The business paper Les Echos praises the European Union for its initiative in the financial crisis. "The most important event of the weekend took place not in Washington but in Paris. The Eurozone states may have taken their time; after all, its states often have egoistic reflexes. But this makes them all the more deserving of praise. The best thought-out proposals for a way out of the crisis, and even more importantly for constructing a healthier financial system, came from Europe and particularly from the UK. ... Acute tensions have often been felt between France and Germany, the UK and Ireland, Paris and Madrid. But ultimately, and this is what counts, things have happened. ... The departing Bush government has left a leadership void. ... it is now the task of the somewhat more united Europe ... to lay the groundwork for a better-regulated financial system. And there's much work to be done." (13/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » France, » Europe, » Global
All available articles from » Nicolas Barré

In the opinion of the liberal left-wing daily Népszabadság the EU has the choice between moving closer together or splitting up: "It is significant that it was the eurosceptic British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, of all people, who had to show the 15 countries of the Eurozone what course to take: pumping public money into banks; revitalising lending among banks in order to stimulate the economy and providing state guarantees to cover bank loans with the aim of winning back the diminished confidence of borrowers. ... What would have happened if the European economies didn't have the double protective shield of EU institutions and the euro doesn't bear thinking about. ... The past few weeks have given us the following insight: without genuine political union Europe is not in a position to find answers to crises other than those it recently managed to produce only after immense efforts." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Global
All available articles from » Miklós Blahó

El País newspaper argues for strengthening the social market economy in Europe. "With the support of the Eurozone and the European Central Bank, the European Union has a double advantage. First of all it is not at the origin of the crisis, which shows that its market is better regulated. And secondly - even if this may sound insulting to British ears - it has its own model. We have heard Angela Merkel refer to the social market economy, a concept better suited to Europe than the unregulated market. ... Especially in these times when the role of the state and the redefinition of social democracy are gaining ground, Europe should follow the call to bolster the social market economy. And we need have no complexes vis-à-vis Anglo-American finance capitalism, whose collapse we are all now bearing the brunt of." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » Financial Markets, » Europe
All available articles from » Jean-Marie Colombani

The Financial Times Deutschland states that the financial crisis has been overcome in the short term but it nonetheless fears Europe could slip into a recession: "The policymakers ... can enjoy the feeling of not being hopelessly unable to cope in the role of saviour. No one ... can say at this point whether ... confidence will be restored and the danger of the banking system collapsing averted. ... Given the ... magnitude of the crisis the rescue action was ... inevitable. ... [But] even if they have managed to ... control the financial crisis, a vital question still remains unanswered: What can be done to prevent Europe slipping into a deep depression? Struggling with high energy prices, the strength of the euro and flagging export markets, the Eurozone economy had already taken a downturn a few months ago - largely independently of the current financial crisis. ... But to encourage the subsidies spiral and supply one sector after another with public funding would be to send a fatal message." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » Europe, » Global

Following a rejection by the British House of Lords, British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has announced she would withdraw a controversial provision in the country's Counter-Terrorism Bill whereby terror suspects may be arraigned for 42 days without formal charges being brought. The Guardian welcomes the decision, which "marks the end of a drive to lock up for longer people who have been neither tried nor charged. ... Evidence, or rather the abject lack of it, was the complaint rattling through the Lords' debate. The authorities have not yet dealt with a single case where the current limit of 28 days has proved inadequate. Peers refused to surrender real liberties to a hypothetical threat. ... The outcome is humiliating for Gordon Brown, and would have been more so had finance not been dominating the news. The Lords have forced him to listen to reason and buried his poisonous proposal." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Domestic Policy, » United Kingdom

On Monday the EU provisionally rescinded the long-year travel ban for the Belarus President Alexander Lukaschenko and other of the country's top civil servants. Klassa newspaper sees strategic calculations behind the decision: "The EU has eased visa regulations for Europe's last dictator, the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The decision was made by diplomats as a sign of improved relations between Minsk and Brussels and perceived as an attempt to foster democracy in the former Soviet republic. But we must not forget that the coin has two sides: this decision is motivated by something else. Belarus lies on one of the main routes for Russian energy supplies to Western Europe. In times when the West is being shaken by a financial crisis and dependency on liquid fuel is increasing, the need to improve relations through strategic means grows greater." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Bulgaria

US President George W. Bush's bequest to his successor is a vast expanse of ruins, writes De Volkskrant newspaper, commenting that this will have grave international consequences: "Bush angered almost the entire world with the arrogant unilateralism of his first term in office. And that will have consequences for Europe, whose inner divisions make it unable to offer an alternative. And with its unchecked, irresponsible lifestyle America has become financially dependent on China, which is increasingly spreading its influence into Africa and Asia. As long as American policy shies away from making clear to voters that consumerism has its limits, this financial dependency will grow. And it is a total illusion to think that this dependence will not have political consequences, because Beijing will use it as leverage when the time comes." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Fiscal Policy, » U.S.
All available articles from » Thomas van der Dunk

