The inauguration of Euro 2012 in his home country, Poland, is a historical turning point for Rafal Stec of the liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza: "Mankind has been having fun at major sports events - the Olympic Games and the World and European Championships - for almost a century. But up to now Poland has never hosted any of them. And not just Poland: not a single post-socialist country has hosted a major football tournament to date. We and Ukraine are the first. Euro 2012 symbolises the success we have had in rebuilding our country after society collapsed under communism. For fans this is a dream come true. Every time we were involved in really big sports events we were far away from home and came in contact with that other, rich world. Now I can hardly believe that the Polish players are living in a hotel just a few hundred metres away from our editing department and that they will play against Greece in a stadium that is just across the Vistula." (08/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Deportes, » Polonia
Todos los textos disponible de » Rafał Stec

A number of leading European politicians including Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt will stay away from the football matches in Ukraine in protest at human rights violations and in particular the imprisonment of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The liberal daily Sydsvenskan praises this stance and hopes the pressure will not let up even after the European Championship: "It is right that these politicians will not take their place in the VIP box at the Kiev Olympic Stadium for the final on July 1 as long as Tymoshenko remains behind bars. But the pressure on Ukraine must continue intensifying. The EU has put an association agreement on ice, the Council of Europe has harshly criticised Ukraine's failure to implement announced reforms. Parliamentary elections will take place in the country at the end of October. If the defenders of democracy and the rule of law once again denounce electoral fraud and abuse of power, Ukraine stands a chance. And the EU should hold out a helping hand." (06/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ampliación de la UE, » Deportes, » Derechos humanos, » Ucrania, » Europa

Commenting on the ongoing criticism of Euro 2012 co-host Ukraine, the daily Večer points to how quickly the problems in the country that hosted the 2010 World Cup, South Africa, have been forgotten: "Since Uefa voted in 2007 to hold the first major tournament on former Eastern Bloc territory, Euro 2012 has become a European championship of two worlds. Angela Merkel will pay a visit to her footballers in Poland but is boycotting Ukraine, which has renounced democracy. Yet racism in Poland is not something that can be ignored. … At any rate Poland and Ukraine will be the focus of attention until the final on July 1. This is a major opportunity, also for potential demonstrators. But once the Euro 2012 is over they will be left to deal with their problems alone again. Who asks now, two years after the World Cup, what's happening with human rights and poverty in South Africa?" (08/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Deportes, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Borut, Jr. Planinšič

Shortly before Euro 2012 starts, the Dutch football team visited the former Auschwitz death camp on Wednesday. An important gesture, writes the liberal daily NRC Handelsblad: "The attention paid by the media to this visit will perhaps provoke feelings of unease in all those who have been in a concentration camp. Such a place requires very individual powers of imagination. When taught properly at school, historical knowledge can come to the aid of personal experience. Those who stand between the barracks begin to tentatively comprehend that the incomprehensible really is incomprehensible. In itself that seems to be no basis for a joint visit. ... Nevertheless such a trip is exactly what is called for. The Dutch players, too, now have a better understanding of the incomprehensible. Hopefully their fans will follow suit. Top athletes really can serve as role models here ." (08/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Deportes, » Cultura conmemorativa, » Holanda

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron called for stronger integration of the Eurozone at a bilateral meeting on Thursday in Berlin. It's all very well for London since it's only protecting its own interests, writes the liberal-conservative business paper Il Sole 24 Ore: "David Cameron is campaigning for Europe and the euro as he has never done before. The British prime minister spoke out in favour of euro bonds, a banking union and closer political cohesion yesterday. He charted out the path to save the euro, meaning the path others should take, but not London. … He urged Merkel to follow to the proposals of her euro partners above all because the fate of the British economy depends on the rescue of the currency. But while London urges others to take action it is sealing itself off for its own safety. The most recent example: while David Cameron was extolling the virtues of a banking union, his finance minister George Osborne was busy explaining that London would adopt special protective measures for British financial institutes should such a union come into being."  (08/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Bancos, » Alemania, » Gran Bretaña
Todos los textos disponible de » Leonardo Maisano
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

