Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti and his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy have managed to secure easier access to the ESFS and ESM bailout funds for states that need to lower the interest rates on their government bonds. But this summit, too, has fallen short of a true breakthrough, the business paper Handelsblatt laments: "To sum up last night: the default risk for Europe's taxpayers in saving the euro has once again increased. To what extent we don't know, because the decisions made last night haven't been laid out in detail yet. … This latest marathon of negotiations also shows that the euro rescuers still don't have a grip on the crisis three years after it began. Once again the interests of the two camps - on the one hand the financially strong countries led by Angela Merkel; on the other the struggling states led by Mario Monti - clashed resoundingly. The Chancellor and EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy obviously weren't prepared for the southern Europeans' rebellion." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Italia, » España, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Ruth Berschens
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento, » The row over debt mutualisation

The EU is trailing from one summit to the next without really tackling the rescue of the euro, the left-liberald daily La Repubblica writes: "If no one knows the answer they skip the question and move on to the next - after all, there's plenty of them. European summits are governed by this principle above all when the summit in question is regarded as crucial. Yet again, the protagonists of the umpteenth Brussels therapy have no answer to the central question of how to save the euro. Not because saving the euro is impossible. On the contrary, it would suffice to complement the currency with a political union - right now, not later. But no European leader dares to try and sell a Euro state to his or her voters. Neither today nor tomorrow. ... So each euro summit ends up simply bringing things down to the lowest common denominator. The top priority now is to save the mechanism that justifies their existence. In other words: the goal of each summit is simply to have an excuse to hold another one." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Economía política, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Lucio Caracciolo
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento, » The row over debt mutualisation

The heads of state and government at the EU summit have agreed on a 120 billion euro growth package. But the politicians' major hurdles are yet to come, the left-liberal daily Delo warns: "In these uncertain times the perspective can change within a few months. Despite the crisis summits that have been held on a regular basis ever since the debt crisis began two and a half years ago, there is still no sign of a convincing solution to the crisis. The danger that the Monetary Union will collapse is greater than ever. Expectations of this changing were already low before the summit. ... The first day of the summit was marked by disagreement about how to fight the crisis. The blessing now given for the growth and employment pact to help the Mediterranean countries was more or less a routine step. But the true challenge, namely the introduction of measures to prevent the debt crisis from spreading further, still lies ahead." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Economía política, » Mercado de finanzas, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Peter Žerjavič
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

Germany won't change its stance even if the euro collapses, the left-liberal online paper To Vima laments, commenting on the EU summit in Brussels: "We must finally realise that what many countries in Europe, as well as the international economy, perceive as a highly dangerous crisis, Berlin sees as a chance to increase its political, economic and institutional clout. We must finally stop underestimating the German leadership by claiming that it doesn't really know what it's doing. It knows perfectly well what it's doing, but we don't want to admit it. ... The Germans are incapable of governing their own strength. They have always been blinded by it. And now they are blinded by the 'dream' of a Europe under Germany's leadership. ... They won't give up this dream, even in the last moments of the downfall. … We will all pay for this intoxication with their own power. Europe will pay, and in the end the Germans will pay, too." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Alemania, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Giorgos Malouchos
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento, » The row over debt mutualisation

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and the former IRA commander Martin McGuinness have shaken hands in a symbolic gesture of reconciliation at a meeting in Belfast on Wednesday. It's high time the three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland were relegated to the past, writes the liberal daily Irish Examiner: "It was a conflict that people could hardly discuss because emotion ruled reason for too long. The older generation went through school without studying the Civil War period, as the residual bitterness was so great that rational debate seemed impossible. No one side had a monopoly of right or justice. There were mistakes on all sides, but, because of the passions involved, it became easier to ignore the conflict. As a result we did not learn from many of the mistakes, but repeated them again and again in the ensuing decades. People in the Republic have had 90 years to recover from the turmoil of those troubled times, which should help them to understand the magnitude of yesterday's meeting in Northern Ireland." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Cultura conmemorativa, » Disturbios, » Sociedad, » Gran Bretaña, » Irlanda

