Several ex-communist states recently agreed on a pact against the EU's climate and energy policy. The daily newspaper Dnevnik compares this with the Warsaw Pact: "What has led ... these states to reach out their hands to each other? ... The reality of the situation is that the energy efficiency of these ... nations is embarrassingly low. Their expenditure of energy is above all a waste of energy and has nothing to do with energy efficiency. The problems ... have many causes: socialist lethargy, political pigheadedness, a lack of strategic ingenuity, Eastern European provincialism and of course the economic interests of the electricity producers. For to a large extent they rely on coal to produce energy (Poland generates 92 percent of its electricity from coal, Slovakia 42 percent and Bulgaria 45 percent). Coal produces the largest amounts of carbon dioxide emissions. ... This energy inefficiency claims the lives of tens of thousands of people each year and sinks real income. The solution to this concealed tragedy ... [lies in] increasing energy efficiency in people's homes."     (13/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Energy Policy, » Economic Policy, » Bulgaria
All available articles from » Julian Popov

After the first round of parliamentary elections in Lithuania the composition of the future government is still unclear, but the daily newspaper Lietuvos Rytas is already pessimistic about the situation: "We will have the first government to rule a country without a nuclear power station and which is completely dependent on Russian oil and gas. We never had this kind of situation either in the cold winter of 1993 or the autumn of unemployment in 2000. From its very first days in power, the new government will face a stagnating economy and a rising budgetary deficit while the dissatisfaction of the people grows. The heating and electricity bills are going up, people are taking out more loans the conditions for which are becoming more stringent as a result of the financial crisis. On top of all this we're not getting anywhere with the university reform, the public health system is only just about staying afloat and the teachers' salaries have not been raised and nor will they be if the budget is not increased." (13/10/2008)

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All available articles from » Rimvydas Valatka

The largest parliamentary groups in the Netherlands are calling for a ban on obscenities and insults in parliament. The call is above all aimed at the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV) and its leader Geert Wilders, writes De Volkskrant: "We must ask whether it is right to deprive Wilders of the right to speak if that brings with it the accusation that his detractors do not dare to call a spade a spade. The Dutch aspire to being a country of clergymen. But unfortunately very few politicians are granted with the gift of the gab. People have been making up for that, however, now that it has become fashionable just to say what you think. A command of words can heighten the level of a heated discussion. Feeling offended just kills debate. The last thing that will convince Wilders is to say his language damages parliament's reputation. The leader of the PVV doesn't orient himself on his colleagues in parliament but on his supporters, for whom parliament no longer holds any authority at all." (13/10/2008)

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The Romanian daily Gandul takes a look at the chances of success of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) in the upcoming parliamentary elections on November 30. "For the first time since its founding the Union ... is facing the prospect of not making the leap into parliament. To get seats in parliament it would have to win in almost all the constituencies in the majority Hungarian-speaking districts ... and other areas in Transylvania and surpass the 5 percent hurdle. But the UDMR has a new rival on its own turf. ... Although the PCM, the radical Hungarian Civic Party, is not competing directly against the UDMR in the elections, it is sending [independent] intermediaries into the election campaign. ... So even if the UDMR doesn't win any seats the Hungarian electorate will not lose out. Because Romanian candidates in the three districts of the so-called Szekler region have no prospect of success the votes will go to the candidates of the Hungarian minority. So in the end if it's not the one [Hungarian] party it's the other."  (13/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Romania
All available articles from » Rodica Ciobanu

The European Court of Human Rights has dismissed a claim brought by the "Preußische Treuhand" (Prussian Trust), the organisation representing German expellees. The daily Rzeczpospolita welcomes the decision: "The news that the European Court of Human Rights has rejected the claim brought by the German expellees is perhaps the best news Poland has ever had from Strasbourg - and the most important. It takes a load off the minds of many Poles - those who feared they could lose their homes or the fields they cultivate and those who anxiously watched the claims of a small group of expellees play havoc with relations between Germany and Poland. We have waited almost two years to hear what the tribunal in Strasbourg had to say about the case brought by the Prussian Trust. And although almost all the experts assured everyone that the action didn't stand a chance of winning, there was great unease. Now the Prussian Trust has lost its right to exist." (10/10/2008)