The EU's interior ministers agreed on a reform of the rules governing the Schengen zone at a meeting on Thursday in Luxembourg. Under the new regulations EU states will be able to reintroduce border controls for a maximum of two years under exceptional circumstances. The liberal daily Kurier says the decision is populist and reactionary: "We can already guess what the 'exceptional circumstances' will be: national elections. Because the fear of the unfamiliar is still the most powerful argument in boorish election campaigns. Yet the borderless Eurozone was one of the most valuable and visible achievements of the EU. What seems particularly bizarre about this boundary reform is the fact the EU states supposedly want further integration. … Germany's Chancellor Merkel talks of a two-speed Europe. … But looking at Schengen you can't shake the feeling that the two speeds in question are one going forwards and one going backwards." (08/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Vecindad de la UE, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Bernhard Gaul

More than 100 heads of state and government from across the world will meet in Rio de Janeiro from July 20-22 for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The left-liberal Süddeutsche Zeitung criticises German Chancellor Angela Merkel for not believing the event can be a success and cancelling her participation: "Also before the last climate summit in South Africa [in December 2011] got under way, Merkel wasn't optimistic that the negotiations would produce results. In the end, however, an unprecedented phalanx of Europeans, Africans and small island states even managed to persuade obstinate China to make concessions. Today the conference is considered a success. And things are similar with the Rio summit: for a long time the preparatory talks have failed to make much headway. Recently, however, we are at least seeing some movement. Even the formation of a UN Environmental Organisation - which Merkel has supported for years - seems no longer completely out of the question. ... Merkel represents the sole industrial country in the world that has undertaken to transform its vital energy sector. Hence she would also be the most believable spokesperson for making the economy compatible with the environment, provided it's done in a clever way." (08/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Medio ambiente, » Latinoamérica, » Global
Todos los textos disponible de » Michael Bauchmueller

During a political talk show on Thursday Ilias Kasidiaris, the leader of the neo-Nazi party Chrysi Avgi, attacked Liana Kanelli, a member of the Communist Party, slapping her twice and punching her. This was a blow to democracy itself, the left-liberal online paper To Vima comments, shocked, and warns of the threat of civil war: "Our democracy is our last chance. We must defend it with all means possible. Today it has received a resounding blow. … Every Greek must understand that when democracy is at stake, the country itself is in danger. … If we don't grasp this now then we will not only be on the way to exiting the euro and Europe but also heading towards the absolute catastrophe that we must finally call by its right name: civil war. We must not allow anyone to lead us there and we must not make ourselves complicit by remaining silent." (07/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Ideología, » Delincuencia, » Grecia
Todos los textos disponible de » Giorgos Malouchos

Esperanza Aguirre, the conservative president of the region of Madrid, proposed on Wednesday that the number of members in the Madrid regional parliament be halved to cut costs. The conservative and centralist daily La Razón applauds the idea: "The direct savings simply in terms of salaries are nothing to be sniffed at: three million euros in Madrid alone, and almost 33 million if the cuts were extended to all the autonomous regions. Factor in all the additional costs incurred by MPs and we can see that it adds up to a considerable sum in these difficult times. The proposal would of course require the support of the Socialists, and would entail a prolonged process including the reform of the regional constitutions. But beyond the red tape, Esperanza Aguirre has certainly addressed a taboo subject that no one can now ignore. The time has come to streamline the costly structure of autonomous regions that live beyond their means and to trim down the inflated parliamentary caste." (08/06/2012)

