Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs columnist at the Financial Times, calls on the international community to intervene in the crisis in Zimbabwe: "It is urgent that action is taken now – while the political situation is still in flux. ... Zimbabwe is still a member of important international organisations and economic sanctions on the country have been limited. International isolation of Mr Mugabe - combined with tougher, targeted, economic sanctions - might still force change. Britain, the US and the European Union need to cut off the access to hard currency and international banks that allows Mr Mugabe and his cronies to float above Zimbabwean hyper-inflation. ... But the biggest source of new pressure on the Mugabe regime has to come from its southern African neighbours. ... If, by contrast, the main regional organisations – the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – took the unprecedented step of expelling Zimbabwe, they would strip the Mugabe regime of its last fig-leaf of legitimacy." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Afryka, » Europa, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Gideon Rachman

The political weekly Elsevier demands that the United Kingdom, a former colonial power, play a more active role in ending the crisis in Zimbabwe. "What now? One politician demands that the UN Security Council speak out against Mugabe; another calls for a boycott. Many say the African neighbouring countries, and above all South Africa, must finally denounce Mugabe. But will Mugabe suddenly start caring about what the UN says or does? No, and a boycott would only hurt the people. ... But why don't the British take action? ... The British, in contrast to the French, who simply send in a foreign legion whenever the situation in Africa calls for it, are always overanxious about being accused of neo-colonialism. As long as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is unwilling to free Zimbabwe of Mugabe or seek another solution, the long-suffering Zimbabweans face a pitch-black future. Perhaps the time has come to crank up the pressure on Brown." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Wielka Brytania, » Afryka, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » René van Rijckevorsel

For the newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's withdrawal puts pressure on Zimbabwe's neighbour South Africa to act: "South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki can force Robert Mugabe to resign, saving Zimbabwe from famine and terror. It is high time Mbeki assumed this responsibility. As a mediator for neighbouring countries he can push Mugabe to accept free elections. As president of South Africa he has the necessary authority and power to do so. Until now Mbeki has not put these to use, and has even protected Mugabe. Speculations as to why generally conclude that the old revolutionaries are backing one another. But South Africa has enough of its own problems with poverty to shy away from its role as a regional power." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Afryka

The daily Diário de Notícias accuses Europe of not intervening in Zimbabwe because it has no strategic interests to defend there: "Javier Solana, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, has said the withdrawal of Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai from the presidential runoff vote was understandable. Solana ... also explained why: 'In view of the systematic use of violence, intimidation and sabotage by Zimbabwean authorities over the past few weeks'. But the violence in Zimbabwe has been going on for much longer! ... And what has the West done about it? Very little or nothing. A bit of criticism and a few sanctions which no one observes anyway. But the most important step, that of stripping Robert Mugabe of his power, has not been taken. ... It is an outrage that Europe continues to welcome this dictator ... as it did only recently at the FAO's conference on world food security in Rome. An outrage because the Zimbabwean people have the misfortune of living in a country which has no crude oil and is therefore unimportant for Europe and the rest of the world." (23/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Polityka UE, » Afryka, » Europa

The daily De Morgen comments on a study conducted by the United States Air Force according to which nuclear weapons stationed in Europe are not safely stored. "If this is true - and who are we to doubt it - the depots should be closed down immediately. To put it bluntly, we are not talking about Barbie dolls here. A modern nuclear weapon can wipe a city like Brussels clean off the map. ... If the US is unable to ensure safe storage of its nuclear weapons arsenal, what about countries like Pakistan and North Korea, which have been able to purchase the same kind of weapons in the past decade? The US is very much aware of this problem. A growing number of experts realise that we will not be able to keep our nuclear weapons in safe storage forever, without their being needed once again - whether authorised or not. ... The US is calling the use of nuclear weapons in general into question. This is the real reason why it allowed these reports to leak out." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Belgia, » USA, » Europa Zachodnia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Tom Sauer

