By staging riots during Sunday's parliamentary elections, Macedonia's Albanian minority has brought affliction upon the entire country, Wolfgang Greber writes. "The OSCE has determined that the violence took place exclusively in Albanian-dominated regions." For Greber, the violence at the polls "can only harm ... the fragile country, which already has its hands full with a weak economy, a precarious ethnic mix and hostile neighbours. Once more, Skopje's prospects for EU accession are on ice. ... One thing is clear: the Albanians have have ransacked the country's democratic china shop. 2.1 million people live in Macedonia. With its feuds, the conflict-ridden Albanian minority (around 25 percent) follows the Balkan tradition of conflict to a T, showing just how far the country is from being ready to join Europe." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Política interior, » Europa, » Sudeste de Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Wolfgang Greber

Following irregularities during Macedonia's parliamentary elections the EU has closed its doors to the country, the Greek daily Ta Nea comments. "Even the country's citizens did not need to wait for the OSCE report to recognise the extent of the election irregularities. The moral offender was Nikola Gruevski and the victims were not only the Albanians, but also the Slavic Macedonians. ... The EU's door has closed, the country is experiencing its [dreams of EU accession], divided into two ethnic groups and with a man at its helm who wants to oppress them all. At some point in the future Skopje will find its way back to democracy, because despite the Balkans' difficult legacy, that is the direction in which history flows. And then Greece and other European nations will take the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia by the hand. But until then the discussion about its name will seem like something from another planet." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Ampliación de la UE, » Política interior, » Europa, » Sudeste de Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Irini Karanasopoulou

The newspaper comments on the parliamentary elections in Macedonia which saw Nikola Gruevski's Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity become the country's strongest political force. "Shortly before the NATO summit in April when it became clear to the Macedonian prime minister that Greece ... would not give in and would block the country's NATO accession, he called early elections. ... The time for the elections was no doubt right, allowing Gruevski to cast himself as defender of national interests and of the Macedonian identity. ... This allowed him to divert the public eye from the country's economic problems. Because his government has little to show ... apart from the fight against corruption. Food prices have risen in recent months, and inflation is devouring the benefits of economic growth." (02/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Ampliación de la UE, » Política interior, » Sudeste de Europa

Following parliamentary elections in Macedonia that were overshadowed by violent incidents and irregularities, the German daily writes: "In Macedonia the phrase election battle is taken literally. ... The state is too weak to do anything about this political backwardness. ... Nonetheless, Macedonia's stability is important for the entire Balkan region. The country is surrounded by hostile neighbours. Countless conflicts remain unresolved. ... The trench warfare among the Albanians and the dispute with Greece are paralysing Macedonia. In a situation like this, EU diplomacy is more vital than ever to ensure that the process of the entire region's integration into the West continues. In view of the EU's present difficulties with its mission of supervising Kosovo's independence we cannot expect any miracles from Brussels. At best the EU can contribute to establishing a superficial calm." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Política interior, » Sudeste de Europa, » Kosovo
Todos los textos disponible de » Enver Robelli

Politiken's leading article comments on yesterday's bomb attack on the Danish embassy in Pakistan in which six people died and 35 were injured. "We were in Iraq, we are waging war in Afghanistan, the Muhammad cartoons were a product of our debates about foreigners, and most recently the headscarf discussion has been headline news. Naturally we should be prepared to die for all this if it is right and necessary, both at home and in the rest of the world. But we could also ... reflect on what kind of a society it is that was attacked by lunatics yesterday, and also on whether further security measures [at embassies] are really the only answer." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de seguridad / Crisis / Guerras, » Dinamarca, » Oriente Próximo y Medio