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All available articles from » Jerzy Haszczynski

The Nato defence ministers have met in Budapest to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The Irish times argues in favour of entering into talks with the Taliban. "Nato defence ministers meeting in Budapest are considering renewed pleas from the United States for extra troops in Afghanistan to boost the alliance's military effort there against the Taliban. ... It is a contentious issue, made even more difficult by the world financial crisis, which severely constrains military budgets. Even without that pressure there is more and more open talk among leading Nato commanders that the war is unwinnable. ... This welcome new realism about the conflict recognises that it will need to be resolved in political talks with the Taliban. ... Political efforts to make progress should distinguish between pragmatic and fundamentalist opponents of the Karzai government, with the former more willing to reach an agreement to end hostilities and attempt to reconstruct the country." (10/10/2008)

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The Dutch government is starting a new organ donation campaign but has rejected the idea of adopting the Belgian system whereby everyone is automatically considered a donor. The daily newspaper De Volkskrant notes the success of the Belgian system: "It's remarkable that [Dutch Health] Minister [Abraham] Klink, who has no qualms about telling people what to do in other areas, is stressing the individual freedom of the donor in this, a matter of life and death. Naturally the state cannot force people to donate their organs. Nor can it force relatives to give their permission. This is not even legally possible. But the state can make organ donation a social norm - an expression of solidarity with one's fellow citizens. Every year hundreds of people die owing to the lack of donated organs. We must do everything possible to prevent this suffering." (10/10/2008)

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Lisbon's municipal authorities have ordered the removal of an anti-immigration poster put up by the right-wing extremist Portuguese National Renewal Party (PNR). But according to the daily Jornal de Negócios this censorship is exactly what the PNR had hoped to achieve. "A single poster against immigration has sufficed to get copies of it printed in all the media. ... On the right-hand side of the poster is a map of Portugal ... with a white sheep kicking a black sheep off the map. ... Although the sentence: 'Immigration? We say no!' features at the top of the poster, it doesn't establish a direct connection between the black sheep and black immigrants. This is left to the person looking at the poster. ... It was an overreaction to order ...  the removal of the poster ... because the town hall's task is simply to analyse what is actually written and drawn rather than assess subjective messages. The censorship ... is a more serious problem than the message itself because it aims to fight extremists with the weapons of extremism." (09/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Social Policy / Employment, » Migration, » Integration, » Minorities, » Portugal
All available articles from » Eduardo Cintra Torres

The UN General Assembly has called on the International Court of Justice to investigate the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence. The daily Večer sees a potential source of conflict in the decision: "Above all the democratic government of Serbian president Boris Tadić is profiting from the decision, because not even the opposition has anything to reproach the government for in this matter. ... In Serbia the decision is being touted as a success for Serbian diplomacy, but that is nothing but phrase-mongering and no one takes it seriously. Practically everyone involved is happy with the General Assembly's decision because it wins them time. ... However, much can change ... before the case comes before the court in The Hague. After what will probably be a very swift rapprochement between the EU and Serbia, the Kosovo question will be even less important there than it is now. ... Yet putting off the final decision could also bring a host of new problems with it. The biggest of these would be if ... the Kosovo Serbs understood the General Assembly's decision as a motiviation for even more radical measures. Then a policy of sticking one's head in the sand would no longer help." (10/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Serbia, » Kosovo
All available articles from » Mirko lorenci

Along with other European countries, Portugal granted fly-over rights in the past for CIA planes carrying presumed Islamic terrorists. Portuguese Foreign Minister Luís Amado explained yesterday that if Portugal's government has not made a statement on the matter, it was to avoid prejudicing EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who was Portuguese prime minister at the time. Jornal de Notícias critices this position: "Luís Amado is entirely right, Barroso should be spared inconvenience. He is an important man in the EU, and we are always proud when one of our emigrants is successful. ... As citizens, however, we have the right to know whether our government was aware at least of this one flight between Guantánamo and Cairo with a stop-over at the Portuguese military base [on the Azores Islands]. ... We have the right to know if the government authorised these flights or not, and if so under what conditions." (09/10/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Portugal, » U.S.
All available articles from » Paulo Martins