Minister Adrian Nastase and former Minister for Transport Miron Mitrea on charges of corruption. This is the first time that parliamentarians rather than the public prosecutors decide on such a matter. The newspaper Romania Libera comments: "It is high time we admitted that the battle against corruption has failed as miserably as the judicial reform. ... The battle against corruption should have got rid of the corrupt judges, prosecutors and functionaries, while the judicial reform should have eliminated corruption right up to the highest ranks. The precondition for success was the will of the political elite to achieve this. But it never existed. On the contrary, we are well on our way to making the golden dreams of post-communist politicians come true: a society which lacks the rule of law but which is nonetheless a member of the EU. A society in which you can steal with impunity. ... Our political class has no arguments to ward off a possible application of the safeguard clause by Brussels in the area of justice. Yet the safeguard clause could do more harm than good. ... And even if it is not applied, other measures could follow: from the suspension of EU funding to that of Romania's voting rights in the EU Council of Ministers." (24/06/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, rumuński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Europa, » Rumunia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Cristian Campeanu

Over the coming six months France holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council, while Sweden takes over in a year's time. The Stockholm-based evening paper Expressen points to considerable differences of opinion between the two countries, which could represent a much greater problem for the EU than the Irish No to the Treaty of Lisbon. It adds that above all in the areas of enlargement and climate protection, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt should lose no time in adopting an unequivocal position: "France, as the first and largest of the three countries that hold the presidency over the coming 18 months, will want to push through its own agenda. Sweden and Reinfeldt must remain resolute and work towards a free-trade-oriented and climate-sensitive Europe. This will be a great challenge for Prime Minister Reinfeldt." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Francja, » Szwecja, » Europa

The newspaper Diário Economico puts responsibility for the failure of the EU Reform Treaty squarely on the shoulders of national governments: "It was the governments of the respective EU member states that wanted the Treaty. So anyone who is unhappy with it must address their complaints to Europe's 27 capitals. ... Some are also alleging that the Treaty was deliberately made complicated so Europeans would not understand it. ... The Treaty is muddled ... because no holds were barred in including the interests of all member states. ... Many speak about Ireland's democratic decision, forgetting the democratic decisions of the other countries that ratified the Treaty ... just because no referendums were held there. But the legitimacy of the respective parliaments, as representatives of the people, may not be disregarded. ... If the Irish were to determine the future of the Treaty that will influence millions of EU citizens who did not take part in the Irish referendum, it would represent the biggest travesty of democracy since the fall of the Soviet regime." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Konstytucja UE, » Irlandia, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » João Marques Almeida de

The business newspaper Les Echos analyses how Europe is perceived in other regions of the world, concluding that for all its internal bickering, the old continent still exerts a strong appeal: "Europe has tough luck. Geographically it is 'the smallest and most poorly-defined continent', as one reads in Le Petit Robert. Politically, it is apparently condemned to remaining 'a small island' between a swollen America and an Asia on the rise. ... Nevertheless Europe is not just an institutional nightmare. ... Like the princess in Greek mythology who is kidnapped by Zeus and who gave Europe its name, the continent exerts a seductive power over other regions. ... This is one of the greatest paradoxes of the dawning 21st century. On the one hand, Europe is sinking once more into 'Europessimism'. The idea of the nation-state, of national sovereignty and the fear of immigration are dangerously on the rise among the peoples of Europe. On the other hand, European construction exerts a powerful attraction on other regions of the world. In April a Japanese think tank proposed taking the European path as a model for furthering Sino-Japanese reconciliation." (23/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Azja, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Jacques Hubert-Rodier

After renewed storming of the Spanish enclave of Melilla by African refugees, the left-wing daily paper calls for a fresh strategy for dealing with African migrants: "Where would European football be without players from Africa or other continents? ... When it suits Europe, Africans are welcome and passed off as Europeans. When it does not, they are pushed up against border fences with guns, treated like dirt in deportation centres and abandoned to drown in the sea. People like to portray illegal immigration of Africans to Europe as human trafficking. ... If Europe wants a proper way of handling this situation it has to start by talking with the migrants. Negotiations on European migration and refugee policy must be carried out with migrants' associations here and in the transit countries, as well as with social groups and economic associations in the countries of origin, not just with the governments these people are trying to get away from." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Migracja, » Mniejszości, » Hiszpania, » Afryka, » Europa, » Afryka Północna
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Dominic Johnson

