The international community is protesting at the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. But concern and calls for a truce won't suffice to mitigate the crisis, writes the daily De Morgen: "Those who have the power to exert more pressure on Israel have no intention of doing so. The US blindly sticks by Israel through thick and thin no matter what it does. Even after this latest military adventure it will continue to supply Israel with weapons and millions of dollars. The silence of the president elect speaks volumes. The EU is the Palestinians' major sponsor yet it isn't using the association agreement and Israel's recently upgraded privileged status as a means of cranking up the pressure. By demonstratively looking away the UN, the US and the EU are sending a clear message to Israel: Carry on." (05/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Bliski i Środkowy Wschód
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Frank Schlomer

Only the US can offer a solution to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the daily Diário de Notícias writes: "International diplomacy won't help either in the Gaza conflict. Only yesterday the UN Security Council failed even to approve a document calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and which described both Israel and the [Palestinian] Hamas organisation as aggressors. European diplomats have already made their first mistake: The spokesman for the Czech EU Council presidency described Israel's military operations as defensive. After being ticked off he adopted a more critical stance towards Israel, but it was too late. European diplomacy has once again proved to be non-existent. ... None of the world's major political powers has any influence on what happens in the Middle East. There is only one country which Israel really listens to and which the Arab world truly fears: the US, whose government is currently in a period of transition. [President elect] Barack Obama continues to work on the economic programme but refuses to say a word on the conflict in the Gaza Strip." (05/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, portugalski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Europa, » USA, » Bliski i Środkowy Wschód

The daily Le Temps comments on the responsibility of the United States in the Middle East conflict: "Some people dreaded (or hoped for) an attack against Iran. Instead, the period of transition between the two American presidencies resulted in an almost unprecented military action in Gaza. ... It was time to tidy house before George Bush left office for good. ... Is this the result of America's moribund foreign policy which in eight years has proven unable to achieve anything other than this bloody confrontation, without the slightest trace of a diplomatic solution? No doubt it is. Is this the perverse consequence of an Israeli foreign policy that predictably has nothing more to offer with every election than an escalation of violence, a war, a provocation or a blend of all four? No doubt it is. The concurrence of the American interregnum and the upcoming elections in Israel has proved an explosive combination - not only in the devastated streets of Gaza. It threatens to shape the course of events for years to come." (29/12/2008)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » USA, » Bliski i Środkowy Wschód, » Izrael
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Luis Lema

The daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes critically that too many European mediating missions are involved in the Middle East conflict: French President Nicolas Sarkozy is mediating in his capacity as chairman of the UN Security Council, Javier Solana as EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg is representing the Czech EU Council Presidency and Tony Blair is intervening as special envoy for the Middle East Quartet: "No order, much less peace, can emerge from this chaos. The Middle East is governed by the law of strength. Those who openly work against each other, thus weakening each other, are not considered serious negotiating partners. These so-called mediators lack not only authority; they also lack access. The Europeans made the conscious decision to cut off ties with the radical Hamas [organisation]. Now they can hardly take sides with an organisation which only a short while ago they condemned as dangerous." (05/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Polityka UE, » Europa, » Bliski i Środkowy Wschód

The daily Upsala Nya Tidning writes: "The only thing that can improve the situation in the long term is a two-state solution in which more moderate forces than [radical Islamic Palestinian] Hamas have the say. If this can be achieved it will prove that peaceful negotiations can produce results. ... Weakening sympathy for Hamas can only be accomplished on the long-term if negotiations with [moderate] Fatah really do hold out the possibility of a Palestinian state. But that is not in the cards as long as Israel clings to its current policy of settlement and occupation." (03/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, szwedzki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Bliski i Środkowy Wschód

