At the upcoming Euro 2012, both the Dutch and the German national teams will play in Ukraine during the group stage. In view of the treatment of former prime minister Tymoshenko, politicians from the two countries should seriously consider boycotting the games, the right-wing tabloid De Telegraaf writes: "The German government has already announced it would investigate the possibility of a political boycott. That means: the football players would go but politicians could not attend the games in Ukraine. For the Ukranians such a boycott would be an outright disgrace. The Netherlands will also have to address the question of whether a boycott is necessary. On the one hand sports and politics should not simply be lumped together. But on the other it would be hard to stomach seeing Dutch politicians sitting happily in the stands as guests of a country that treads human rights underfoot." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Crisis / Guerras, » Deportes, » Ucrania

In view of ex-prime minister Tymoshenko's situation it's important for the EU politicians to boycott the Euro 2012, writes the liberal daily Eesti Päevaleht: "Even if it's sheerly impossible to boycott every state where human rights are abused, one shouldn't dispense with this instrument entirely. Where a dictatorship has been established for a long time the success of a boycott is questionable. But Ukraine is at a historical crossroads. Either it will soon become a dictatorship or democracy will win out in the autumn elections. Europe must push for the second option with every means at hand. For the politicians in the EU this means boycotting the European Championship. President Yanukovych must not be given a stage for self-promotion. However the spectators should travel to Ukraine to meet the people and get to know the country better. The millions of fans who have been looking forwards to the Euro 2012 for years now deserve this." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Derechos humanos, » Justicia, » Ucrania
Todos los textos disponible de » Robert Kalimullin

A boycott of the Euro 2012 football championship would drive Ukraine straight into Moscow's arms, the liberal-conservative daily Corriere della Sera warns: "Europe's geopolitical strategy is at stake, and this raises the question of where Vladimir Putin stands. ... Behind Tymoshenko, but he's also siding with Viktor Yanukovych. The Kremlin's double dealing is aimed at wearing Ukraine down. The goal is for its relations with the West to deteriorate to such a point that Kiev is prepared to become at least a privileged partner of Moscow once more. Moscow has already secured the allegiance of Belarus and Kazakhstan with this strategy. … Europe does well to remember its values in the Tymoshenko case. But it must strike the right balance between defending its values and the danger of playing right into Putin's hands." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Relaciones internacionales, » Deportes, » Ucrania, » Rusia, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Federico Fubini

The departing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has also sharply criticised the Ukrainian leader's treatment of Yulia Tymoshenko. That puts the Ukrainian government under additional pressure even if Medvedev's motivations are unclear, writes the conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Two years ago the Kremlin had already denounced human rights violations in a country he counts as part of his sphere of influence: Belarus. But no sooner had dictator Lukashenko agreed to the customs union with Russia and Kazakhstan than these issues were once again forgotten. What would Medvedev or Putin be saying about Ukraine if Kiev complied with the Kremlin's demands in the conflict over gas prices and pipelines? Perhaps Ms. Tymoshenko's being condemned to seven years in prison last October because a gas contract with Russia was interpreted as abuse of office has something to do with it. Yet even if one suspects that Medvedev is simply showing Yanukovych the torture instruments, in doing so he ups the pressure on the regime in Kiev - and that's a good thing." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Derechos humanos, » Ucrania, » Rusia
Todos los textos disponible de » Reinhard Veser

German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked in an interview on Saturday of a "European growth agenda", which is being widely interpreted as cautious approval of the growth pact under discussion in the EU. Finally things are moving in the right direction in the fight to overcome the crisis, the left-liberal daily El País comments enthusiastically: "The need to pave the way for recovery was already stressed by the president of the ECB, Mario Draghi, last week. But more significant is the fact that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a passionate advocate of the austerity policy as the only way of achieving stability, has now also voiced support for the idea of a European growth agenda. Merkel's momentous about-turn on this doesn't come from nowhere. It is a response to several powerful factors, beginning with the increasing likelihood that François Hollande will win the French elections and withdraw French support for never-ending European austerity. ... The attempt to stabilise the Eurozone by extending Prussian discipline to all Europe seems like a prolonged nightmare." (30/04/2012)

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

The left-liberal opposition alliance USL toppled the Romanian centre-right government with a vote of no confidence on Friday. It's now the task of the leader of the social democratic PSD, Victor Ponta, to form a new government. But the left-liberal alliance may soon regret its move, warns the daily newspaper Gândul: "Not quite in power yet, the Ponta cabinet is already promising to eliminate the social injustices of its predecessor. ... For example the minimum wage is to go up by 26 percent to 850 lei [around 212 euros], and the VAT on staple foods is to be reduced. … But the euphoria may dissipate in the next few days and the government may have to be more careful with its promises. Because the new government will be made to pay for even the smallest mistakes. Six months [until the elections in November] is a short time for a government to prove itself, but for the voters long enough to see whether it really is better. By autumn, Ponta and Antonescu [who have led the opposition until now] may regret they didn't have more time." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Rumania
Todos los textos disponible de » Rodica Ciobanu

The Czech government narrowly managed to win a vote of confidence in the parliament on Friday and can now get back to work, albeit in a slightly altered constellation. A corruption scandal had left it on the brink of collapse. But the danger of breakdown hasn't been banished entirely, the liberal weekly Respekt warns: "The government managed to obtain a vote of confidence in parliament, but it can't rest on its laurels. Too many MPs voted for the government only because they wanted to avoid new elections. And too many MPs from the government camp made it clear that they had given the cabinet a vote of confidence but when it comes to key votes above all on economic policy, they will vote against the government. What remains is an unstable and above all weak government. ... It relies on people who take too long pondering their decisions. This feeds the fear that someone could come along any time and make these MPs offers aimed at toppling the government." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » La República Checa
Todos los textos disponible de » Erik Tabery