Today, Tuesday 24 June, the Czech Republic faced its largest strike action since the "fall of communism". More than half a million people stopped working for one hour. The strike was directed against the reform policies of the conservative government in the public health sector, where people now have to pay the equivalent of one euro every time they go to the doctor's. The conservative daily Lidove Noviny doubts the logic behind the strike: "Even the trade union members at [carmaker and Volkswagen subsidiary] Skoda are striking. Their motivation is that they want the same conditions as their colleagues in the German city of Wolfsburg. Do they really think they would get away with paying just a euro at the doctor's if they earned as much as the Germans?" The situation is different in Germany, the paper notes: "An ultrasound scan costs a patient 40 euros there, and a dental check-up costs 70 euros. On top of that they have to pay a basic rate of ten euros for going to the doctor's. That all adds up to a hefty 130 euros." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Zdrowie, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Czechy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Zbyněk Petráček

According to the Irish Examiner, the "Celtic Tiger" is going lame. Recent forecasts predict that Ireland is in for its first recession in decades. "This was not in the script; we thought recession was like St Patrick and his snakes. Gone, banished, never again to trouble us. ... So, one week a kick in the Berlaymont for our European friends and within days the prospect of having to dust off the begging bowl and ask for either yet another opt-out clause or a dig out. ... [Nevertheless] this is a different Ireland, an Ireland that can look to its achievements rather than its hopes. ... Though there is one great change in the last three decades - China and its appetites - there is nothing in these figures that need frighten us. By using discipline, imagination and the great confidence we have built since 1983, we will, in time, go a long way towards restoring our economy to the heady heights of recent years." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Rynek konsumencki, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Irlandia

After the visit by Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev to the USA, which focused predominantly on energy security, the Russian monopoly Gazprom stated yesterday that it could bypass Bulgaria in constructing the South Stream pipeline. Klassa newspaper comments: "Whether Bulgaria receives the agreed 300 million dollars in transit fees and the additional investments remains unclear. This message was delivered, of all times, right before today's meeting of the council on energy security which is scheduled to deal with giant energy projects. In so doing, Gazprom conveyed the clear message: 'We can get along fine without you, but can you get along without us?' Gazprom has failed to react to the demand by the Bulgarian energy monopolist Bulgargaz for a price rise. Perhaps money will be found later in the Russian budget for some credits for Bulgargaz." (24/06/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, bułgarski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Energia, » Rosja, » USA, » Bułgaria

Contention over homosexuality is threatening to split the Anglican Church. The Guardian newspaper comments: "The coming weeks will determine whether the communion is any longer the viable and meaningful body of churches and believers that it once was. ... Over the past half century, civil society in many parts of the world, including ours, has broken free from the long tradition of hostility and discrimination against gay people - and both society and individual lives are immeasurably the better for it. Now, inevitably and rightly, the same process is taking place in the churches, with pressure for the election of openly gay clergy and bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions. ... The question facing Anglicans - and facing other religious groups too - is whether theirs is a faith that is loving enough to treat gay people as equals. If the communion cannot hold together in the face of this question, then so be it." (24/06/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Mniejszości, » Ruchy społeczne, » Wielka Brytania, » Cały świat

In the run-up to the EURO Cup semi-final between Germany and Turkey, the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung examines to what extent "football enthusiasm can serve as an indicator of willingness to integrate. ... From the lowest ranks right up to the First Division, here in Germany football has certainly proven to be a powerful force towards integration, and this is true whether you are talking about the Ruhr or Schleswig-Holstein or ... the remote corners of Upper Hesse. ... But by the end of the semi-final, at latest, the ideal world of German-Turkish football will be put to a tough social test. And what is more, the reactions to the results on the streets of our cities will tell us a lot about two things: firstly the potential for xenophobia and secondly the degree of integration of our fellow citizens from Turkey. ... When the game begins tomorrow evening in the St.-Jakobs-Park in Basel, it will not be a battle between two enemy football teams. It will be a kind of local derby between Turkey and Germany." (24/06/2008)

» Dalsze informacje (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Integracja, » Sport, » Niemcy, » Turcja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Karen Krüger, » Jochen Hieber