The Irish Times writes that Klaus' criticism of the Treaty of Lisbon does not tally with his role as president: "[The Irish] Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin described this yesterday as an inappropriate intervention by a visiting head of state, given that the Government is engaged in discussions about the Lisbon Treaty with other member states on behalf of the Irish people. That is the least that can be said about Mr Klaus's comments. While he has every right to meet whoever he wishes in the private part of the visit, it is a different matter - and a definite breach of normal diplomatic protocol - to intervene in this way. He is perfectly entitled to express his views about Ireland's role concerning the future of the Lisbon Treaty, since we share a common politics on the subject in the EU which requires open deliberation and contestation. But this does not extend to speaking as Czech president during an official visit to Ireland when his criticisms do not in fact represent those of the Czech government." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Rozszerzenie UE, » Konstytucja UE, » Irlandia, » Czechy

The left-leaning daily Pravo writes: "It is to be expected of the [Czech] president that he supports the (pro-European) foreign policy of his government. Klaus, however, who regards himself as an 'EU dissident', is deliberately sabotaging this policy. When he met with Ganley, an opponent of the Irish government's policy, it was not in his capacity as a professor from Prague. Unfortunately he was speaking for the Czech Republic. .. Irish foreign minister Micheál Martin spoke yesterday about a diplomatic faux pas. This is not only a disgrace for our president, but a disservice to Czech policy as a whole. He put a spanner in the works of the government, which is just gearing up for its EU Council presidency. That verges on the criminal." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Konstytucja UE, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Irlandia, » Czechy, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Pavel Verner

The conservative daily Die Welt is surprised at  Klaus' maverick approach: "Revolutions can have some strange effects. The fall of socialism in 1989 turned boilermen into foreign ministers, poets into presidents and it seemed round tables would be the piece of furniture par excellence of the future. But one individual, also a child of the revolution, revolted against this trend from the very beginning. ... As the staunch EU opponent that he has become, he [Klaus] has now used a visit to apostate Ireland to ... repeat his conviction that the EU is a compulsory institution akin to socialism. ... Václav Klaus' attempt to single-handedly ... block the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon smacks of monomania. Notwithstanding, incensed outrage is the wrong response, for the right to call everything into question is one of the guaranteed freedoms of democracy. There are worse traditions than the liberal one from which Klaus stems. Naturally, one wonders what on earth could have driven this president, who even in his own country is an isolated figure, to attempt pull off a one-man-show as a radical on the international political stage." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Konstytucja UE, » Irlandia, » Czechy, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Thomas Schmid

On the eve of the EU-Russia summit in Nice, the daily Romania libera comments on the differences between the stances of the Western and Eastern European states regarding the planned partnership agreement: "It comes as ... no surprise that the EU is advocating the partnership agreement more strongly than Moscow. Europe is dependent on Russian gas, and some states like Slovakia are entirely dependent on it. ... The majority of the EU's western states have always adopted a timid stance towards Russia. ... [Following EU enlargement in 2004] the former communist countries of the East acted far more radically than the West had expected. Countries like the Baltic states and Poland are more familiar with Russia's political mentality. Their geographical proximity and past experience enable the states of the East to decode Moscow's signals more efficiently. ... In comparison with their position, the sad jokes of [Italian Prime Minister Silvio] Berlusconi, who for some time now has systematically proposed that Russia be integrated into the EU, show how inappropriate Europe's traditional pacifist stance is today." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka UE, » Słowacja, » Rosja, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Dan Alexe

An upcoming meeting between the leaders of Hungary and Slovakia should help soothe the tense bilateral relations between the two countries. "Finally the Hungarian prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsány has taken the hand of [his Slovakian counterpart] Robert Fico", writes the left-liberal Pravda with relief. This is not due to the mediation of Pál Csáky, the leader of the party of the Hungarian minority whose statements have so far been tactless and provocative, comments the paper: "Csáky, together with Ján Slota, head of the co-ruling extreme right Slovak National Party, has done all he could to fuel the conflict. ... No, Csáky does not deserve the titel of mediator. If anyone deserves this title it is the Hungarian minority, which forced its leadership to alter its stance. In so doing it proved that the main current of the minority is not radical or extremist, but consists of peaceable mayors, teachers and farmers who seek peace and order, and not confrontation." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Rozszerzenie UE, » Mniejszości, » Węgry, » Słowacja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Dag Daniš

Several days ago Sweden's discrimination ombudsman highlighted the negative treatment commonly given to Roma childern in schools and daycare facilities. Dagens Nyheter newspaper reminds readers that according to a study carried out last autumn, more than half of all Roma children in the city of Malmö attend school rarely, if at all. "Roma children were denied access to schools right into the 1960s. Now that they can go to school, they are discriminated against. And according to the study, teachers in Malmö do not seem to miss the children when they are absent. The children's position as outsiders is compounded by the fact that their parents are also situated outside society: only one in ten Roma living in Malmö has a job. Efforts to treat Roma like all other citizens - and to make the same demands on Roma children as on all other children - have only just begun. Admitting how miserably integration has failed is a good start." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Szwecja, » Europa

In the Italian daily La Stampa Enrico Betizza predicts a rude awakening from the Obama dream. "Obama will have to set aside his mesmerizing rock star mask and be forced to navigate his way through the traps and thorns that are the legacy of the previous government in global politics. Reconciling the unilaterality of the US with the flexibility of the Europeans will be one of the most difficult challenges he faces. The truth is that many a dozy dreamer in Europe mistook Barack Hussein Obama for a knight in shining armour out of a fairytale, whose roots are more in Africa and Asia than in America. But despite his exotic name it turns out that Obama is an all-out American and more truth than we could have ever imagined while we stood hypnotised by the shadow and light of his rise to power. We would do well to remember that he has triumphed with a programme that all things considered is less radical than that of Hilary Clinton and that the indications are that his path - at least as far as foreign policy is concerned - will not be one of momentous change. The break with the Bush Administration will thus be more a matter of form than substance." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Europa, » USA
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Enzo Bettiza