In the French presidential elections too much emphasis is being placed on "the woes of France", the liberal business daily Les Echos complains, as such campaigns fail to focus adequately on the future of the country: "The candidates' efforts to outdo each other in terms of sheer compassion is of course explained by their effort to attract the voters of the National Front. It also has to do with the fact that both are leading 'reactive' campaigns, full of references to the recent past: François Hollande is trying to talk down the achievements of the Sarkozy years; Sarkozy wants to blame the country's difficulties on a crisis that largely exceeds the national context. But such short-term campaign tactics hardly combine with a real interest in the future and the welfare of the people. Encouraging the tendency of the French to bemoan their present woes is not the best way to prepare them for the challenges ahead." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Francia
Todos los textos disponible de » Favilla

At the national conference of the German Pirate Party which took place on the weekend in Neumünster, the party failed to present a proper programme or clear organisational structures, writes the liberal-conservative Neue Zürcher Zeitung, seeing this as an ominous sign: "From this perspective you could say it's scandalous that almost ten percent of the German electorate sees this chaotic bunch as the country's future. But that would overlook the fact that the established parties, too, have played a none too negligible role in the rise of the neo-Pirates. You don't have to look too far to find evidence of this. For instance the unbelievable circus about a government childcare benefit that has kept the German public on tenterhooks for weeks now highlights once again the lack of inspiration and seriousness in government policy. This kind of behaviour doesn't exactly set a good example for our times either." (29/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Elecciones, » Sociedad, » Alemania
Todos los textos disponible de » Jürg Dedial

Eight years after the Czech Republic's accession to the EU on May 1, 2004, the euphoria over this momentous step has completely disappeared, Jindřich Šídlo, chief commentator of the Czech Hospodárske noviny, laments in the Slovakian business paper of the same name: "Like 77 percent of my fellow citizens, I had no doubts about voting in favour of the Czech Republic joining the EU in the referendum. And even today I am still convinced that this was the right decision. However not so many people share this opinion nowadays - support for our EU membership has sunk to below 50 percent. ... We're happy enough to take the EU subsidies but we avoid the risks of membership. We reject the fiscal compact because we absurdly believe that we are the natural allies of the British - as if Slavia Prag could be compared with Arsenal London. Even in the mainstream media that enthusiastically back our EU accession Brussels comes across as something alien with which we have nothing in common. We have become something like the stowaway within the EU. And this is a fatal development." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Política interior, » La República Checa, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Jindřich Šídlo

Rating agency Standard & Poor's lowered the credit status of Spain by two notches on Thursday and placed it on a negative outlook. In a commentary for the daily Gazeta Wyborcza, economist Rafał Benecki of the Polish bank ING BSK sees difficult times ahead for Spain: "The Spanish government now has a problem because it is trying to implement an austerity programme that has negative consequences for growth. The austerity measures it has carried out are having a double impact on the country: on the one hand they improve the budget situation but on the other they slow down growth [because there are fewer investments]. This in turn has a negative impact on the deficit because tax revenues dwindle. … By the end of the year the country's deficit may reach 80 percent of the GDP. Spain's situation may not be as bad as that in Italy or Greece, but it is getting worse - and further downgrades can't be ruled out." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política interior, » Mercado de finanzas, » España
Todos los textos disponible de » Rafał Benecki
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

While the Spanish government is restructuring its budget with cuts, voices are growing louder in Europe calling for more to be done to stimulate growth. The liberal business paper Financial Times agrees completely: "It is encouraging that this week some politicians and the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, put more emphasis on how to revive the economy. But while calls for growth are gathering momentum, there is still little agreement on the exact prescriptions that will get the continent back in shape. The illusion is still strong that Europe can be revived without addressing problems such as the longstanding current-account imbalances. Without broader European support - read Germany - the reformist drive of Mr Rajoy and his colleagues in the periphery are bound to fail. Citizens may have been favourable to their initial message of austerity for a higher cause, but they will not tolerate being led into a dead-end." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Economía, » España
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

Portugal's international creditors once more gave the measures carried out so far to improve the country's ailing public finances the thumbs-up in a report published in early April. But this praise for the government's austerity programme should not divert attention from the country's huge problems, the left-liberal weekly Expresso points out: "It's not enough to set a common goal of rebalancing public finances. We need to know at what pace, and above all at what cost. … The execution of the 2011 and 2012 budget plan shows that the country definitely won't be able to finance itself in 2013. … Our finance minister has assured us that Portugal is on the right path. Yes, it's true: 1,500 more unemployed each day and dozens of bankruptcies, plunging tax revenues, the blind scrapping of valuable projects and the return to a Portugal of emigration. The only one who believes Portugal is on the right path is the government." (30/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política financiera, » Mercado de finanzas, » Portugal
Todos los textos disponible de » Miguel Sousa Tavares

Bulgaria has put off implementing the EU regulations on waste disposal for years, leading the EU Commission to file an action on Thursday that could lead to high fines. But it's the citizens and not the politicians who stand to pay, writes the daily Trud, because they were dumb enough to trust those in power with leading the country: "This could all have a positive educational effect in the future if it moves these numbskulls to think a bit more at the ballot booths and vote for politicians who keep rubbish under control, instead of rubbish that controls people. ... However it's hard to foster a sense of democracy and civil society in a land of villagers who don't brush their teeth regularly and throw their rubbish from the balcony. Why hasn't the market economy long since eradicated communism in China? One reason is no doubt that 500 million Chinese have never brushed their teeth at all, as a study recently revealed. But unlike the Chinese, we few Bulgarians at least have the freedom to vote." (28/04/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Sociedad, » Bulgaria
Todos los textos disponible de » Vesselin Jelev