The daily Cotidianul sees the gas dispute as a continuation of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's colonial policy. "When Ukraine resists the gas price imposed by the Russians it is left without gas. Europe is also being cut off from supplies and this cold treatment will be Moscow's trump card: Europe accepts that Russia's neighbouring states belong to Russia. The bilateral discord between Russia and Ukraine is nothing other than the concretisation of the Putin regime's colonial policy. Phase one in the summer: Georgia; phase two in the winter: Ukraine. The Putin-Gazprom operation is aimed at making sure that Ukraine and Georgia don't draw closer to the EU and Nato but remain under the sway of the Russian Gazprom empire. Russia is effectively stabilising the new eastern borders of the EU and exerting pressure to ensure a return to the artificial gas and oil prices on which underdeveloped economies are dependent. What's more, it is forcing Europe into energetic slavery." (09/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, rumuński)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Energia, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Ukraina, » Rosja, » Europa, » Rumunia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Traian Ungureanu

Dziennik newspaper criticises Ukraine for having frittered away in the gas dispute the trust the West had placed in it. "Ukraine has missed the opportunity to leave the Russian sphere of influence and integrate into the West in the foreseeable future. The gas crisis has brought home to the EU and the US the worrying state of the Ukrainian economy and the chaotic political situation in the country. Clearly Ukraine has wasted the four years that have elapsed since the Orange Revolution. They have lost the sympathy they had built up in the West. 'As opposed to in the last gas war in 2006, today no one in Brussels has the intention of siding with Kiev in the confrontation with Moscow. The credibility of the political elites in Ukraine is at around zero', says Katinka Barysch, an expert at London's Centre for European Reform." (09/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Rozszerzenie UE, » Energia, » Ukraina, » Rosja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Jedrzej Bielecki

The daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's policy of alliances poses a threat to Europe's unity. "Not lofty words but a concrete and growing dependency on gas as a raw material unites the member states. Russia's Europe is being packaged together through a network of pipelines. This mesh of pipes stretches across the entire continent and like an arrow diagram can be mapped out and studied as a system of interdependencies and interactions. ... Russia wants to prevent the EU from closing ranks and presenting itself as a monolithic buyer to the gas supplier from the East. Putin wants to prevent a shift in the current power structures between suppliers and (solvent) customers that would be to Russia's disadvantage. Therefore Moscow is using a splintered customer structure that has only one goal: the gas must flow." (09/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niemiecki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Stosunki międzynarodowe, » Energia, » Handel, » Rosja, » Europa, » Europa Wschodnia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Stefan Kornelius

According to De Standaard newspaper, the gas conflict highlights the problematic relations within Europe: "Since last summer and the Georgian campaign we know that Russia is no friend of moderation and will not tolerate being trifled with, even if it means creating international tensions. First come honour and the interests of the fatherland, and then other considerations. ... Once more we've learned that getting along with the irritable Russian bear is no picnic. Europe is being brutally confronted with the consequences of its most recent enlargement. The Union stretches to the mouth of the Danube, but like it or not the countries in this region are inextricably tied to Moscow. This creates a common destiny which many Europeans are not aware of. If you look at a map Europe looks like a slim appendage of the Russian giant. As soon as this reality is also reflected in economic and political power relations, we'll all be out in the cold." (09/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, niderlandzki)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Rozszerzenie UE, » Energia, » Rosja, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Bart Sturtewagen

In view of the Gaza conflict, NRC Handelsblad accuses the West of double standards in its Middle East policy. While avoiding condemning Israel so as not to jeopardise diplomatic talks, the West refuses to talk to Hamas, the paper writes: "This double standard can no longer be maintained at the official level. ... The Netherlands and Denmark have proposed stationing European observers on the borders to Gaza to make sure that Hamas receives no weapons in the event that a stable ceasefire ... is reached. But such controls would only have more than a symbolic significance if discussions were held with all parties in the region, including Hamas. Ignoring the existence of this armed Islamic movement has not served to limit violence in the past. Now is the time for diplomacy, and Europe must be at the forefront." (09/01/2009)