The Swiss Federal Council decided by a majority on Wednesday in favour of the construction of a second tunnel in the Gotthard Road Tunnel - although the Neat railway tunnel is planned to open in 2016, which is aimed at shifting traffic from road to rail. Investing in expanding the Gotthard Road Tunnel is the wrong way to go, Daniel Foppa complains on the Politblog of the liberal daily Tages-Anzeiger: "Shifting what could be a high amount of traffic to the Neat Tunnel should be the guiding principle for trans-Alp traffic in the decades to come, not the renovation of the Gotthard Road Tunnel. ... The Federal Council sees things differently. It is putting its hopes in a second tunnel that will attract additional traffic. True, the government wants to legislate that only one lane may be open in each direction at any given time. The message is clear, but one has a hard time believing it. Anyone who puts billions into a tunnel will want to reap the benefits. If traffic backs up for kilometres in front of the closed lane, the domestic and foreign pressure to open it will be immense. ... Anyone who really wants to do something for safety will renovate road segments where accidents freqently occur rather than spending billions on a tunnel just to leave it half-open." (28/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Infraestructuras / Tráfico, » Comercio, » Turismo, » Suiza
Todos los textos disponible de » Daniel Foppa

Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta will represent his country at the EU summit in Brussels, defying Wednesday's ruling by the Romanian Constitutional Court that President Traian Băsescu is the authorised representative. The daily Gândul writes that Romania's reputation in Europe has suffered greatly as a result of this dispute: "Europe doesn't really care much one way or the other whether it's Băsescu or Ponta who comes. What is important for the Union is how Romania positions itself. What we have really shown with this conflict is how weak we are as a country. ... No one stands to gain anything from the prime minister's trip to Brussels. On the contrary, we've suffered enormous losses. What we haven't done, primarily, is to show that we are a reliable partner for the future - one with whom communication channels are open and that isn't about to split up into adversarial camps. Such a mentality existed in the Middle Ages - and neither Traian Băsescu nor Victor Ponta have got over it. ... But that's just the start of our woes. ... Now the two are going to go on banging their heads together." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política interior, » Justicia, » Europa, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Cristian Andrei

In an interview at the start of the week Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble discussed the possibility of a referendum on an amendment to the constitution that would pave the way for the transfer of nation state powers to the EU. But relying on the wisdom of the people is a risky business in these times of crisis, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung contends: "In what today we regard as the golden, pre-crisis times, the politicians of the nation states always had an easy victim at hand: Brussels. The cheap accusations against eurocratic regulating fever were always sure to garner applause at home. ... This certainly doesn't make it any easier to advertise for more Europe now that almost everything is going wrong. Even in the event that Europe manages to put the crisis behind it, the story that has now been created will have a lasting impact. It tells of thrifty and hard-working Germans who have to pay the bills for the lazy southern Europeans. It makes Europe look like a house in which many make themselves comfortable while the Germans pay the rent. This has prepared fertile ground for a campaign of the eurosceptics, who ahead of a referendum will organise themselves as never before." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Constitución de la UE, » Política interior, » Alemania, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Daniel Brössler

The Supreme Court of the United States has declared President Barack Obama's healthcare reform to be in conformity with the constitution. 26 states had challenged the legality of the reform, claiming that Congress had overstepped its powers in passing it. The judgement boosts Obama's chances in the November election, the liberal daily La Vanguardia notes: "The healthcare reform, which directly affects 46 million US citizens who have no health insurance whatsoever, is an important step towards universal coverage because it will lower the cost of the insurance policies. Barack Obama promised this reform in his campaign and during the first half of his term of office put a lot of effort into this project, with which Hillary Clinton failed during her husband's second term of office. If the nine judges of the Supreme Court had rejected the reforms the president's bid to be re-elected would have suffered a major setback. His triumph in this battle won't secure him a victory in the fight for the presidency but it reinforces his political credibility. Now the ball is in the Republicans' court, who have already announced that if they win they will move to reverse the reform." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Salud, » Elecciones, » EE.UU.

If the member states are not willing to transfer sovereignty rights to Brussels the EU won't be able to survive in the long term, journalist Mátyás Eörsi predicts in the left-liberal weekly Magyar Narancs: "Many people today believe that in view of the profound crisis in several member states it is impossible to set major reforms in motion. They are wrong: the history of the EU is a history of crises - remember that World War II led to the creation of the predecessor organisation, the European Coal and Steel Community. ... Ever since its founding the EU has been marked by a contradiction: on the one hand it wants to be a super-state and maintain its role as an economic and political heavyweight, on the other its member states want a Europe of nations and are not willing to relinquish their competences to Brussels. This has led to the impossible situation that Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker once so aptly summarised: 'We all know what needs to be done but we don't know how we're supposed to win the next elections if we do it.' ... If the member states insist on their keeping their powers to themselves the EU will not be able to fulfil its tasks, which in turn will lead to its erosion." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Mátyás Eörsi
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento, » La velocidad de Europa

