The columnist Paula Fabra analyses Nicolas Sarkozy's position concerning the EU and the necessity to 'recreate a European space'. "A first test will be the project of a 'simplified treaty' that Nicolas Sarkozy is proposing to Angela Merkel with a view to 'unblocking the running of institutions', as he says ... . The hitch is that underlying the negative decision of the French (and Dutch) people, is the feeling that the European Union, with its majority decision-making, encroaches on the right of nations to decide for themselves. The president is insisting on the principle of subsidiarity: 'Europe where it is required, as much as it is required, but not more than it is required'. No more of the slogan that created so much constitutional confusion; 'Forever more Europe!'. Otherwise said, subsidiarity is the equivalent, in political and legal terms, of a definition dear to Nicolas Sarkozy of limited geographical borders for Europe." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Paul Fabra

For Birgitte Kols, the new French president Nicolas Sarkozy is "a 'Monsieur one hundred-thousand volts' who feeds energy into his own country, as was the case during the European constitutional process. He has no trouble conveying his message to people... His strategy for winning support, which is even directed at other parties, is the product of the shrewdness of the power tactician. His demonstrative climb onto the German-French tandem is also the result of such tactics. Great Britain is no longer on the inner track of the European race. Sarkozy's cooperation with Merkel aimed at pushing forward the EU constitution could indeed go further than expected. Sarkozy is motivated by the prospect of winning back a leading position within the EU, at Germany's side. Never mind if it takes more than a mini-treaty to achieve this. Pace-setting Sarkozy will collect Euro points and use them - for France." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka UE, » Konstytucja UE, » Niemcy, » Francja, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Brigitte Kols

The British daily is wary of how Tony Blair might represent the UK at the EU summit in Brussels on June 2Ist, especially regarding a revised treaty. "The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is determined to secure at least an outline agreement on amending the Maastricht and Nice treaties to adapt EU institutions to further enlargement. Nice, for example, allows for up to 27 members, a limit that will be breached when Croatia joins in 2009. ... Britain will be vulnerable on two counts at the June summit. First, it will be represented by a man who will still be in office, but from whom authority will have leached. Second, making his final twirl on the international stage, Mr Blair may be tempted to jettison prudence in the hope of going out on a high note. He might see bringing back an agreement as enhancing his personal reputation, but this would not necessarily be in the national interest." (18/05/2007)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Konstytucja UE, » Wielka Brytania, » Europa

"Thanks to the new generation of politicians who have come to power in Europe these past few years, the paralysis that the European Union has been suffering from can soon be drawn to an end", considers the Spanish daily. "Merkel and Sarkozy are both in favour of an EU based on a more economic than political framework and where the constitutional project will be reduced to a minimal number of common articles. ... It won't be long before governments change their behaviour, moving towards the creation of a real single market of production and consumption of goods and services. The European project cannot have the single currency, which is a big success both within and beyond its borders, without allowing the possibility of common, harmonised markets in the fields of energy, logistics, telecommunications and finances." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Europa

A German-Italian historians' conference in the Italian city of Trento prompts Stefan Ulrich to reflect on relations between the two countries. The Italian daily La Repubblica recently spoke of an "ice age" between the two neighbours. "One reason for this alienation may be the European crisis. The integration project once united these two nations, which had both been discredited by totalitarianism and offensive warfare. Both found their way to international recognition through Brussels, and both used Europe to protect themselves against new excesses. But today the European ideal is being eclipsed by supposedly national interests. In this way Europe's crisis is affecting German-Italian relations. To counter this, Germany and Italy could try to revive their friendship through new European initiatives - for example by taking up the concept of a core Europe, which particularly in Italy is increasingly popular. For this Berlin would need to take its partner Rome more seriously, and Rome would have to suppress its historical distrust of Berlin and overcome its political weaknesses." (18/05/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Niemcy, » Włochy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Stefan Ulrich