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

Terrorists may see the police as a "legitimate" target of attacks but the general public does not, writes the pro-government paper Apogevmatini about the attack on a group of Athens policemen on Monday. "In the past the 'legitimate' targets were American, but today new ones must be found. The events of recent days and the murder of 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos in December provided an ideal opportunity to create a new 'legitimate' target: the police. The aim was ... to gain public acceptance for such attacks. But this did not come about because people were not willing to condemn the entire police force ... and because those who called for heightened police aggression to suit their own political aims were not heard. ... What would happen if the call for a more aggressive police had been heeded? The entire force would be stigmatised as 'hard' and consequently widely regarded as a legitimate target of attacks." (09/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka bezpieczeństwa / Kryzys / Wojna, » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Ruchy społeczne, » Grecja
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Sofia Voultepsi

The weekly HVG comments on the fact that the extreme right-wing Movement for a Better Hungary, or Jobbik party, has overtaken the liberal Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) [a former ruling party] in the opinion polls. "It was mainly a smear campaign against the Roma that has enabled Jobbik to heighten its profile. ... With the Nazis in Germany ... it was the Jews, after World War II it was the Sudeten Germans and, particularly in Slovakia, the Hungarians, while under the Stalinist system it was the aristocrats and the entrepreneurs, and later on the kulaks [prosperous farmers]. In the eyes of the Hungarian neo-Nazis [Jobbik] the Roma have assumed the role of the 'guilty race'. They relentlessly propound their radical and deeply prejudiced judgements. ... Particularly tragic is that these exaggerated prejudices contain a grain of truth. Decades have passed yet not only the politicians, but also civil society - including the Roma elite - have failed to find a solution to the accumulated problems of the Roma." (09/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, węgierski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka wewnętrzna, » Mniejszości, » Ruchy społeczne, » Węgry
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » László Szentirmay

Prospects have worsened for the publication of bilingual school textbooks for the Hungarian minority in Slovakia after President Ivan Gašparovič vetoed the project, which had been agreed on with Budapest. The nationalist coalition partners of Prime Minister Rober Fico are seeing to it that parliament does not overrule the veto. The leftist daily Pravda voices disapproval: "Ján Slota [head of the right-wing extremist Slovak National Party], Vladimír Mečiar [head of the nationalist People's Party] und Gašparovič are behaving like the saviors of the Slovak nation. But in fact they are the exact opposite. The textbook law does not in fact strengthen Hungarian interests in Slovakia, but Slovakia's own interests. The law stipulates compulsory reference to the Hungarian minority in school textboks. So anyone who wants the Hungarian minority to have a better command of the Slovak language should support the new law." (09/01/2009)

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

Muslims in Italy are gathering for public prayers in front of cathedrals to protest the war in Gaza. In the left-liberal daily La Repubblica Enzo Bianchi puts both prayers and protests in their proper place. The former, he writes, belongs in the church while the latter belong on the street. "It's clear that in a democratic state and civil society public space ... must be made available ... for protests. But to give the exercise of this right to freedom of expression and demonstration such an unequivocally religious component seems to me to pose a threat to both the secular nature of socio-political confrontation as well as to the nature of prayer - regardless of the religion of those who turn a protest into a collective prayer. We should remember the dangers of the old ... temptation of creating false deities in one's own ranks, confusing one's own enemies with those of God, of flags and military insignia appearing among the holy hangings of the altar and of blessing weapons and military instruments. To give a social or ethnic conflict a religious character is to intensify the destructive potential of that conflict and provoke the renunciation of civil coexistence and democratic dialogue in a secular state. But the authenticity of prayer also sufferers when it is linked to political struggle." (09/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, włoski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Światopogląd, » Włochy, » Cały świat
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Enzo Bianchi

Sweden has seen an upsurge in atheism in recent years, for example with the organisation "Humanisterna" (The Swedish Humanist Association). Hans Bergström conjectures in the daily Dagens Nyheter that this upsurge is not least due to many people's feeling that the ideals of the Enlightenment are in need of defenders: "After the fall of communism the only thing that can legitimate fanatism is religious and tribal alliances. The oppression of women reaches new heights with masculine religious exegesis. The secular state is once more being called into question in our new, multi-ethnic Europe. Although one might think our Swedish press endorses the ideals of the Enlightenment - particularly bearing in mind its history - strangely enough our newspapers are full of attacks on Humanisterna in general and its leaders in particular. ... I can only conclude that this unprecedented adoration of superstition in the Swedish press is proof that we are in dire need of a movement promoting Enlightenment, reason and secular humanism." (09/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Światopogląd, » Szwecja, » Cały świat

