The otherwise feuding Flemish and Walloon communities in Belgium are acting jointly to face the current financial crisis. This offers a shimmer of hope for the country's reform process, writes the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Prime Minister Yves Leterme's Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V) has indicated its willingness to compromise, notes the paper: "Eight months prior to the regional elections, Leterme's party has shown a readiness for both risk and responsibility in declining to dance to the tune of the separatists and opting for dialogue. Leterme and Kris Peeters, the Minister-President of Flanders, were well aware that a failure of the present mediation attempts would cast doubts on whether Belgium can be ruled at all. The move comes at a time when the state budget is threatened with a lack of more than five billion euros, and most Belgians are worried not about this or that regional jurisdiction but about their own well-being in what recent days have shown to be a precarious economic environment." (07/10/2008)

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The intervention of Finance Minister Wouter Bos in the credit crisis has led to a marked improvement in the social democratic Labour Party's poll results. The crisis could save the party, writes the liberal-conservative Political weekly Elsevier: "Wouter Bos is winning back the voters' trust. The crisis has provided him with the opportunity to present himself as a leader of the nation, and he has done a wonderful job of it. ... Leadership means facing one's destiny with an open visor. Wouter Bos has done this by making the right decisions at the right moment. ... Otherwise the country would have plunged into a deep political crisis that would have pulled the normal economy ... down with it. Wouter must capitalise on this now, while it is still fresh in the voters' minds. He must prove the leadership qualities of his own party and make a clear choice between the two directions." (07/10/2008)

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Poland has realised that it does not stand alone in the midst of the current crisis affecting all of Europe. The conservative daily Rzeczpospolita comments: "The financial crisis that began on Wall Street initially meant we had to say goodbye to between 20 and 30 percent of our investment fund profits. Now it seems likely that the stock market situation will have repercussions for the entire Polish economy. If in the coming years the Western European countries are - figuratively speaking - left stranded two metres under water (and unfortunately it looks like this will be the case) we should not deceive ourselves into thinking we will be able to keep our heads above the rest for long. We are not yet facing a recession in the traditional sense of the word - a fall in GDP over two consecutive quarters. But we will not remain a lonely island, for in an economy like ours a deceleration of growth to around 3.5 percent per year is felt by everyone." (07/10/2008)

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According to the liberal left-wing daily Nepszabadsag the governments' emergency measures in the financial crisis will have an impact on national budgets: "Everyone knows that the internal regulations of the Eurozone prescribe a progressive reduction of national deficits to the point where they reach zero or even less. If a country has a budget deficit of more than 3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) it is not allowed to introduce the euro - as we have seen with Hungary. Those countries that have converted to the euro and whose budgetary deficits have climbed past three percent of GDP have faced sanctions. ... This stringent approach is probably a thing of the past now. Europe's financial situation is ... much too serious to leave these strict rules intact. It is entirely possible that sooner or later budgetary variations within the EU will be legitimated. ... In today's EU this can 'only' mean easing the strict regulations governing the budgets of member states and adopting a more flexible stance regarding the ban on state subsidies for privately held companies." (07/10/2008)

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The Green Party in Sweden has struck the call for Sweden to leave the EU from its party programme. In a questionnaire 55 percent of party members rejected maintaining the demand in the programme. Göteborgs-Posten newspaper wishes nevertheless for more than just a No: "The Greens' No is supposed to be a Yes. In some way this opinion swing is symptomatic for the party. It was adopted without enthusiasm, and with the promise that instead of calling on Sweden to leave the Union it would do all it could to make things awkward at a European level. That is not the sort of Yes that Europe needs." The newspaper then turns to the party's renewed commitment to opposing the Treaty of Lisbon: "The new treaty is not perfect, but it is better than the old one, and opens the door for further members. It's a mystery that the Greens fail to see this. But small steps in the right direction are not to be frowned upon, as more could follow." (07/10/2008)

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Rioting Moroccan youths in the city of Gouda have sparked a nationwide debate in the Netherlands. While politicians have denounced Moroccan terror throughout the country, the chief of police in Gouda has condemned politicians for their hysterical attitude on the grounds that it only serves to escalate the conflict. De Volkskrant newspaper shows understanding for his remarks: "Parliament has spoken: there is a war going on in Gouda, and anyone who does not admit this is a softy and deserves everything that's coming to him. The Ivory Tower in The Hague cold not care less what the professionals on the street have to say, and things have been that way for years. Now one of the professionals has said just this, and popular indignation is once more spiralling. ... Politicians in The Hague have a problem. They get emails from angry citizens, and they feel the chief of police is there to help them solve things. And of course a member of parliament knows much better than a professional just what is to be done." (07/10/2008)

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The UK is one of the few countries in Europe where the corporal punishment of children is still permissible. On Wednesday the British House of Commons will vote on whether to amend the law. The liberal Independent calls for a ban: "The smacking of children is a highly emotive issue, and many otherwise good parents baulk at what they see as the state interfering with their right to bring up their children as they see fit. But the experience of the 19 European states which have already adopted similar legislation is not of the regular and unreasonable prosecution of parents – nor would it be in this country. The assault of children would be treated just like the assault of adults using the principle of de minimus – prosecutions are not brought in those cases that are considered trivial. ... Study after study has shown that a child's behaviour is never improved by violence in the family. The Government, so often too eager to legislate itself into our phones and computers, personal habits and private lives, has procrastinated on this issue too long. The Commons could rectify this tomorrow, and the chance should on no account be missed." (07/10/2008)