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, feminist and political thinker, analyses the growing Islamist stronghold on Turkey and suggests how the EU can stymie it. "The proponents of Islam in government such as Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Abdullah Gul and their Justice and Development Party have been remarkably successful. They have understood and exploited the fact that you can use democratic means to erode democracy. With this insight, they have employed a powerful strategy. ... After an initial attempt at Islamic revolution failed in 1997 when the military engineered a 'soft coup' against elected Islamists, Erdogan and his party understood that gradualism would yield more lasting power. ... If they show the same restraint and patience that has brought them this far, they may achieve their aim by continuing to court EU membership. Naive but well-meaning European leaders were manipulated by the ruling Islamists from the onset into saying that Turkey's army should be placed under civil control like all armies in the EU member states." (16/05/2007)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Corriere della Sera)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka UE, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Turcja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Ayaan Hirsi Ali

In the course of the Russian-Estonian conflict over a Soviet war monument in Tallinn there have been repeated disruptive attacks on official Estonian websites, including the government's homepage. Leading banks like the subsidiary of the Swedish SEB bank, Eesti Uhispank, were also affected. According to Peter Wolodarski, there are indications that this "Internet war" is backed by the Kremlin. "Estonia is even more dependent on the Internet than Sweden. Its citizens can vote online and many official forms are filled out on the Internet. If evidence comes to light that the Russian state has been sabotaging Estonian websites, Moscow must be called to account. From a purely legal point of view it's unclear whether the situation can be compared with an armed attack - not because Internet warfare is harmless, but because international law has not yet been adapted to the realities of the Internet era." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, szwedzki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Szwecja

Kristiina Ojuland, former Estonian foreign minister and current vice-chairman of the Estonian parliament, describes the Russian disruptive action on Estonian websites as the first war of the 21st century fought with the weapons of modern technology. "Not only we in Estonia are facing the question of how to react and which concrete measures can be taken - this question also concerns our partners in the EU and NATO and thus also the US. We have received clear support from our friends, but these testimonies have not stopped the attacks against Estonia. Up to now NATO has only dealt with attacks of this kind in theory, and mainly had terrorist organisations in mind. Now, however, we are facing a situation in which a small democratic country is being attacked and the attacker is EU and NATO partner Russia." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, estoński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Rozszerzenie UE, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Estonia, » Rosja, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Kristiina Ojuland

Serbia has a new government: the three-party coalition led by the incumbent Serb Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica is governing without the participation of the ultra-nationalists, who represent the strongest faction in the Serb parliament. Oszkár Füzes comments: "We dare to hope that this cabinet will last long enough for us to become well acquainted with it. The coalition of more or less democratic pro-West parties was formed owing to pressure from abroad and can dissolve at any time... Only the stars know whether the new ministry of finance will be able to revive the Serb market - a monstrous combination of state and Mafiosi structures. Or whether a constitutional state will emerge and whether the Serb people, who have become increasingly impoverished over the past twenty years, can be given new hope. The politicians in Belgrade have been given another chance - probably the last one they'll get." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, węgierski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Serbia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Oszkár Füzes

In the dispute over the Temelin nuclear power station in south Bohemia, Austrian opponents of nuclear energy have called on their government to file a suit against the Czechs under international law. They have threatened to extend their blockades at border crossing points. Lubos Palata calls the border blockades "unpleasant" and "unacceptable", but blames Prague for the escalation of the conflict, saying the Czech government unilaterally withdrew from the Melk process. "Melk soothed anti-Temelin sentiment in Austria. Temelin remained open and the Czech Republic joined the EU, although Austria had threatened that the one would exclude the other... The Czech government made a mistake when it unilaterally broke with the Melk process and claimed that Temelin was operating smoothly. There was no reason for it to do this and it certainly hasn't helped matters. Good neighbours don't do such things." (17/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, czeski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Energia, » Czechy, » Austria
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Luboš Palata

The Spanish historian Daniel Reborerdo considers that the EU could be unsettled by the political crisis in Romania where, on Saturday, May 19th, the president Traian Basescu will be facing a referendum on his impeachment. "Romania has yet to overcome the communist aftermath in political and social relations. The transitional phase it is going through is characterised by the difficulty of managing two opposite tendencies: the nostalgia of those who were privileged by the former regime and the demand for justice or revenge voiced by the victims of the same regime. The country is going through a very confused era. Dialogue and democracy have been rendered impossible by the rivalry among politicians that has culminated with the present mayhem. ... The problem of Romanian political inconsistency should be eradicated before its negative effects further complicate the difficult European process [of integrating new EU members]." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, hiszpański)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Europa, » Rumunia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Daniel Reboredo

