its pension scheme. Between this pressure and citizens who keep on protesting on the streets, Caramanlis is breaking out in a cold sweat. This aside, are the European measures compatible with all countries ? Will the Greeks be the only ones to rebel? ... Greeks are being asked to work up until the age of 68, instead of 60 or 65 and 165 pension funds are being closed, leaving only 5! Greece has already made a big effort to join the EU having just emerged from a dictatorship and now it is continuously under pressure ... . Is this not one of the first visible limits of European reforms?" (14/02/2008)

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In 2008 Poland will take part in a European football championship for the first time. It is still uncertain, however, whether Polish public television will broadcast the Euro 2008, which will be played in Austria and Switzerland. Jerzy Pilch writes: "In past years public television has had to undergo a real humiliation before every major sports tournament, usually losing out to the private TV channel Polsat. ... But normally the problems are solved shortly before the beginning of the tournament. And that is no doubt how it will be this time as well. Sometime in May public television will triumphantly announce that it has won broadcasting rights after all and negotiated the right to show some of the games - like the semi-final, the final and the games in which the Polish team is playing. And all in the hope that Poland will be eliminated from the tournament early on, so that it does not have to broadcast so many games and will get off cheaper." (12/02/2008)

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Joelle Kuntz welcomes the initiative of several Danish newspapers which republished on Wednesday, February 13th, the caricatures of Mohamed to protest against the attempted assassination of one of the caricaturists. "We can only approve the Danish reaction. Were the same thing were to have happened in Switzerland, were caricaturists and journalists to have been the targets of such a sinister vendetta, would Swiss society have also stood up to defend the law, silencing its own internal debates on the quality and the appropriateness of works produced or the political identity of their authors. Because in Switzerland, like in Denmark, society, though disunited in its religious faiths, joins forces to maintain the rules that it has made for itself with difficulty over 150 years in order to peacefully deal with controversy. ... How long are we going to have to accept to make allowances in the name of multiculturalism? The Danish have posed this serious question by acting as they have." (14/02/2008)

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"This news represents a watershed," was Manfred Schneider's comment on the announcement by the traditional Brockhaus publishing house that it would be making its encyclopaedia available on-line from 15 April on a free, advertising-financed website rather than publishing a new paper edition of the thirty-one volume work. "A review of the history of Brockhaus forces contemporary book-lovers to draw the wistful conclusion that this move marks not only a change in publishing strategy but also the end of an era. The book as the main medium of enlightenment, political progress and the institution of knowledge - the medium from which both respectability and resistance to the passing of time speak out of fat, leather-bound volumes - is stepping into the shadow of the new Gods who go by the names of speed, topicality and multi-media. It is not, as some commentators may think, the success of on-line ventures like Wikipedia that has forced the publishers to make this move. Rather the need arises out of the two dynamic forces to which knowledge is subjected today. The medium of the internet alone is able to shape the tempo, expansion and constantly changing nature of knowledge, and above all play a role in its permanently becoming obsolete." (14/02/2008)

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Sociologists have ascertained that around 56 percent of Bulgarians are poor. They live in the past, don't know about the internet or cashpoints, live in small towns and villages and watch Latin American soaps.The remaining 44 percent live in the big cities and have adopted European values. Nikolaj Pawlow writes: "People of the older generation seem to have got stuck in the era of perestroika and the fall of communism. ... Their voices are not heard, for they have no means of making them audible.They do not have the energy or knowledge to improve their living situation. ... The other Bulgarians are educated and better paid. As consumers these are the people who drive the domestic economy. They fight for their interests, work hard and strive to make something of their lives. ... There are two Bulgarias." (13/02/2008)

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Paul Evans investigates the quest for an ethically sound Valentine's day gift. "In years past, we may have wrestled with the question of whether roses are a romantic cliché. Now, to compound our dilemma, we are assailed with the competing ethical implications of our purchase. The Nag is an award-winning ethical website run by the campaigning group Anti Apathy. It seeks to make it easy for us to live more ethically - and is urging the British public to eschew Kenyan roses this Valentine's day. They claim that valuable water supplies are effectively being exported through the production process, and they also point to the environmental impact of pesticides, plastics and air miles. According to The Nag, lovers should woo one another with British snowdrops instead." (12/02/2008)

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