"The famous Greek veto against Skopje's entrance into NATO has finally been used, at least in rehearsal," notes Irini Karanasopoulou. Greece is opposed to its neighbour joining NATO under the name of Macedonia. "The neighbouring country has turned down the propositions of the UN mediator, refusing to add a suffix or prefix to the name Macedonia in order to specify its geographic position. On April 2nd, at the Bucharest summit, Greece will no doubt be using its final veto. This will be the first veto in the history of the Alliance, which already sees it as a negative precedent. The Skopje authorities thought that, under pressure from America, the Greek government wouldn't go through with it, but this veto will not prevent conflict or Skopje's EU accession under the name of Macedonia. Another battle lies ahead for Greece, which will now have to oppose the Union's enlargement for the sake of a name." (07/03/2008)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Ta Nea)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Grecja, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Irini Karanasopoulou

Poland has failed in its effort to obtain candidate status for Ukraine and Georgia at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. Jacek Pawlicki complains that the military alliance lacks a future-oriented strategy. "The speedy accession of Ukraine and Georgia to NATO is in Poland's and its allies' best interests, because it would mean more than just anchoring these countries in the Western world. It would shift the West's borders much further eastwards. ... Ukraine and Georgia now have 12 months to prove to sceptics in Berlin and Paris that giving these countries the prospect of NATO membership is a good investment in the West's security. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation celebrates its 60th anniversary in April 2009. This would provide an excellent opportunity to reward Poland's efforts by letting Ukraine and Georgia into NATO's waiting room." (07/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Ukraina, » Europa, » Gruzja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Jacek Pawlicki

"For years Austria has allowed itself the luxury of not joining the Western alliance," writes Burkhard Bischof, pointing out that other countries' "sensitiveness regarding security policy" doesn't permit them this luxury. Ukraine and Georgia are clamouring to join "because they regard their large neighbour Russia as too unpredictable. Meanwhile their big neighbour rages and warns them not to dare creep under NATO's cloak of protection - which only makes the Ukrainians and Georgians all the more nervous and eager to obtain membership. The main problem remains that the Russian leadership continues to regard NATO as it did in Soviet times, as an enemy alliance - although they have been sitting together on a joint council for ten years now. Until this outdated view changes, any expansion of NATO into the post-Soviet region is a cramp. And this picture of NATO as a bogeyman is hardly likely to change while countries like Germany support the Russian arguments." (07/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Burkhard Bischof

The daily considers that Russia is weighing upon westerners' decision regarding the integration of new NATO countries. "The EU and the United States are waiting to see if the young Medvedev [new Russian President], who owes his entire career to Vladimir Putin, his future prime minister, is simply an illustrious employee of the former KGB official, or if, on the contrary, he is capable of introducing his own reform programme. The first signs are not encouraging. ... Medvedev's victory coincides with another interruption of gas supplies to Ukraine, with consequences for all of Europe. An EU that would thus benefit from getting along with Medvedev and which, in Brussels on March 6th, made a conciliating gesture towards Moscow by cooling down Georgia and Ukraine's wishes to join NATO." (07/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, hiszpański)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Rosja, » Europa

The sociologist Irène Théry, interviewed by Catherine Portevin, criticises the notion of the individual, seeing in it a step backwards for women. "When political authorities speak of the individual, they generally refer to a neutral, asexual being. But who has actually met such an asexual individual in ordinary life? Inversely, note that when these same politicians broach gender issues, they completely forget this individual: here we are immediately split into two essential, fixed categories, 'Men' here and 'women' over there, as if each of us only belonged to one half of humanity. I see here a regression in relation to the universalistic demands that have always existed in the feminist movement, where women indeed expressed their refusal to be confined to their 'difference'." (05/03/2008)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Télérama)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Demografia, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Irène Théry, » Catherine Portevin