"It was an excellent day for Malta yesterday [Wednesday, May, 16th]" exclaims the Maltese columnist Eddie Aquilina, concerning the green light that has been given to Malta and Cyprus to enter the Eurozone in January 2008. "We've made it to the premier league within the European Union, the euro club, pending a decision by the EU Council of Ministers that usually follows the Commission's advice. The reports published yesterday by the European Commission and the European Central Bank show that Malta has a low government deficit, a decreasing public debt, a stable currency, low inflation and interest rates lower than the EU countries with the lowest inflation. The Commission's advice is that we have sound public finances and a growing economy prepared to adopt the euro. A round of applause is definitely in order. ... Amid the doom often peddled in the press in Malta, it seems foreign officials are more positive about Malta than several Maltese columnists." (17/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Malta
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Eddie Aquilina

"After years of the European Union's particularly special treatment of its former colonies in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the proportion of produce from these countries on the market has dropped from 6.7% in 1976 to 2.8 % today." Facing this decline, Bastien Joerchel, of Alliance Sud, a coalition of six Swiss mutual aid organisations, considers that commerce is not enough to help the development of less advanced countries. More necessary is "firstly, an increase of financial aid to develop measures that support quality improvement of products. ... Secondly, poor countries should be able to apply national agricultural policies that provide protection from Northern importations that are largely subsidised." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Handel, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Bastienne Joerchel

After the projection at the Cannes Film Festival of the film, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days", by the young Romanian film director Christian Mungiu, the journalist Thierry Jobin salutes 'The incredible vitality of Romanian film'. "With a low budget that never shows and an absolutely breath-taking mastery of hand-held, long sequence shots without any cuts, Munjiu pays a visit to Romania's past a bit like Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck did in Germany with 'The Lives of Others'. ... While the infrastructures and budgets would discourage a Swiss film-maker, while the number of cinemas in Romania has fallen from 250 to 70 in five years, while national cultural policy is hostile to the 7th art, Romanian cinema, carried by a generation that was in its teens at the time of the 1989 revolution and has kept the scars of oppression, is exploding in the world's face." (18/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Film, » Francja, » Rumunia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Thierry Jobin

The futuristic plans for a new national library in Prague have triggered a vigorous debate in the Czech Republic. President Vaclav Klaus described the project, designed by Czech-born architect Jan Kaplicky, as "ugly" and promised he would fight "tooth and nail" against its realisation. In an interview with Eva Zajikova, former Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier contradicts the president. "I like Kaplicky's design, and the debate is a typical example of Czech narrow-mindedness. We are part of modern Europe and should be glad to see a world-famous architect like Kaplicky take an interest in the project. It's wonderful that a Czech has become one of the world's top architects. The debate highlights the Czechs' fear of anything unusual. There were similar debates about the Municipal House [an art nouveau-style building] at the turn of the millennium in Prague. Today it's a tourist attraction and no one has any doubts about it." (17/05/2007)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, czeski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Architektura / Miasta, » Czechy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Eva Zajickova, » Jiri Dienstbier

Czech director Jiri Menzel's tragicomedy "I served the King of England" is starting its run in Polish cinemas. Zdzislaw Pietrasik takes this as an opportunity to explore with humour the Poles' attitude towards their Czech neighbours: "We continue to have an ambivalent attitude towards our southern neighbours. One example of this is the phrase 'Czech film' we use to describe a situation in which no one knows what's going on. But our slight sense of superiority comes from the conviction that Poland's heroic history is more valuable than that of its neighbours, who were more prone to compromise and calculation... Even regarding the collapse of communism, we have a certain problem with the Czechs. It was Lech Walesa's leap over the barriers of the shipyards in Danzig that presaged the fall of the Berlin Wall. But when Europe celebrated the 10th anniversary of the 'people's springtime' in 1999, the main celebrations were in Prague, not Danzig. Yet we were the ones who had Solidarnosc and martial law; the Czechs just had the Velvet Revolution... So why fight when the Czechs don't fight and still end up reaping all the rewards of the victory." (16/05/2007)

» Dalsze informacje (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Film, » Polska, » Czechy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Zdzislaw Pietrasik