The new rescue package by no means solves all Greece's problems, writes the business paper Cinco Días: "Although the Eurozone's backing is good news - all the more so after the long succession of fallouts and reconciliations on the part of Europe's leaders in recent months regarding the agreement - the Greek problem continues to be far from resolved. In view of Athens' disastrous political and economic management ever since its ordeal began the idea is beginning to gain hold that Greece doesn't just need an economic solution but profound political renewal. But unlike the economic problem the latter cannot be resolved by means of external supervision or cash injections. It requires a process of maturation, and in some cases the creation of new structures and institutions the establishment of which will take some time."  (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Grecia, » Europa
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

The fact that the Euro Group is doing so much to rescue the economic flyweight Greece shows just how fragile the common currency is, writes the left-liberal daily Le Monde: "Greece's plight shows that the eurozone still seeks a workable mixture of flexibility, discipline and solidarity. The eurozone is in a form of limbo: it is neither so deeply integrated that break-up is inconceivable, nor so lightly integrated that break-up is tolerable. Indeed, the most powerful guarantee of its survival is the costs of breaking it up. Maybe that will prove sufficient. Yet if the eurozone is to be more than a grim marriage sustained by the frightening costs of dividing up assets and liabilities, it has to be built on something vastly more positive than that. Given the economic divergences and political frictions revealed so starkly by this crisis, is that now possible? (20/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Grecia, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Martin Wolf
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

The deal in Brussels brings down not only Greece's interest payments but also those of struggling Portugal, the left-liberal daily Der Standard writes, but points out that this also means Germany will earn a little less from the crisis: "The creditors for the euro bailout measures will give the Greeks cheaper loans after all, and accept lower yields. … [Portugal's prime minister] Passos Coelho will also benefit indirectly from this. The interest paid by Portugal, which is also receiving billions in loans, will soon sink to a similar level. And this is only fair, because up to now states with top ratings like Germany have earned a pretty sum with the 'bailout business': on the one hand because of the high interest they were able to charge for loans, and on the other because of the cheaper market rates at which they themselves could take out loans as a result of the crisis in southern Europe. According to a study by economics researchers based in Cologne, Germany has saved 45 billion euros without having to do anything for it, simply thanks to the market. This demonstrates how inextricably and paradoxically intertwined everything is in the Eurozone." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política financiera, » Grecia, » Portugal, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Thomas Mayer
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

Athens' insolvency has been averted for now, but the Greeks still face many uncertainties, the conservative business paper Naftemporiki stresses: "The decision of the Euro Group ends a long period of unease and uncertainty regarding our economic situation and our relationship with our EU partners. But it doesn't guarantee that better times will ensue in this chapter of our history titled 'the debt crisis and other crises'. To put it simple: no matter how much we yearn for a glimmer of hope we shouldn't draw rash conclusions and seek the light where there is none. The only thing we can count on are the next elections. This prospect will no doubt help us feel better." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Grecia, » Europa, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Nikos Frantzis
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

With just two weeks to go before the presidential elections in Russia, candidate and current prime minister Vladimir Putin has announced plans to invest the equivalent of 600 billion euros in Russia's armed forces. Among other things he wants to purchase 400 intercontinental missiles, 600 fighter aircraft, 2,300 tanks and 20 submarines by 2020. This is all about posing as a super power, the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera writes mocking Putin: "The statements are only for domestic consumption, although they are also meant to impress the international 'partners' - with modest success. … The West knows only too well that such announcements have been made in the past without any follow-up. And after the coma of the 1980s and 1990s the apparatus of the military industry appears to have turned into a bottomless pit. Several attempts to renew it have failed miserably. And Russia also cut a poor figure in its most recent attempts to play a role in space research [the Mars probe Phobos Grunt crashed]. Nonetheless, a nice adversary overseas can do wonders in difficult times." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Rusia
Todos los textos disponible de » Fabrizio Dragosei

The decision of the German government and opposition to nominate GDR civil rights activist Joachim Gauck as their joint candidate for the office of German President is a sign of how well the country has come to terms with its communist past, the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita writes admiringly: "For the Poles it is particularly surprising that the Germans have selected for the office of President someone who poked around in people's files. Someone who said that it was not the victims but the perpetrators who benefit when access to the communist archives that conceal the truth is blocked. Moreover, as head of the Stasi Archives Gauck fought to prevent people forgetting that the GDR was a system of injustice. Chancellor Merkel placed particular emphasis on this achievement of his. Now two of the leading politicians of the most important state in the European Union - the chancellor and the future president - grew up in the GDR." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Cultura conmemorativa, » Alemania, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Jerzy Haszczyński

The parliamentary group leader of the Dutch Social Democrats, Job Cohen, resigned on Monday following criticism from within his party and a poor performance in opinion polls. But this won't put an end to the crisis of the Labour Party (PvdA), the Christian-social daily Trouw fears: "There is no sign whatsoever that the PvdA has found a solution to the problems it faces. It's too easy to just point a finger at the leader. Cohen didn't come to The Hague with the task of giving the Social Democrats a new profile, but because his party considered him a good candidate for the office of prime minister. The PvdA was focused on getting into power, not renewing its ideology. … The party is for the most part powerless. There is no unity and no one with a convincing concept regarding the direction it should take. Cohen being forced to resign for lack of support is only fighting the symptoms, without tackling the real problem." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Holanda

