Articles
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The press in Europe (3/5): Newspapers will not die in Silicon Valley
26 December 20128125 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
The press in Europe (2/5): Still pandering to the power brokers
25 December 20124099 The New York Times New York -
The press in Europe (1/5): El País: delusions of grandeur
24 December 201265018 Mediapart Paris -
Debt crisis: Europe survives the year
21 December 201227260 El País Madrid -
Foreign aid: EU money only benefits the corrupt
21 December 201242516 De Standaard Brussels -
Croatia: Ivo Josipović: in tune with the times
20 December 2012131 Le Monde Paris -
Portugal: How the Troika stole Christmas
20 December 2012217115 El País Madrid -
Balkans: A fresh spat between Bulgaria and Macedonia
19 December 201211210 Dnevnik Sofia -
Greece: A therapist’s worst nightmare
19 December 201211030112 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
European Union: Is Europe standing on its head?
18 December 201238028 Dagens Nyheter Stockholm -
Czech Republic: Vaclav Havel, an icon under fire
18 December 201211513 Respekt Prague -
France : Taxing times for wealthy Gauls
17 December 201224870 Le Monde Paris -
Poland: Kids are so last century
17 December 201234854 Polityka Warsaw -
Eurozone crisis: Germany’s pact with the devil
14 December 2012604160 The Irish Times Dublin -
Slovenia: The placid people’s revolt
14 December 201254915 Jutarnji List Zagreb -
European Council: No federal Europe this winter
13 December 201223220 Libération Paris -
Central Europe: Where has the region’s solidarity gone?
13 December 2012814 Gazeta Wyborcza Warsaw -
Spain: Rajoy faces down The Cavaliere factor
12 December 20126098 ABC Madrid -
European Union: Banking union pipe dream
12 December 201212115 Polityka Warsaw -
Italy: A country in a coma
11 December 201251721 La Stampa Turin -
United Kingdom: Ukip: The party making the Tories tremble
11 December 201218915 The Guardian London -
Italy: Monti refuses to be Berlusconi’s scapegoat
10 December 2012134104 La Stampa Turin -
European Union: Vanished frontiers earn EU its Nobel Prize
10 December 201211031 El País Madrid -
Nobel Peace Prize: Championing EU complacency
10 December 201213116 Slate Afrique Paris -
Poland: Katowice mining the past
7 December 20121853 New Eastern Europe Cracow -
Nobel Prize: Another push for peace
7 December 20124338 De Volkskrant Amsterdam -
Press : The article will self destruct
6 December 20121348 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
Romania: Voting for prosperity or politics?
6 December 20121183 Evenimentul zilei Bucharest -
Competition: Cartels, Europe’s shadowy offspring
5 December 20129798 Der Tagesspiegel Berlin -
Italy: Unity is strength in Emilia-Romagna
5 December 20122084 Le Temps Geneva -
EU crisis: Outlook mixed for Europe’s party politics
4 December 20129710 Financial Times London -
Demography: Germany’s baby blues
4 December 201235178 Libération Paris -
Balkans: Hague verdicts stoke old war feud
3 December 20121835 Tygodnik Powszechny Cracow -
Regions: Separatism is dragging Europe back to the Middle Ages
3 December 2012116078 24 Chasa Sofia -
European Commission: Big Tobacco at home in Brussels
30 November 201228512 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
Denmark: Danish model is a small screen success
30 November 201286933 Le Monde Paris -
EU-Middle East: When Europe had a foreign policy
29 November 201215846 El País Madrid -
Youth: Let’s create an employment Erasmus scheme!
29 November 201287065 Les Echos Paris -
Unemployment: The Neets, a generation in need
28 November 201291054 Trouw Amsterdam -
Romania: New voters lack democratic references
28 November 20121076 Revista 22 Bucharest -
Eurozone: Greece’s creditors offer the minimum
27 November 20124943 To Vima Athens -
EU budget: Scrap the CAP
27 November 201237338 The Guardian London -
Scotland: Calton, capital of the disinherited
27 November 201214314 Trouw Amsterdam -
Elections in Catalonia: Victory of the status quo
26 November 20126951 La Vanguardia Barcelona -
EU budget: Britain’s bluster serves the eurozone well
26 November 201210016 Financial Times London -
ECB: Eurozone leaders disregard democracy
26 November 201231925 La Tribune Paris -
Catalonia election: The obsession with independence
23 November 201215556 La Vanguardia Barcelona -
EU Budget: Commission is nowhere to be seen
23 November 201223225 Coulisses de Bruxelles Brussels -
Eurozone crisis: EU set back a generation
23 November 201248156 Dziennik Gazeta Prawna Warsaw -
Catalonia election: What will happen the morning after?