Commenting on the World Food Summit in Rome, the Spanish daily La Razón writes: "The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) considers it necessary that rich countries provide ten times more aid for developing agriculture than at present, to bring the total up to 30 billion euros per year. However it seems highly unlikely that this target will be reached given that industrial nations prefer to concentrate on combating rising oil and rice prices with isolated protectionist measures instead of dealing with them as a global phenomenon. It is very telling that the annual aid rich countries give poor countries to develop their agriculture amounts to only four billion - a pittance compared to the 125 billion they invest in subsidies for their own agriculture. ... It seems the lavishly endowed northern hemisphere only remembers the freedom of the market when that freedom helps boost its own profits." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de la UE, » Economía agrícola, » Economía política, » Europa, » Global

The political future of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown could be under serious threat if he does not take action soon, the French daily Le Figaro writes: "The crisis is so tangible, the disappointment so deep ..., that even his party colleagues and certain observers have their doubts about whether the prime minister, who took the helm just one year ago, will be able to hold onto power until the end of the year. How did this happen? First of all there is the global financial crisis and its impact on the UK. ... On top of this Brown has committed a series of political gaffes that have damaged his reputation: the near bankruptcy of the British bank Northern Rock, the announcement and then calling off of early elections and the loss of confidential data about millions of British citizens. ... Gordon Brown must reassert his political authority ..., restore his credibility in economic affairs ... and prove that in these difficult times for the global economy he still has ideas and a vision for the United Kingdom." (02/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Francia, » Gran Bretaña
Todos los textos disponible de » Isabelle Lasserre

The daily comments on the Swiss nation's rejection of a proposal for tougher naturalisation rules put forward by the far-right Swiss People's Party (SVP). It ponders whether Europe's right-wing parties can learn something from the Swiss experience. "The SVP believes all powers conspired against it, so resounding was its defeat in Sunday's referendum on a stricter naturalisation procedure. In truth the country's biggest party simply received a friendly warning from sensible voters not to break the rules of good conduct which also apply to Europe's right-wing parties. In the last parliamentary elections ... voters gave the party the most votes, but they still reject extreme nationalism." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política interior, » Migración, » Eslovenia, » Suiza, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Barbara Kramzar

Willem Buiter argues that the British should adopt the euro: "The case for the UK shedding sterling and adopting the euro has never been clearer." On the one hand, Buiter writes, this would buffer the economy against "asymmetric shocks", and on the other London would retain its place as the world's financial capital. "It is possible to run a large financial sector with a local currency such as sterling or the Icelandic krona, but it involves taking an unnecessary and costly risk. Sooner or later that risk will be reflected in the cost of capital and render the country uncompetitive. ... Finally, there are political arguments for joining the euro area. ... The UK punches below its weight because it is not a full member of the EU: if you are not in the euro group, you do not count." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Comercio, » Mercado de finanzas, » Gran Bretaña, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Willem Buiter

The former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer asks whether Europe will suffer "a fate similar to that of the Republic of Venice": "A worldwide tourist magnet with a long and dignified past, but with no future? ... Year for year, the centre of global development is increasingly shifting from the West to the East. The fast pace of development of the rising powers in East and Southeast Asia will dominate the future distribution of wealth and power. ... With the discovery of America, the political and economic locus of power shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, marking the beginning of Venice's decline. ... To prevent the downfall of the West as a whole, Europeans must ... respond to the crisis in the US, the leading Western power, with a new impetus from Europe. ... But the fate of Europe will really be decided this month in Ireland, with the referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. If the no vote wins - a distinct possibility - the Reform Treaty will suffer the same fate as the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. ... In that case it will mean saying goodbye to a strong Union for a long time to come. If, on the other hand, the majority of Irish vote in favour of the Reform Treaty, Europe will be able to start building its future at once, becoming the subject, not the object, of the emerging new world order." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Política de la UE, » Constitución de la UE, » Irlanda, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Joschka Fischer