Europe's social model is only possible because until now the US has assumed the role of the world's police, writes Domingos Amaral in the business newspaper Diário Económico. Barack Obama's election as US president, however, will change that: "America's left has always admired Europe's 'social model', and sought to import it. Europe's right, by contrast, has always been for introducing the American economic model. ... Europe's 'social model' was only possible because after World War II Europe no longer had to worry about military expenditures. ... Yet this was only possible with American protection. America's military duties, on the contrary, left little money for the state to invest in a social model. It's either cannons or hospitals. The Americans chose cannons, and allowed the Europeans to build hospitals. Obama is now promising to change this model. Now America wants to invest more in schools, hospitals and renewable energy. But the US is in debt and cannot afford the kind of social state Obama is after while remaining the world's police force. It will have to decide. In the years to come the US will have to put its interests before those of the rest of the world. This is not necessarily bad news, but it will force the world to revise its power relations. Less US means more China, more Russia, more Iran and a little bit more Europe. Time will tell if this multipolar system can work." (12/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Europa, » USA, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Domingos Amaral

In Lithuania the Soviet occupation is often referred to as "genocide" owing to the deportation and murder of countless citizens that took place during this period. Writing for Delfi news portal, Azuolas Bagdonas asks whether the term is justified or whether this designation should be reserved for the Holocaust: "Whether we like it or not, all attempts to concretise legal terms and find the right designation are always influenced by politics, even if this is not always intended. Laws that ban the use of certain designations are not to be criticised because, for instance, they foster anti-Semitism in some mystical way, but because they clash with other political values, including that of freedom of expression." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Historia, » Litwa, » Rosja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Ąžuolas Bagdonas

The Spanish business paper Expansión praises the European Commission for taking a hard line against price fixing and distortion of competition through cartels: "A year ago the European Commission issued a serious warning about its determination to adopt tough measures against practices that restrict competition within the EU. And when you look at what it has done since then one can safely say that it was not just a bluff. The Commission yesterday announced that the companies Asahi, Pilkington, Saint Gobain and Soliver will be fined 1.384 billion euros for fixing prices through a cartel and dividing up the market among themselves in the car windscreen sector. This is a historical sanction - the highest Brussels has ever imposed, as competition commissioner Neelie Kroes yesterday announced." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Przedsiębiorczość, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Europa

The newspaper Etelä-Suomen-Sanomat points out that the dispute between Finland and Russia over wood exports must be seen in an international context: "For a long time the Finnish authorities have been desperately trying to make it clear to Russia how much of a threat the dramatic rise of export duties [on Russian raw timber] poses for the Finnish wood processing industry. But their arguments have not been heard. But why should they? Russia will not suffer in the least if Finland gets no wood. ... Things must be seen in a larger context, not just that of Russia and Finnland. Russia has raised the duties on wood primarily because Asian demand is rising. And they couldn't care less if Finland starts to whine. ... Finns traditionally see things purely from their own perspective, as if the rest of the world didn't exist. ... But superpowers have no friends, just their own interests to look out for." (13/11/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, fiński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Finlandia, » Rosja

Since the middle of the year the price of crude oil has been in a downward spiral. French daily Les Echos warns that we shouldn't start celebrating too soon: "In the long term the world could end up paying a high price for the cheap crude oil of today. The price of the black gold, which is seen as a real-time thermometer for the vitality of our economy, is the symbol of our current malaise. Celebrating the downturn in the price of crude oil is tantamount to celebrating the deceleration of the economy in developed and developing nations. And even though it's hard to sympathise with them, the major oil exporters have nothing more to celebrate either. The petrodollars that have driven the growth of the global economy are becoming increasingly scarce. The weakness of the black gold is also problematic in the long term. Producers will allow the current fields to dry up, and in the end the cheap barrel will have a negative impact on production." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka gospodarcza, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » David Barroux

For a long time the permissible curvature of cucumbers was for many Europeans a symbol of Brussels' frenetic regulatory zeal. Now the EU has repealed the aesthetic regulations that apply to a number of different fruit and vegetables. The business newspaper Hospodářské noviny writes: "The EU's most preposterous rule has been scrapped: as of July 1, 2009, the angle of curvature of a cucumber will be allowed to exceed one centimetre. ... To tell the truth, it was always somewhat shabby to make fun of this regulation because it had practical advantages for commerce. Cucumbers that are straight can be packed more efficiently. ... However, given the global rise in food prices it no longer makes sense to reject fruit and vegetables that, apart from the way they look, are fine in terms of quality. Europe continues to regulate 75 percent of its trade in produce. ... Still, those of us who have a weakness for non-standard things and unusual people can be satisfied with this development." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Tomáš Němeček

The financial crisis has caused the American real estate market to discover the advantages of European architecture, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung. "Nothing embodies the American spirit of independence, individualism and love for the soil like the American house. ... The demand for personal living space has almost tripled since the 1950s. But this trend of excess now seems to be over thanks to rising fuel prices and the stagnation of the gigantic commuter suburbs. ... Instead America has discovered energy efficiency and European dimensions. That could be tantamount to a revolution in the American dwelling aesthetic. ... If US houses now have German solar roofs, Scandinavian simplicity and thick Swiss walls, if they forgo their sprawling Romanticism in favour of energy efficient, compact spaces it will mean a definitive end to the world of the Waltons." (13/11/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Energia, » Architektura / Miasta, » Styl życia, » Europa, » USA
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Gerhard Matzig