22 November 20129765 El Periódico de Catalunya Barcelona
In the Internet age, anyone can be an author, journalist, publisher, and anyone can earn money from it: So went the mantra. But the democratisation of information never happened. 
Collusion between the media and politicians seemed to be greater than ever under former French President Sarkozy. But, rather than ditch these olds habits, François Hollande, the low-profile new head of state, is quite happy to keep the media close. 
A success story of the transition to democracy and a showcase for Spanish journalism, today the left-wing daily is struggling to cope with huge losses, which have even affected its editorial line — a crisis exacerbated by the newspaper’s managers who have refused to take responsibility for their actions. 
The year 2012 seemed pretty dangerous for the eurozone and the whole of the EU. But the worst did not come to pass, especially since Angela Merkel made concessions, which allowed Mario Draghi, President of the ECB to intervene. However, in 2013, Europeans will still have to remain vigilant. 
According to the European Court of Auditors, it’s almost impossible to check how EU aid money is spent by developing countries. As a major EU aid fraud scandal hits Uganda, commentators in Kampala wonder why European donors continue to funnel cash into a corrupt country. 
The new year will be busy for Ivo Josipović, the President of Croatia. For one, his country will join the European Union on July 1, 2013. That means this atypical head of state, who is both a lawyer and a composer, will have to wait a while longer before returning to his piano to finish an opera about John Lennon. 
The "Men in Black," or Troika of lenders from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Union, who offer bailouts in exchange for austerity, have become a source of humour. It is the basis of a new card game and advertisement, but the laughter hides fears that the situation will deteriorate in 2013. 
After Athens, it’s Sofia’s turn to put the brakes on the opening of EU accession negotiations with Macedonia. It’s a stance that’s stirring up nationalist tensions between the two countries and breathing new life into the clichés of its European partners about the bickering Balkans, regrets a Bulgarian journalist. 
A German trauma therapist journeys to Greece. What he sees there surpasses his worst fears. Greek society is crumbling under the pressure of the crisis. 
Born to give a political dimension to the common values of Europeans, the Union, with the complicity of the member states, has acquired power and skills that have weakened the people it was supposed to defend, argues the Irish writer Colm Tóibín. 
A year after the death of the former president, his political outlook on civil society is being challenged by his successor, Václav Klaus. But for weekly news magazine Respekt, these attacks underscore why Havel's legacy will always remain a battleground. 
Actor Gérard Depardieu, an icon of French cinema, is settling in Belgium to benefit from the country's lower tax rates. His decision unleashed a passionate debate on tax rates for the wealthy, economic patriotism and European fiscal policy. 
Poles are staying in education longer and putting off having children – sometimes for too long. The country already has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world and if current trends continue, it may well top the global childlessness ranking in the not too distant future, writes a Polityka commentator. 
In Goethe's most famous fable, Faust, the German author demonstrates his opinion that paper money is a continuation of alchemy by other means. This view, argues The Irish Times Berlin correspondent, is clearly evident in Germany’s current stance on the eurozone crisis. 
In early December, thousands of demonstrators took to the the streets of Maribor to drive out the local mayor. What was the motive for the eruption of discontent in a city where people are usually so well behaved? The economic crisis and the impunity of the country’s political elite, a Slovenian journalist explains. 
The last EU summit of the year will not take the path of economic and monetary union closer. The fault lies with Berlin and Paris, who have agreed to bury the roadmap which was presented to them by Herman Van Rompuy. The debate on the future of the Union has been kicked into the long grass to return in 2014, after the German and European elections. 
Exactly 10 years ago, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic were given the right to enter the EU. But despite close economic ties and a sense of shared destiny, different political developments prevent them from having real weight in the Union. 
Mario Monti is not the only victim of the Cavaliere's return to politics. His Spanish counterpart is suffering from restive markets and once again has to cope with distrust of southern Europe. It's a risk – but an opportunity to seek support from his partners as well. 
Banking union has already been delayed by more than 10 years and yet there are few indications this will change at the upcoming EU summit on Thursday. Clearly, national interests of some member states are about to prevail over the common good, laments Polityka’s columnist. 
In his documentary "Girlfriend in a coma", the former editor of The Economist Bill Emmott analyses the reasons for Italy's insurmountable resistance to the necessary changes and reforms. An attitude it shares with many European countries, it partly explains why Silvio Berlusconi wants to get back in business. 
Once described by UK Prime Minister David Cameron as “fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists", the fiercely eurosceptic movement is becoming a mainstream political force. They are attracting the most europhobic elements of the Conservatives and helping shape government policy. 