The fledgling Czech EU Council presidency got off to an embarrassing start when a government spokesman called Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip "defensive". Foreign Minister Karl Schwarzenberg has called the statement the result of a misunderstanding following protests from the Arab world, London and Paris. The conservative newspaper Lidové noviny comments ironically: "The spokesperson expressed the opinions of some of his superiors who had not yet grasped that they were at the head of the EU. ... The misunderstanding has been cleared up, the diplomatically correct version of the Foreign Ministry is now the sole valid position. The government has only been on the EU's front line for several days. This will help teach it to lie consistently in the good European fashion." (05/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Polityka UE, » Czechy, » Bliski i Środkowy Wschód
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Martin Zvěřina

The Vatican announced at the end of December that it will not automatically accept Italian jurisprudence in future. The decision was based on contradictions among several laws as well as a lack of conformity with positions of the Roman Catholic Church. The left-liberal daily La Repubblica writes that this will undermine the integrity of Italian society: "The world is large, but Italy is nearby. From now on its jurisprudence will be subject to constant ethical surveillance. ... The Vatican's new line may spark off conflicts of loyalty among Catholics in parliament, who are torn between their civil duties and the Vatican's announcement that it may reject ... these very rights and duties. ... This conflict of loyalty could spread well beyond parliament and destroy Italy's already damaged social integrity. What is at stake here is the autonomy and laicity of the state, the very fate of freedom." (05/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Światopogląd, » Włochy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Stefano Rodotà

The daily La Libre Belgique portrays the new Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy in its leading article. The Flemish Christian Democrat takes office following the resignation of Yves Leterme. "It is clear that this job ... is not an easy one. Seldom has the task been so difficult. And the man has never concealed the fact that he has his own personal agenda that doesn't necessarily make his political task the top priority of his activities. He writes a lot, reads a lot and wants to spend plenty of time with family and friends. ... This is a man who won't be devoured by his own ambition. Naturally, one doesn't reach the pinnacle of the state without a healthy dose of ambition. But he has been able to apply his ambition judiciously. The election of Herman Van Rompuy was driven by both reason and emotion - by reason because according to numerous observers he is genuinely capable of meeting the challenges. By emotions because with his vision he can offer the country a real future." (30/12/2008)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Belgia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Francis Van de Woestyne

The Austrians have rediscovered their love of the EU, writes the daily Der Standard. According to a Eurobarometer survey their trust in the EU has grown substantially over the past six months. "The reason behind this is the financial crisis: Even Austria has now realised that the problems can't be solved by a single country: When the automotive industry in the US and other European countries suffers, Austrian suppliers also feel the pain. The EU has proven that it is capable of coordinated action in a crisis. ... More and more people in Austria seem to be realising that in times like these it's better to live under the protective shield of Europe and advocate changes from within the Union." (02/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka UE, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Austria, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Alexandra Föderl-Schmid

Economist György Csáki reflects in the left-liberal daily Népszabadság on the end of the West's economic hegemony as a result of the global financial crisis: "The consequences of the financial crisis which has rocked the entire US financial system and toppled major investment banks like houses of cards are legion. Estimates put the amount of money that has 'disappeared' from the American and international banking system and stock markets at no less than 7,000 billion dollars! ... The crisis is also overturning the international economic balance of power. The period after World War II was profoundly influenced by the economic (and political) supremacy of the US. Those days are gone for good. ... The new protoganists of the global economy are the so-called BRIC states: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Until now the BRIC states have been unharmed by the crisis. On the contrary, with their huge foreign exchange reserves they are highly popular. Why? Because they can help the ailing banks out of the global liquidity squeeze with injections of funds." (05/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, węgierski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka finansowa, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » György Csáki

In the daily Polska Wiktor Świetlik puts a few thoughts on the new year to his readers: "I would like to express a few political 'non-wishes' for the coming year. St. Augustine once said that where there is no good, there is evil. If this is true, then the fulfilment of these 'non-wishes' would lead to their coming true. So I wish for your sake that there may be no struggle over ... who is the most intelligent of the intelligent and who is the most European of the Europeans ... I wish for 'retro-style' policies. Policies shaped by both emotion and reason. Policies from the times when the US candidates for the office of president, governor or sheriff gave logical answers to the logical questions of voters in order to convince them of the best course of action." (05/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Filozofia, » Polska, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Wiktor Świetlik

