From America

The European Union is dying

02 September 2010 The Washington Post Washington D.C.

Can someone call the doctor? (L. Steinmark/Getty)

Renationalisation of politics, a painful economic slump, hasty enlargement, populism - some of the reasons why insiders in Washington believe the EU is a thing of the past.

Immigration

Is Gaddafi right?

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has demanded 5 billion euros from Europe, and unless he gets what he wants, he has threatened to stop policing the Mediterranean for illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa in search of a better life in Europe. Isn't this blackmail? Perhaps. But in the absence of an alternative to the problem, Gaddafi's proposition at least makes financial sense for the EU, according to economist Mario Deaglio.
02 September 2010 La Stampa Turin
 
Middle East Sidelined Europe can still be of help
On September 2, Israelis and Palestinians are meeting in Washington to have yet another go at the Middle East peace talks. But while the discussions are taking...
02 September 2010 La Vanguardia
 
United Kingdom Tony Blair reveals all (well, almost)
Leading with the main front-page story in today’s British press, The Independent reports on the publication of Tony Blair’s “long-awaited...
01 September 2010 The Independent
 
Democracy The Germany that says Nein
A wave of protest has overrun Germany. People everywhere are coming out against politicians’ pet projects. Democracy seems alive and kicking, but oftentimes self-interest and the general welfare collide head-on. And this naysaying spree could stymie the country’s modernisation.
01 September 2010 Der Spiegel
 
European Institutions Brussels has its work cut out
"Heavy-duty return to work for the EU" headlines La Voix du Luxembourg in a round-up report on issues tabled for discussion by Europe’s 27...
01 September 2010 La Voix du Luxembourg
 
Greece Last gasp for public smoking
“Absolutely no smoking in parliament, except on the balcony,” remarks an ironic To Vima. On the day when “the total ban on smoking in public...
01 September 2010 To Vima
 
Economic crisis Zombie bank pushes Ireland to brink
“Anglo claims €25bn is total cost,” headlines the Irish Times, one day after the bank reported losses of €8.2 billion for the first half...
01 September 2010 The Irish Times
 
Libya Gaddafi is pulling our leg
When it comes to foreign policy, national interests will sometimes trump lofty moral principles. But the Libyan leader’s latest provocations and blackmail attempts beat all.
31 August 2010 Corriere della Sera
 
Denmark Right wants monitors for Swedish poll
"VKO insists Swedish elections should be supervised," headlines Jyllands-Posten. The Danish daily reports on the concern expressed by leaders of the...
31 August 2010 Jyllands-Posten
 
Belgium Political atmosphere turns sour
“PS and N-VA spoiling for a fight,” headlines De Standaard, which reports that two months after general elections, negotiations on the formation of...
31 August 2010 De Standaard
 
Globalisation Don't be afraid of China
As the number two power in the global economy, China's rapid development is a major worry for the other high-stakes players like the United States and Europe. However, China's growth is beneficial to European companies, and like Japan in the 1970's and 80's, it does not constitute the threat that so many fear it does.
31 August 2010 De Standaard
 
Slovakia Random killing spree or race crime?
The entire front page of SME is devoted to a single story: on 30 August in Bratislava, “a gunman shot seven of his neighbours before committing suicide....
31 August 2010 SME
 
European integration The union needs leaders
While the EU is slogging knee-deep through an economic crisis and a general state of political malaise, its leaders seem to lack the will to find a solution. Political scientist Rob de Wijk advises them to reverse this tendency in order to keep the Union from falling further into the abyss.
30 August 2010 Trouw
 
Italy / Libya Gadaffi’s second Roman holiday
Muammar Gadaffi is back in Rome, and he's getting himself noticed, quips L'Unità. As during his controversial 2009 visit, the Libyan leader came with...
30 August 2010 L’Unità
 
Germany Now Sarrazin baits the Jews
“Sarrazin mutates into geneticist,” headlines the Tageszeitung, re Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin’s latest incendiary remarks. After...
30 August 2010 Die Tageszeitung
 
Roma Prague accuses France of racism
On the front page of Saturday’s Lidove Noviny, Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg condemns the French government’s Roma “repatriation...
30 August 2010 Lidové noviny
 
Poland Solidarity’s dispersed legacy
Solidarity – a movement supported by almost 10 million members in 1981, and with less than 600,000 members today – will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1980 “August Agreements” that led to the creation of the first independent labour representation in the Soviet-dominated bloc. The anniversary has sparked a heated debate in the Polish press.
30 August 2010 Presseurop
 
Opinion Would the EU please wake up, please?
The EU is plunging in the polls, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey. The ranks of the disillusioned are swelling not with Eurosceptics, but with Europhile integrationists. Meanwhile, the Commission marks time and Van Rompuy gone AWOL.
27 August 2010 La Stampa
 
Immigration Social democrat's rant rocks Germany
"So that Germany doesn’t become even more stupid", headlines Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The paper has entered the fray in the controversy...
27 August 2010 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
 
Rwanda West’s ally Kagame accused of genocide
"Kagame accused of genocide", headlines De Standaard. Along with Le Monde, the Flemish daily has obtained a leaked copy of a UN report detailing...
27 August 2010 De Standaard
 
Crime The art thieves stalking Europe
The vulnerability of museums and high-end art owners to costly thefts has been a whispered concern in France for years, but two events here are forcing the issue into the open.
27 August 2010 International Herald Tribune
 
Poland Number of illegal abortions triggers debate
“Polish abortions in clinics all over Europe”, headlines Gazeta Wyborcza. The liberal daily reports on a “citizens’ hearing” in...
27 August 2010 Gazeta Wyborcza
 
Press Review European press thrashes France on Roma
All Europe has its eyes on France as it “repatriates” Roma to Romania and Bulgaria, and most deplore what they are seeing.
26 August 2010 Presseurop
 
Roma No end to hypocrisy from Paris and Brussels
The "humanitarian" repatriation of several hundred Roma from France to Romania and Bulgaria is "cynical and demagogical", insists Bulgarian editorialist Svetoslav Terziev. And worse yet, it offers nothing toward solving the problem of their eventual integration.
26 August 2010 Sega
 
Balkans Montenegro - come if you're rich
Eager to join the European Union, Montenegro is cleaning up its image of corruption and pulling out all the stops to attract foreign capital.
26 August 2010 The New York Times
 
Northern Ireland State and church protected terrorist priest
“Claudy, a grotesque perversion of justice,” headlines the Belfast Telegraph. Northern Ireland is reeling from an official report published August...
26 August 2010 The Belfast Telegraph