The German state is acquiring a 25-percent stake in the private bank Commerzbank. The business paper Il Sole 24 Ore sees the move as an indication that the government is giving up its opposition to state intervention: "Even cautious and Lutheran Germany, which in the past months has been so openly critical of excessive state aid in the Anglo-Saxon countries, has now plumped for nationalisation. ... The worsening of the financial crisis has brought about this reversal. .... In a bank system like Germany's, which is largely state-owned, yesterday's announcement may appear to many like an attempt to further consolidate the national financial sector. This suspicion is well-founded, even if history provides a somewhat soothing precedent: back in 1932 in the aftermath of the 1929 crash the Commerzbank was partially nationalised, only to pass quickly back into private hands in 1937." (09/01/2009)

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Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka finansowa, » Przedsiębiorczość, » Rynki finansowe, » Niemcy
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Romano Beda

US computer manufacturer Dell is shifting its European production facilities from Ireland to the central Polish city of Łódź. The left-liberal daily Gazeta Wyborcza sees this as a positive development: "In the recent past there hasn't been much good news about the economy. And the psychological impact of this makes it all the more difficult to overcome the crisis. Consequently even the tiniest spark of optimism is vital - and the news that the major computer company Dell has decided to move its production from Ireland to Łódź is cause for optimism. ... Dell has no doubt weighed up the stability of the two economies and the labour costs. ... Globalisation has left no safe havens in the crisis. All the countries of the world are confronting similar problems. With the small difference that some of them will be able to deal with them quicker, while others who have been digging themselves into debt for years are now experiencing a true nightmare." (09/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, polski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka finansowa, » Przedsiębiorczość, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Polska, » Irlandia
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Witold Gadomski

The Daily Telegraph thinks that Spain has been disadvantaged by joining the Eurozone. "As historians begin to assess damage from the credit crunch, Spain will surely be singled out as a classic study for what can go wrong inside a monetary union when the policy requirements of its members become hopelessly misaligned. It is simply not possible to pursue the best interests of every participant when some nations are running trade and fiscal surpluses while others clock up huge deficits. Ten years after it was launched, the euro is propelling Spain towards disaster. In giving up control of domestic interest rates to the European Central Bank, Madrid handed over a vital instrument of macroeconomic management. It is learning to regret that. ... The Spanish economy is weak; it needs lower interest rates and a softer currency. Such a prospect, however, doesn't suit Germany, the Eurozone's dominant force, so Madrid has to sit and suffer while its people cry for help." (09/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, angielski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Polityka finansowa, » Polityka gospodarcza, » Hiszpania, » Europa
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » Jeff Randall

As in London, a conflict over the existence of God is now being carried out with advertising banners on buses in Barcelona. While one bus bears the message that God "probably" does not exist, another calls on people to live "a life in Christ". El Mundo comments: "In view of the strict controls on advertising it is astonishing that these messages are being treated with so much tolerance. Similar tolerance levels would delight the manufacturers of Coca Cola, a hair restorer or any other product accused of false advertising when their messages can be interpreted as misleading or when they advertise non-existent services. The bus with the message inspired by Bertrand Russell leaves a loophole by including the word 'probably', which gives its message an agnostic rather than an atheistic note, like the beer that is probably the best in the world. But the bus line 493 leaves no doubt at all. It sells the existence of God as a matter of fact, although it is far less demonstrable than the taste of a soft drink or relief from haemorrhoids." (09/01/2009)

» Dalsze informacje (Link zewnętrzny, hiszpański)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Religia, » Hiszpania
Wszystkie dostępne teksty » David Gistau

On the occasion of the Day of the Press on January 8 six French online and print media, Mediapart, Le Nouvel Observateur, Marianne, Charlie Hebdo, Rue 89 and Les Inrockuptibles issued a joint appeal to save press freedom: "The right to information, freedom of expression and freedom of opinion is a fundamental civic right. It is the right of all citizens, not just journalists: without freedom of information and without an independent and pluralistic press there can be no genuine democratic debate. But instead of correcting France's backwardness in this area French President [Nicolas Sarkozy] is making it worse with his personal style of leadership. ... To grant the head of state the sole right to appoint or dismiss directors is the symbolic abolition of the independence of the public service broadcasting institutions. This is an abuse of office. ... We call for a national uprising against this encroachment on our freedoms, which weakens our democracy and brings our country into disrepute." (08/01/2009)

» Artykuł (Link zewnętrzny, francuski)
Więcej z przeglądu prasy na temat » Media drukowane, » Media internetowe, » Polityka medialna, » Francja