The Lithuanian parliament gave the green light on June 21 for the construction of a nuclear power plant in which Latvia and Estonia as well as the Japanese firm Hitachi will join Lithuania as strategic investors. The president of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute Žilvinas Šilėnas warns of hidden costs in a commentary in the weekly paper Veidas: "What we have is an equation with two unknown quantities: the cost of the electricity that the future power plant will produce, and the future price of electricity on the market. So even if circumstances seem favourable for new nuclear power plants today, that doesn't necessarily mean the situation will be the same in ten or twenty years. ... One danger for end users is that they may be obliged to pay at one point for investments that weren't worth being made in the first place. For that reason the decisive question is: who will have to pay if the risks outweigh the required investments?" (28/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Energía, » Lituania, » Países Bálticos
Todos los textos disponible de » Žilvinas Šilėnas

Whereas many EU countries are up to their necks in debt Bulgaria has a firm grip on its finances, with public debt at roughly 16 percent of GDP. But most foreign investors are completely unaware of this, the daily 24 Chasa laments, arguing that the country badly needs to work on its image: "As one of the few EU countries with stable finances and which firmly observes EU regulations, Bulgaria should engage in an aggressive advertising campaign to benefit from the euro crisis. To prevent the Greeks, who are now looking for safe and stable countries where they can relocate their billions, from overlooking Bulgaria altogether. ... What good does our financial stability do us if no one ever hears about it? The foreign investments that considerably raised our GDP in the years before the crisis have run dry, and that is due to our country's poor image. ... Only if Bulgaria improves its image can it lead its people to prosperity." (27/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política financiera, » Empresa, » Economía política, » Grecia, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Margarit Todorov
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

According to a current Eurostat survey, Finland is the third most expensive country in the EU, with prices lying at 25 percent above average. The liberal daily Savon Sanomat doesn't expect things to change any time soon: "Among other things, Finland's pricing mechanisms make it unattractive as a travel destination. Even the Finns prefer to go on holiday in cheaper countries, for example in Spain, Greece or Germany. We still have a long way to go if we want to rid ourselves of our reputation as an overly expensive country. That will take a completely new approach from every segment of society. For example if salaries are cut, prices should fall, too. ... Within the EU only Denmark and Sweden more expensive than Finland. Then when VAT rises from 23 to 24 percent at the start of next year, Finland will finally have the chance to outdo its favourite enemy Sweden and become the most expensive country." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Consumidor, » Turismo, » Impuestos, » Economía, » Finlandia, » Dinamarca, » Suecia, » Europa

A civil court in the Dutch city of Assen on Wednesday banned the paedophile organisation Martijn on the grounds that it glorified sex with children and therefore violated the principles of the country's legal system. This argumentation is oversimplified, the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant contends: "Many things have been said about Martijn. That the members consult each other on child abuse and give each other tips about how to cover their tracks. That they supply each other with child pornography and incite rape. All these claims were investigated by the judiciary, but it all came to nothing. What remains is an organisation of people who believe sex with children should be allowed. … The views of Martijn, according to the judges, violate 'the rules and values generally accepted in Dutch society'. This is true. But without proof of crimes it is not sufficient cause for a ban. There are solid grounds for an appeal. In general our constitution is breached far too often - which is why the higher judges must deal with these issues." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Justicia, » Sociedad, » Holanda
Todos los textos disponible de » Raoul du Pré

The Uefa European Football Championship in Poland and Ukraine will end on Sunday with Spain and Italy facing each other in the final game. The quality of the event's organisation was as high as in the West, writes the conservative daily Polska, taking stock of the tournament: "The Euro 2012 has turned out excellently. That much is clear already. ... And if the signs with the names of the cities hadn't adorned the stadiums, TV viewers could not have distinguished matches in Lemburg or Gdańsk from those at the Nou Camp in Barcelona or San Siro in Milan. Even the most seasoned fans who travel around Europe to the most important games no doubt had similar impressions: the infrastructure around the stadiums and the organisation of the fan zones in Poland and in Ukraine looked exactly like they do at big events in other countries. ... No fan noticed that the Euro 2012 took place in countries that are considerably poorer than states in the richer part of our continent." (29/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Deportes, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Agaton Koziński
Cobertura de debates » Kick-off in Eastern Europe