In former communist countries, the International Women's Day carried heavy ideological associations. After the fall of communism, the date lost popularity to Mothers' Day and Valentine's Day. Slavko Splichal finds this lamentable: "In the early days International Women's Day mobilised women in the fight for votes for women, and later it became an important factor for raising awareness of inequality. ... Today women are still paid less than men for the same work. If they want to make headway they have to do unpaid overtime, which they seldom can because of the children. ... Because International Women's Day is not dedicated to socialist patriotism or internationalism, but highlights general injustices and violations of the law, it's more than just a day on which the other half of the human race should go round with a bad conscience. It should become a day of reflection about social inequality." (07/03/2008)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Delo)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Ruchy społeczne, » Historia, » Słowenia, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Slavko Splichal

The daily considers in its editorial that "In the elections on Sunday March 9th, [the out-going Spanish prime minister] José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will for the first time be judged for his actual merit. He has a lot of merit, but the results of the vote will not be systematically linked to current to policy. The president of the [Socialist] government has taken the modernity of Spanish society into account. He has shaken-up traditions that have subsisted in a legislation often dating back to Franco's era. He has guaranteed an equal status for women, protecting them against domestic violence, and has formalized gay marriage ... ... Change is proof of vitality for a democracy. Instability, however, is a handicap. The Spanish right is not offering a program that is sufficiently convincing for the Spanish to sound the bell signalling changeover time." (07/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Hiszpania

Legislative elections are to be held in Malta this Saturday, March 8th. The Maltese paper comments: "The outgoing government has long shown signs of fatigue. It has lost all its energy and has failed to come up with new ideas for a long, long time now. In addition the numerous allegations of abuse coming from all sectors of the community are being either mishandled or ignored. This, no doubt, has irritated the majority of the electorate, irrespective of their political alliances. It has certainly made the sincere citizen seriously look forward to a change of Administration. ... One can say that it was good for Malta to have joined the EU. At least one can now measure the successes the PN [right-wing Nationalist Party] government (or any other government for all that matters) is claiming with those of our European partners. Statistics show that our country lags behind our other 26 European partners in practically all sectors." (05/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Malta

On Sunday, March 9th, the French will be voting in a first round of elections. The left is set to be the winner. Jean Portante investigates why the right is having difficulty one year after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president. "If the e electoral pendulum is swinging to the left again, it is because voters who, last May chose Nicolas Sarkozy over Ségolène Royal, believe less and less that the social and wage issues can be resolved by the majority. .. In this respect; were there to be an electoral sanction ..., it would be to push the President and his Prime minister to finally deal with the buying power of French citizens. The latter would be expressing a sort of warning, waiting to completely place their trust in a left that is struggling to deliver propositions on the matter." (06/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Francja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Jean Portante

Next Sunday Hungary is scheduled to hold a referendum on health insurance contributions and tuition fees introduced by the government last year. Opposition leader Viktor Orbán is turning it into a vote on the social liberal government led by Ferenc Gyurcsány. Ervin Tamás comments: "Relations between the government and the opposition are no longer normal, but represent a grossly divided society, the hate that is invading the private sphere and the emotions that are spreading to the street. Naturally, many believe that all the fuss will die down once Prime Minister Gyurcsány disappears from the scene. And indeed, with a flood of 'yes' votes the referendum could achieve this. ... In any case, those involved will interpret the results at their own discretion, yet the whole thing is nothing more than a great letdown. And perhaps we'll be facing another referendum soon." (07/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, węgierski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Zdrowie, » Węgry
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Ervin Tamás

Up to now Swedish education laws have allowed parents to forbid their children from taking certain subjects on religious grounds. According to a recent study, 27 percent of girls from immigrant families did not attend sport-, swimming- or sexual education classes last year. Education minister Jan Björklund and the minister for Integration and equality, Nyamko Sabuni, now want to change the law. The newspaper approves: "Sweden is becoming an increasingly multicultural and heterogeneous society. It has become more and more common for parents to demand that their children be exempted from attending certain classes. ... With so many children affected, the exception is becoming the rule. This is not a good thing. Religion has a natural place in people's lives, but in schools religious beliefs should be discussed rather than playing a determining role." (07/03/2008)

