euro|topics - Michael Martens

22/11/2008

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Martens, Michael

5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany | 22/09/2008

Michael Martens on the recognition of Kosovo

The recognition of Kosovo in South-eastern Europe is coming along slowly, writes Michael Martens in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "Neither Greece, Romania, Macedonia, Montenegro nor Bosnia and Herzegovina have recognised the independence of Kosovo until now. For Bulgaria, Croatia and Hungary recognition was so weighty a step that they only dared take it jointly, to spread the brunt of Serbia's wrath onto as many shoulders as possible. This is not surprising. Because while Serbian sanctions do not strike fear into people's hearts in Central America, Western Africa or Polynesia, in this region things are different. ... That is why the integration of Kosovo into the community of states has until now been slowest before its very own doorstep, where it is most needed for economic reasons. ... Romania has shied away from recognising Kosovo not only for fear that the Hungarian minority in its own country could follow the example of the Kosovo Albanians. Romania also acts as spokesman for the neighbouring republic of Moldova, and in the wake of the events in Georgia respect for Moldova has also played a key role in Bucharest's failure to act. No one wants to give Moscow a pretense to 'solve' the conflict in Transnistria, a secessionist Moldovan territory supported by Moscow, along neo-Soviet lines. Similar considerations also apply for Greece vis-à-vis Cyprus. ... And it now seems entirely impossible that the tri-ethnic state of Bosnia and Herzegovina will recognise Kosovo. There the Dayton peace agreement of 1995, which has resulted in the more or less permanent partition of the country, has allowed the Bosnian Serbs to prevent recognition."

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany | 14/04/2008

A test of endurance for Macedonia

Two weeks after the NATO summit in Bucharest at which Macedonia's accession to the military alliance was postponed owing to its name dispute with Greece, the Macedonian government under Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has resigned. The country is facing a test of endurance, Michael Martens reports: "The collapse of the coalition in Skopje is above all a strategic game played by the ruling parties. But it also shows how fragile the agreement signed between Albanian and Slavic Macedonians in August 2001 under pressure from the EU and Washington is. ... This most recent crisis [should] remind us of three things: firstly, there is no other country in the Balkans whose future depends more on developments in Kosovo than Macedonia. Secondly, its unity will be threatened if Greece decides to thwart its efforts to join the EU after having thwarted its NATO ambitions. And thirdly, this would be bad for the entire region."

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany | 28/01/2008

Karamanlis ends visit to Turkey

The first official visit of a Greek prime minister to Turkey in decades has come to an end. Michael Martens weighs the results: "They're talking again. That seems pretty minimal, but actually, given the difficult neighbourhood they're in, it's worth a lot. ... Erdogan and Karamanlis, who get along quite well personally, were both re-elected last year. They now probably have a few years of governing ahead of them, Erdogan with a clear majority in parliament and Karamanlis with a narrow one. Time is ripe for courageous decisions, particularly regarding the contentious issue of Cyprus. Together, Athens and Ankara could design the constructive division of Cyprus based on the 2004 UN referendum that at least the Greeks of the island supported, instead of making the mistake of continuing their vain attempts to cancel it. It is not necessary to add on the recognition of Northern Cyprus by international law."

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung - Germany | 17/09/2007

Karamanlis survives fires

"Greek politics has been dominated by three families for six decades: the Karamanlis, the Papandreous and the Mitsotakis," Michael Martens notes with disapproval. "Who stands for what in this southern European family clan saga?... Papandreou the Third is trying to discredit the government but he hasn't convinced enough voters. For his part, Karamanlis the Second will face unpleasant tasks after his election victory. During the first legislative period his main task was to deal with the gaping budget deficit left by the previous government. Over the coming years he must reform the country's dilapidated pension system. There are almost 200 pension fund companies in Greece; the taxi drivers, the rubbish collectors and the journalists all have their own, and many of them are inefficient. But even some of those who voted for him doubt Karamanlis will have the courage to introduce change and go down in Greek history as Costas the Reformer."

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany | 17/05/2006

Montenegro to vote on independence

Michael Martens explains why the outcome of next Sunday's referendum on Montenegro's independence remains wholly uncertain: "Although it's taken for granted that a relative majority will vote for independence on Sunday, the advocates of state independence need the votes of both the Muslim Bosnians and the partly Muslim, partly Catholic Albanians because the EU managed to push through a quorum of 55 percent of the votes." Martens points out that the great majority of Bosnians and Albanians, who make up 17 percent of the country's population, support independence from Serbia. "However, as far as the majority is concerned, the mood is not as clear-cut. Many see themselves as both Montenegrins and Serbs... Particularly among Montenegrins living in Serbia, the prevalent attitude is that although not all Serbs are are Montenegrins, all Montenegrins are Serbs."

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