Greece's main problem is its long-standing clientele system, writes Greek journalist Kostas Karkagiannis in the Blog A Europa desalinhada: "Perhaps you're sick of hearing about the Greek crisis, and Europe's leaders are pretty sick of it, too. You no doubt think that Greece's problems are of a financial nature: not competitive enough, huge debts and gigantic deficits, a public sector that works counter-productively. And you're right, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The heart of the problem is the anarchic and poorly functioning judiciary. And then there's a clientele system that is based on political favours, the exchange of time-tested services, corruption and a monstrous bureaucracy. It serves only its own interests, smothering any entrepreneurial spirit and crushing the Greek populace. … In Greece the social contract has been based for at least 35 years on the following principle: the citizen votes for a certain party, and in return the small fry get a job in the public service and the big fish get expensive government contracts." (20/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Justicia, » Sociedad, » Grecia
Todos los textos disponible de » Kostas Karkagiannis
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

In the conflict over its nuclear programme Iran has gone ahead and stopped oil exports to the UK and France according to its own reports. The left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung fears a dramatic rise in fuel prices: "No one can say with certainty what will happen as of July, when all the European countries are to stop buying oil from Iran. At present the country ships 18 percent of its oil to Europe. Iran is the second largest Opec exporter and this gap can only be closed by other Opec countries delivering more. If not we'll face a real shortage. Something which comes as no surprise to traders on the oil markets. Speculators will be the first to try to cash in on the situation. Consumers and businesses will have to prepare themselves for a rise - as well as huge fluctuations - in oil and fuel prices in the coming months. But neither politicians nor businesses will be well enough prepared if prices rise faster than expected." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Europa, » Irán
Todos los textos disponible de » Silvia Liebrich

Romania's new Prime Minister Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu announced a war on tax evasion on Friday, hoping that this will increase the country's GDP by an estimated 1.5 pecent in two months. The news portal Ziare doubts Ungureanu can pull it off: "The major losses in tax revenues don't come from products like alcohol or vegetables. That's peanuts. The real tax evasion is done by car and ship. Every government for the past 20 years has known that. ... The problem is that organised tax fraudsters have very close ties to the world of politics. They are major party funders, they bribe people in key places and in this way secure across the board protection. So the real task facing Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu isn't to find out who the big tax evaders are, but to get political backing to hit them where it hurts. And that in an election year, when the parties are more in need of funding than ever." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Delincuencia, » Economía, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Ioana Ene

Before the Bulgarian bank crisis of 1996 and 1997, when one third of all Bulgarian banks went bankrupt, a few people took out loans in the millions which they presumably never paid back. To look into the widespread suspicion that the so-called credit millionaires are former communist secret service agents, the daily Trud demands that the secret service files be opened. The step would involve a legal amendment as it would mean publicly identifying suspects as secret service collaborators: "A tiny legal amendment of two or three words would finally reveal the truth about these people's inexplicable wealth and the role of the secret service in privatising the banking sector. ... If [the ruling party] Gerb really wants to do all it can to investigate the secret service old-boy network, as it says, then we expect it to amend the law to bring all hidden information from the archives to light. Even if it's too late for any legal action to be taken, at least do it for the history books." (20/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Historia, » Bancos, » Delincuencia, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Diana Petrova

Presenting her latest collection at the London Fashion Week, the British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood has called modern fashion ugly and conformist. But she's wrong, writes fashion expert Justine Picardie in the conservative daily The Times: "This is a time when British clothing design deserves to be celebrated for its talent and diversity. How much better it is than when I was a teenager in the late 1970s (the era of Westwood's rise to fame, with her expensive punk bondage pieces that I coveted but could not afford), a period of limited options, unless you liked sludge-coloured polyester flares from the behemoth that was C&A. Consider the range we enjoy now. The British tradition of eccentricity is gloriously alive." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Cultura cotidiana, » Sociedad, » Gran Bretaña
Todos los textos disponible de » Justine Picardie

According to an Austrian study, the number of Lower Austrians who are content with the open border to the Czech Republic has risen from 46 percent in 2000 to 65 percent today. But old prejudices still prevent many Austrians from visiting their neighbour, the conservative daily Lidové noviny writes: "A growing number of Czechs travel to the Alps, where they are becoming important customers. But that's not the way it works the other way round. Of all the foreign visitors to the Czech Republic the Austrians take only 11th place. Some historians point to prejudices left over from the days of the monarchy, while others say the Austrians simply prefer to travel to the Mediterranean. But that would also have to apply to the Germans, the foreigners who visit us the most. No, the scarcity of Austrian tourists really does have to do with prejudices that are very difficult to dislodge. Only when the Austrians start to flood into Prague and other cities the way the Germans do can we talk of an improvement in our relations." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Historia, » Vecindad de la UE, » La República Checa, » Austria
Todos los textos disponible de » Marek Kerles

The Dutch prince Johan Friso continues in a critical condition after his skiing accident on Friday. Meanwhile the blanket news coverage of the accident is increasingly coming under attack. The avalanche in the Austrian resort of Lech has set off an avalanche of non-news, jests the chief editor of the liberal daily nrc.next, Rob Wijnberg: "Category 4 avalanches like this one start mostly with a lack of caution: the journalist thinks he'll have enough information to write a report within a minute. Then when the avalanche starts the existential fears well up: the journalist becomes mortally afraid of missing something the competition might use. After a short time a lack of oxygen makes itself felt, the journalist begins to fantasise and starts making things up. Finally he calls out for help, which passes for analysis. ... And audiences? ... If they remain for too long under the news avalanche the chances are good they'll fall into a coma." (21/02/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación, » Sociedad, » Holanda