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Since April the commission in charge of Bulgaria's Stasi files has been waiting to receive information from 80 electronic media - including some of the country's leading media - on the personal data of journalists under investigation. The daily newspaper Dnevnik comments: "The fact that major national media are also involved is worrying because it is precisely 'the big ones' that communicate with the upper echelons of the [legislative and judiciary] power and who owing to the quality of their media enterprises can claim to be the mentors of public opinion. ... It would indeed have been astounding if the law on affiliation with the former communist secret services had been applied without hindrance and had met with universal approbation. But when silent opposition to the law comes from the media themselves, the public may well ask: Are they really the fourth power or merely the lackeys of the first power?" (07/10/2008)

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Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer writes in El País newspaper that the European Union could serve as an example for regional cooperation in the Middle East, commenting that the challenges posed by the shortage of water and the global economy can only be tackled in a coordinated effort. "The countries of the Middle East cannot deal with these problems individually. They must cooperate in regional institutions, and here the success of the European Union could serve as an example. In fact the conditions for regional cooperation ... now look better there than they did in Europe in the 1950s. Europe had no common language and was not as unified in religious or cultural terms as the Middle East. The impetus for Europe was given by visionaries like Jean Monnet and the creation of new institutions like the European Coal and Steel Community. The process of regional integration could start in the Middle East with water and energy. A common market for goods and services could follow, together with a regional security system. This could give this region, which is so poor in growth and so rich in conflict, a well-defined identity, transform it into a relevant player in the global economy and make it the architect of its own future." (07/10/2008)

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The Czechs have often complained that as a small nation they have never had a chance to influence events taking place around them, Anneke Hudalla notes in the liberal weekly Respekt and asks: "Is it not rather the case that the Czechs lack the time to deal with the real issues of our times because they are so wrapped up in the affairs and intrigues of their own politicians? Is the question of where this or that politician got his car from or that he drove it too fast so important that it leaves no time for debate about EU immigration policy or the purpose of the war in Afghanistan? ... For sure, in a country where corruption is thriving and the police can find no means to fight it is only natural that the media dedicates more time to this than other things. The Czechs just need to make sure they don't become totally obsessed [with the small problems]. If one wants to be taken seriously one must provide serious arguments. Then we will see that it's not a nation's size that decides the extent of its influence." (07/10/2008)

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In its leading article Le Monde applauds Germany's recent economic success but criticises Berlin for rejecting a possible rescue plan for European banks: "In recent years Germany has achieved noteworthy economic results. The reforms begun by former chancellor Gerhard Schröder that are now being carried forward by Angela Merkel have been crowned with success. ... Germany has regained its position as a major [economic] world power which it had lost with reunification. ... This status gives the country a huge responsibility which it unfortunately does not seem able to bear. Before the rescue plan could even be proposed, Berlin had already torpedoed it. ... The German banking system is wobbling. This makes Berlin's opposition to the plan all the more incomprehensible. The bankruptcy of Hypo Real Estate reveals the extent to which the banks of the Eurozone's strongest member are ailing. This unexpected weakness is threatening the entire financial system of the Old Continent." (06/10/2008)

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The Guardian looks into the belief widely held in Britain that the Germans have no sense of humour, and finds that German humour exists, but the British fail to recognise it: "The trouble with joking in German, the comedian Stewart Lee explained in the Guardian a couple of years ago, is the grammar. It is hard to set up a punchline when you have to put the subject of the sentence near the start - and anyway, big, clunky compound nouns don't lend themselves to the sort of double meanings that fuel British humour. If the theory is right then Germans don't lack wit, just the sort of wit that sounds good in English. That hasn't stopped generations of British writers from claiming Germans are humourless. ... But German humour is out there. The point is that the British don't get it." (07/10/2008)

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The daily Corriere della Sera describes the dismissal of journalist and newly appointed editor in chief Johanna Korhosen by the Finnish newspaper Lapin Kansa as a shocking event in the country of equal rights: "In any case her dismissal, which the publisher of the newspaper Heikki Tuomi Nikula justified pointing to the journalist's homosexual orientation, has provoked demonstrations and strike threats among journalists. The dismissal has landed in parliament and even made its way as far as the office of President Tarja Halonen, who as a former leader of the equal rights movement is naturally appalled. The MPs have demanded a public discussion on equality of civil rights and, citing EU regulations, have stressed that a dismissal based on sexual behaviour is not legally binding. Cynics are saying the publisher should make Santa Claus his next editor in chief because little is known about his sexual orientation." (07/10/2008)

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Trikala, a Greek town with 80,000 inhabitants, is the first city to offer all its citizens free access to the Internet. With European aid, the entire country is soon to enter the information society. Politis newspaper comments on the situation in Cyprus: "Although the government has announced that it wants to make good use of the new technology to modernise the state and society, in practice it has taken no important steps. ... There has not yet been a local Commissioner able to prompt the development of the electronic Cypriot city. Some are still debating whether the Commissioner will have a budget or not! They probably just want him as a nice decoration. But developing the information society is the only way forward in a globalised world." (07/10/2008)

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Sweden's opposition Social Democrats have proposed giving recently released prisoners a start-up sum of money to help them when they leave prison. The daily newspaper Dala-Demokraten considers this a sensible plan: "Society must do more to help people coming out of prison. But this also entails the responsible officials showing greater understanding for other people and having a better sense of the realities. Unfortunately, there are all too many desktop administrators in this country. It is a good thing that the Social Democrats want to invest in people who need help. Sadly there are many others who feel that people who have been in prison don't need help because they don't deserve it. But everyone needs a place in society. It is unforgivable to kill, humiliate or abuse another person for one's own gain. But even if there are unforgivable crimes they should not be used as an argument for tougher sentences or for not giving a person the help he needs." (07/10/2008)

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