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

In view of the desolate situation in many countries of the EU, calls for a pan-European referendum on the future of the Union are growing louder. The last hope lies with the Europeans, the economist Jacques Attali writes in the liberal weekly L'Express: "If the coming months see the European Union continue to disintegrate, in keeping with the most pessimistic scenarios that we have been sketching here for years now, it will soon cease to exist altogether. ... The sequence of events is pre-determined: letting Greece go bankrupt, not rescuing the Spanish banks and not responding to the demands that will come from Italy and France. And there you go, 60 years of effort down the drain. What hope remains when the solution is technically so simple (as we've said repeatedly here: with the creation of a federal Eurozone) and yet so impossible politically? The hope that the people will wake up. And how? By means of a Franco-German accord putting the following question to the entire Eurozone in a referendum on the same day: 'Are you ready to relinquish part of your sovereignty to maintain your comfort and well-being?' At least one can dream this will happen.” (07/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Vecindad de la UE, » Europa
Todos los textos disponible de » Jacques Attali
Cobertura de debates » Salidas a la crisis de endeudamiento

Crisis-stricken Spain managed to raise 2.1 billion euros on the capital market on Thursday but had to pay more than six percent interest to attract investors. The fears over this problem child are prompting even stubborn German Chancellor Angela Merkel to relent, writes the business paper Diário Económico: "Spain must reach deep into its pockets and it won't be able to keep this up in the long term. Nonetheless Madrid has heaved a sigh of relief. If this auction had failed, it would have had no choice but to call Merkel and ask for help. This humiliating step was avoided, but the situation remains precarious. The only ray of hope is that the otherwise so headstrong and stubborn Merkel, who so far has said no to everything like a little child, appears to have finally acknowledged the problem. All of a sudden she is calling for an integrated financial and fiscal union. She has even announced the presentation of a working plan at the EU summit at the end of June." (08/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Política de la UE, » Política financiera, » Bancos, » Portugal
Todos los textos disponible de » Bruno Proença

The Hungarian economy is stagnating because of the acute lack of credit in the country, writes Péter Heim, director of the economic research institute Századvég, in the conservative weekly paper Heti Válasz: "One of the biggest problems in Hungary is that businesses can't obtain loans, for the most part because the banks don't have sufficient capital. ... It is to be feared that the imprudent introduction of the so-called transaction tax will sap the banks of even more capital. To emerge from the crisis, production should be given a boost. That, however, is impossible without a viable financial system. This system is like a body's circulation, with loans as the blood. Without veins and blood, the body degenerates into a sort of zombie. One thing is for sure: our financial system is simply incapable of bearing any additional burden. Everything possible must be done to revive credit activity in our country." (07/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Empresa, » Economía política, » Bancos, » Hungría
Todos los textos disponible de » Péter Heim

Under a bill presented by the British government tuition fees at the country's universities will rise to 9,000 pounds (around 11,000 euros) as of next autumn. Money is all that counts when it comes to higher education nowadays, writes the left-liberal daily The Guardian: "The coalition is creating a lost generation, where the intelligent lose out to inequality. The UK today is the most expensive place in the world to get an education. And a tripling in tuition fees is only the beginning. Some 10,000 university places have already been cut. Michael Gove's education bill withdraws support for the most vulnerable students in higher education. A system based on ability is being replaced by one where breeding beats brains, where wealth is more important than intellect." (05/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Igualdad de derechos, » Educación, » Gran Bretaña

In Denmark same-sex couples will now be able to have church weddings. The parliament in Copenhagen passed a corresponding amendment to the marriage law on Thursday. The left-liberal daily Politiken is happy for the entire country. "This resolution is not only a victory for homosexuals, but also for Denmark's progressive, multifaceted image, which has been keeping a low profile in recent years. At the same time the resolution marks a defeat for the alliance of narrow-minded conservatives and religious sourpusses that held sway under the conservative government [supported by the xenophobic Danish People's Party]. The amendment is also a personal triumph for Manu Sareen, the Minister for Equality and Church Cooperation. ... Instead of avoiding the topic like so many of his predecessors, he took up the cudgels against the opposition and stick-in-the-mud conservatism. ... That hasn't made him universally popular but it has ushered in a result that may truly be called historic." (08/06/2012)

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Más de la revista de prensa sobre el tema » Religión, » Igualdad de derechos, » Dinamarca