Romania Libera newspaper looks at the friction zone between politics and consumerism: "After two decades of aimless transformation we have become so committed to consumerism that its perverse effects are already plainly visible. For if it is true that the only things which exist are those that can be consumed and that truth is not exactly what you would describe as the most popular product, then it will be avoided. But everything that can be bought is legitimated as useful - and therefore as true - by the very act of buying. And the same applies to votes. This was clearly demonstrated during the local elections, where no one at all sought to conceal the purchase of votes. When entire communities may be bought and voters openly sell their votes, self-determination becomes just an empty phrase. ... Democracy cannot exist if freedom is not backed up by responsible behaviour. But because democracy results from transparent, open elections, the people bear part of the responsiblity for the success or failure of democratic systems. Perhaps not as much as politics, but all the same. ... Cynicism has become the guiding value in our transformation. If it now forces our choice and puts a diffuse freedom on a par with security ... then the monsters are already among us. Because you can only vote when you know what the alternatives are. And you can only know that if you really are free." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Weltanschauung, » Romania
All available articles from » Cristian Pirvulescu

In Slovenia the number of people who died in road accidents this year has fallen. Those in charge ascribe this to a new traffic law and the fact that people driving under the influence of alcohol are taken off the road. Nonetheless the number of people who die in road accidents remains high and according to Andraž Sodje Slovenia lacks above all a proper driving culture: "A more appropriate driving culture would help to further improve the statistics. The death toll on Slovenia's roads comes as no surprise to most drivers who spend several hours on the road each day. The driving culture still hasn't reached an adequate level. ... Most drivers here in Slovenia are in a suicidal hurry ... One particularly negative example is motorcycle drivers. The average car driver doesn't even notice them until it's too late, when they race through towns and villages at breakneck speed making a deafening noise. For their part motorcycle drivers admit that when you're riding a sporty bike it's extremely difficult to stick to the 50 kph speed limit in urban areas. Why? Because with 180 or 200 hp or more the engines are just too strong. This, however, should under no circumstances be seen as a legitimate excuse. It simply means that the institutions in charge should ensure that vehicles that pose a danger to other road traffic participants are not given licenses." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Slovenia
All available articles from » Andraž Sodje

Poland's National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT), whose members were named by the country's former conservative government, has decided on new programme councillors for the country's regional media. The liberal Gazeta Wyborcza takes a critical view of the process: "This is a blatant example of partisanship. Of course you can play it down and say the programme councillors aren't all that important and only have an advisory function. Nevertheless the KRRiT will very shortly name the boards of directors of TVP [Polish state television] and the Polish Radio. And they exercise ... a real influence over the public media. Do we want these groups to go on being constituted as they have up to now? ... These people will rule the media until 2012 or longer. Because if the KRRiT is not renewed by then it will once more name the directors - for another three years until 2015. In this way the coalition ... that was voted out in 2007 will go one ruling the public media for years to come." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Media policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Agnieszka Kublik

The daily newspaper Diena recalls the founding of the Popular Front of Latvia 20 years ago, which in the years that followed led the country to independence: "The Popular Front was well structured and people supported its goals because they were worthy and because it fought for them with honest means. Within two years it won three elections, and this would not have been possible without this broad base of support. Today, on the other hand, the relationship between citizens and the parties is marked by distrust and the solidarity of those times has given way to a polarisation of society. One possibility for overcoming this state of affairs could be to allow more direct democracy and in this way give voters the chance to express their standpoint." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Latvia
All available articles from » Askolds Rodins

The daily Kainun Sanomat writes about accidents involving elks and approaches to keeping their numbers down. "The elk is Finland's most dangerous animal and at the same time completely useless and incredibly expensive. ... Accidents involving elks cost society between 70 and 80 million euros each year. The damage to the country's forestry industry amounts to 20 million a year. Every year 10 people die in accidents caused by elks and between 220 and 270 are injured. Each crash costs traffic insurers an average of 14,700 euros. ... [Therefore] I can't understand why people are so envious of elk hunters. The meat can't be frozen and it costs a good deal more than mince from the supermarket. ... The elk hunters are getting older and there are no longer enough young people among them. Our elk problem has reached the point where we need reinforcements from abroad. And we're taking as many enthusiastic hunters from Germany and Russia as we can. ... Aren't there any birth control pills we could give the elks to keep their numbers down?" (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Finland

The English national football team is to play a friendly game against Spain. However the English football association has stipulated that the game is not to take place at Madrid's Bernabéu stadium where four years ago coloured English players were subjected to racist taunts. The daily El Mundo comments: "The Spanish football association is right not to allow another country to tell it where the game is to be played. And yet we can learn a lesson from the incident: you can't play down the effect of certain behaviour in countries that are sensitive to that behaviour. The same happened with [racing driver Lewis] Hamilton in Montmeló and led to a reprimand from the International Motor Sports Association. Then there was the innocent gesture of the players on the national basketball team who pulled slit-eyed grimaces before they left for the Olympic Games. In sum, we have a problem that needs to be solved." (14/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Integration, » Sport, » United Kingdom, » Spain