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

Finland's foreign ministry and ministry of justice have carried out a study on the state of human rights in Finland. Of course, no one is tortured or sent to prison without trial in the country, but Björn Sundell still considers the initiative a wise step: "Finland is sending a clear message by showing that a society based on equal rights and justice can be successful. Are human rights abuses committed in Finland? We always hear that these things happen in Russia, China or Guantánamo, but not here. Now evidence is to be gathered and presented in a year's time. This inquiry also has a foreign-policy dimension. It's about the question of how Finland behaves regarding human rights abuses abroad, because if you want to show commitment abroad you have to make sure your own record is clean." (07/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, szwedzki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Integracja, » Mniejszości, » Ruchy społeczne, » Finlandia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Björn Sundell

In the Netherlands, the populist deputy Geert Wilders is threatening to broadcast his anti-Muslim film soon. Numerous Muslim countries have already warned the Dutch government that the broadcasting of the film could have perilous consequences. The Italian editorialist Francesco Merlo reacts to the polemic. "Is it possible that we Westerners will have to give in to the threats and ban the film simply because the thesis of the film is not to the taste of ayatollahs, imams and fundamentalists? A film that has yet to be released, that nobody has seen, but that is already endangering the world's security ... . However, promoting mediocre works of art, films and books that are gratuitously blasphemous and lift unsavoury characters such as Wilders to the rank of persecuted artists, is a way of killing freedom of expression ... ." (06/03/2008)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, La Repubblica)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Holandia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Francesco Merlo

Film critic Alex Leo Serban comments on the success of young Romanian filmmakers like Cristi Puiu and Cristian Mungiu: "The foundations for minimalist cinema were laid six years ago: a small budget, handmade films, simple stories - powerful but true. The traditional kind of film seemed to have become superfluous. ... But there's still a problem: Romanian audiences aren't interested in films. Mungius' success [in Cannes] was noticed, but whether it came in cinema, football or the fashion world didn't really matter. The joy of thousands, if not millions of Romanians to see 'one of us' being successful where success really counts was more the joy of seeing old clichés like 'we're being left out' or 'it takes connections to be successful' proved wrong." (07/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, rumuński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Film, » Rumunia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Alex Leo Serban

In 2003 the Imperial War Museum commissioned Steve McQueen as an official war artist. He went to Iraq for 10 days. Columnist Joan Bakewell explains that he returned to the UK and created "a cabinet of display panels – each one holding a sheet of stamps bearing the face of a soldier killed in the Iraq war. ... The display, called 'Queen and Country', has been on display at the Imperial War Museum in London, since last November. ... Steve McQueen is urging the Royal Mail to issue them as actual postage stamps. But the Royal Mail is hesitating. ... This is a tricky matter. Would such a move be seen as aggressively militaristic, supporting the war and British presence in Iraq, an issue that divides the country? The role of the war artist is always ambiguous." (07/03/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka kulturalna, » Wielka Brytania
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Joan Bakewell

The Aland archipielago, which belongs to Finland, is largely autonomous and is therefore regarded as a shining example by other EU regions striving for autonomy. Now a dispute over "Snus", a damp tobacco sold on Aland ferries despite being banned in the EU, is raising tensions in the already problematic relations between Aland and the EU: "This is because the regional autonomy of the island doesn't fit in with the EU's scheme, as Elisabeth Nauclér, who holds Aland's only seat in the Finnish parliament, puts it. ... For Aland to be allowed to join the EU together with Finland, a number of special regulations had to be negotiated (the Aland Protocol) and three changes to the constitution were made. ... Aland does not have a seat of its own in the European Parliament. Finland simply forgot to make such a provision during the membership talks. ... A team is currently examining the possibilities for Aland to obtain more say in Brussels." (07/03/2008)

» Strona www (Link zewnętrzny, Neue Zürcher Zeitung)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Handel, » Rynek konsumencki, » Finlandia, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Ingrid Meissl Årebo