By 2020, the European Commission wants to sink greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent compared with 1990. Krzysztof Bień, assistant editor in chief of the business paper Gazeta Prawna, criticizes the plans. The Commission wants industry to stop polluting, he writes. "Energy should be obtained from biologically renewable sources, and people should stop destroying nature. But such an ideal world is much closer at hand for those who are already rich. In poor countries like Poland, trying to become perfect overnight can lead to bankruptcy. In its attempts to replace oil with biofuels, the European Commission contributed to making food prices unstable. ... The air in Europe may well become clean, but jobs will disappear as well." (02/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medio ambiente, » Energía, » Polonia, » Europa, » Centroeuropa
Todos los textos disponible de » Krzysztof Bień

The Latvian daily warns that in defining the country's economic future, Latvia's government should not be guided by other European states: "The worst option is to allow the fear of opinion surveys to lead you to protect state-owned companies from the free market. Many governments have fallen into this trap. An excellent example is Italy with its national airline Alitalia, which has been on the verge of insolvency several times only to be saved by government loans. This has done nothing but prolong the lack of efficiency and sooner or later tax payers get wind of this. A further sad example is the clout of trade unions in Scandinavia, Germany and France, which leads to stagnation because it discourages foreign investment. And in the end the competitiveness of Europe as a whole suffers." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Economía política, » Alemania, » Francia, » Italia, » Letonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Nils Melngailis

Dutch politician and journalist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who has received several death threats for her harsh criticism of Islam, has published a children's book about integration and Islam. The Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad was not impressed, describing the book as "badly written rubbish". "This piece of fiction is not just a good-night story but a fully-fledged naturalisation course for 12-year-olds conveying the deeper message that prejudices are dangerous on all sides. In her attempt to prove this Hirsi Ali really overdoes it with the prejudices. ... The special value of having two 12-year-olds as the main characters is clear: it could have resolved ... the hopeless Islam controversy by providing that unprejudiced perspective that is so particular to children. But instead Ayaan decided to bring her small readers to believe all the prejudices of adults." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Literatura, » Religión, » Integración, » Ideología, » Holanda

The Financial Times comments on the death of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his influence in the world of fashion and beyond: "Without him, the world is a drabber place.Yet his influence is far broader, not least on the manufacture of celebrity itself. Saint Laurent posed naked for his own cologne advertisements in 1971. ... In using his name, his life and even his body to sell clothes, he was at the vanguard of the age of celebrity brands. ... Not that Saint Laurent designed clothes meant for the working woman; rather, his clothes were meant for every woman who had the stride, and the style, to wear them. ... In this sense Yves Saint Laurent paved the way for Zara and H&M, global chains offering striking clothes at near disposable prices. ... For a man who famously admired blue jeans for their expressivity, simplicity, modesty and sex appeal, it is not an inappropriate legacy." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Cultura cotidiana, » Francia, » Global

France's television landscape faces profound changes. President Sarkozy intends to do away with advertising on public television without raising television licence fees. The business newspaper Les Echos argues for radical steps in place of "minor reforms": "France can achieve high-quality public programmes while at the same time allowing private channels to flourish. ... But the public broadcasters must not be robbed of their advertising revenues without being able to absorb the losses through a hike in licence fees. Otherwise the stations will be unable to achieve the desired quality. ... The same bitter facts also apply to the private channels. If you want strong enterprises, market mechanisms must be given free reign. One must not attempt to manage the private economy." (02/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medios de comunicación audiovisuales, » Política de los medios de comunicación, » Francia
Todos los textos disponible de » David Barroux

In a surprise move, Croatia has banned tourists from bringing food into the country at the beginning of the tourist season. For Czechs in particular this is a hard blow, given that Croatia is their favourite holiday destination and they like to bring food supplies from their own country for the journey to their private accommodation there. The left-wing liberal newspaper talks of a "whipping for low-budget tourists like us. Yet it is thanks to us that the Croats' living standards improve from year to year. ... The richer tourists prefer the luxury hotels that, however, do not belong to Croats but to foreign investors. ... What is the point of it all? It only creates tension and insecurity and allows customs officers and policemen to let off steam on Czechs who have salami or a lump of cheese in their car." (03/06/2008)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Turismo, » La República Checa, » Croacia
Todos los textos disponible de » Bohuslav Borovička