The Spanish daily El País calls on the EU to respond quickly to the gas crisis between Russia and Ukraine: "We must also act fast regarding our dependency on Russian gas. There is no time to lose in diversifying our sources. And the same goes for creating a standardised European energy market. Moscow exploits its bilateral agreements with several important countries of the Union to its advantage. And it is these agreements that prevent decisions from being taken on the EU level, especially as they guarantee current gas supplies with little regard to what could happen in the future." (05/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, hiszpański)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Polityka UE, » Energia, » Ukraina, » Rosja, » Europa

In his column the conservative politician Jan Rokita evaluates the decision of Bulgaria and Hungary last year to take part in the Russian-Italian South Stream gas pipeline project. He explains that in his opinion this was one of the major events of 2008 "because back in 2002 both countries were important partners in the Nabucco pipeline project, the purpose of which was to provide Europe with Caspian gas without Russian involvement. And both countries suddenly changed their minds and joined the Russian South Stream project which is aimed at counteracting the measure to reduce dependence [on Russia]. The Bulgarian government made a complete volte-face on a January night. And this was the night Vladimir Putin spent in Sofia. Hungary's change of opinion, on the other hand, came when Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány spent an evening at the Kremlin in February. ... This puts an end to the myth that in Central Europe [states] act unitedly." (05/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Energia, » Polska
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Jan Rokita

With a view to the financial crisis The Irish Times comments on the success of the euro ten years after its introduction: "The euro has proven a remarkable success, despite the many grim warnings from sceptics that the currency union was doomed. The European single currency would fail 'economically, socially and politically', Mrs Thatcher insisted: she has been wrong on all counts. Indeed the strength and stability of the euro has never been more in evidence than in recent months, as global financial turmoil intensified following the collapse of [US investment bank] Lehman Brothers. In contrast the difficulties this presented for some countries outside the eurozone, like Denmark, are readily apparent. To defend the exchange rate and to prevent capital flight, they have to keep interest rates high. Not surprisingly, public opinion in many of these countries (for example, Denmark and Poland) has moved in favour of joining the euro." (05/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka finansowa, » Polska, » Dania, » Europa

On January 1, 2009 the Turkish state television broadcaster TRT6 started broadcasting its programmes in the two languages spoken by Kurds in the country. The daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes that this sends an important message to Turks and Kurds: "The official channel is the result of a policy aimed at reducing tensions initiated some time ago but which has produced few satisfactory results; naturally this official Kurdish channel is also intended to act as a counterweight to the Roj-TV channel broadcast from Denmark, which is said to have close ties with the PKK. And in March there will be local elections. But it still means something that the powerful military and the nationalist-Turkish oriented state doctrine are going along with this. Only time will tell how serious Erdogan and his AKP party really are about a rapprochement with the Kurds." (05/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Media audiowizualne, » Mniejszości, » Turcja

British culture secretary Andy Burnham has proposed introducing age certificates for Internet websites to protect the young. The Guardian is critical of the idea: "Mr Burnham rightly said that leaving a child to wander unsupervised on the internet for two hours was worrying. So is leaving a child almost anywhere for two hours unregulated. But here also is the seed of a solution: parental responsibility. It is parents' duty to educate their children to avoid the pitfalls of life, whether road accidents, fattening foods or viewing habits. Any attempt by government to take over parental responsibility might smother the very thing that needs nurturing. ... The problem is that many parents are not motivated or feel it is beyond them. The government should save the money that might be lavished on an ineffectual Big Brother solution and spend it instead on a concerted campaign to make parents aware of what they can do for themselves." (05/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Media internetowe, » Polityka medialna, » Wielka Brytania