The resignation of Italy's Prime Minister, announced on December 7, has caused some concern in Italy and abroad. But in the face of Silvio Berlusconi's attempt to exploit social unrest, what other path was open to a technocratic government that has made such an effort to rehabilitate the country? 
Awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU has left many perplexed. However, notes political scientist José Ignacio Torreblanca, a reminder of the long “European civil war” that began in the 19th century should be enough to justify it. 
The European idea certainly deserves to be acknowledged. However, an Algerian-Tunisian journalist argues that the Nobel Committee should not have given its prize to today’s EU, which sells arms and creates unemployment. 
How does a city reinvent itself and build a new identity on a lost industrial past? By betting on culture and architecture to attract tourists. This Silesian city is following Bilbao’s footsteps and will open a rejuvenated museum in January. 
On December 10, the EU is going to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The question is whether this award is justified, given the ongoing euro crisis and the growing discontent. A Dutch historian argues that the award offers the perfect opportunity for Europeans to remind themselves of the European pacification process because now is the time for them to realise that European peace is not a matter of course. 
The Financial Times Deutschland is hitting the newstands for the last time on December 7, and the Frankfurter Rundschau is insolvent. Behind this, lies a development that is bigger than the Internet, says media guru Sascha Lobo: news is becoming ever more streamlined. The concept of whole, complete article is out of date. 
In the wake of a year long political crisis prompted by the dispute between President Traian Băsescu and Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Romanians are about to go to the polls to elect both houses of the country’s parliament on December 9. Given the current context, it is difficult to see how there can be a real debate about the state of society. 
They sell cement, televisions or coffee. They drive up prices and cost consumers billions. Cartels act illegally, and yet seemingly having nothing to fear. In Europe, it turns out, price-fixing by cartels is a mere misdemeanour, like a traffic violation. 
Business is brisk in the area around Bologna, which has remained unaffected by the crisis. Order books are full and exports are on the rise for a dense network of engineering firms specialised in packaging systems, which local entrepreneurs argue owes much of its success to a sense of solidarity. 
By picking Pierluigi Bersani as the centre-left Democratic Party’s candidate for premier, Italian voters have challenged the notion that the eurozone crisis is uprooting the established party political systems of southern Europe. 
Germany's birth rate has been declining for years. Costly programmes to encourage women to have children are in place but their haphazard implementation contributes to a failure to reverse the trend. 
The acquittal of two Croat generals and a Kosovar ex-prime minister has reignited the dispute over a much-contested subject in the former Yugoslavia: who was the victim and who the aggressor in the war nearly 20 years ago? 
Catalans, Scots, Flemish... Western Europe is succumbing in its turn to the sirens of separatism. For Bulgarian essayist Ivaylo Dichev, the new nationalists are entrenching themselves as feudal lords behind the walls of their economic prosperity, under the guise of protecting their identities. 
The resignation of Health Commissioner John Dalli last month lifted the lid on the influence of the tobacco industry in the European Commission. That influence has even penetrated OLAF, Europe's anti-fraud office, writes Der Spiegel. 
A small country with just 6 million inhabitants, Denmark is now a rising star in the world of television thanks to well-crafted series like “Borgen”. Developed by a production system that is unlike any other, the shows owe much of their success to the almost total freedom granted to screenwriters. 
Incapable once again of taking a unified position on a matter of foreign policy, European countries are voting independently on UN non-member state observer status for the Palestinian Territories. Yet there was a time when Europeans claimed to have a key role to play in the peace process. 
The financial crisis has left behind 14 million young Europeans with neither employment nor training, yet nobody is mentioning them in the talks over the EU budget. What if a little money was spent on bringing them into the world of work through the Union, wonders a French consultant. 
Fourteen million European young people are neither working nor in school. Their number is growing because of the economic crisis, with disparities according to the countries. Sociologists worry of the social and health consequences of this phenomenon. 
A new generation of Romanian voters will take part in the December 9 legislative elections. But what path will these young people choose? After all, they are better acquainted with the current dire brand of politics than with the heritage of the rebellions against the regime of former Communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. 
After a series of tough negotiations, the agreement on reducing the Greek debt reached by the Eurogroup and the IMF allows about €44 billion in aid to be released and gives Athens a little breathing room, but does little to help the country in the longer term. 
The Common Agricultural Policy was one of the contentious points of the last week’s EU summit. In the midst of an economic crisis, how can we join the French and defend spending €50 billion on a policy that benefits wealthy landowners and does nothing to protect the environment, rages ecology columnist George Monbiot. 
A victim of factory closures in the 1970s and 80s, Glasgow's Calton district holds several unfortunate claims to fame: high unemployment; poor life expectancy; low per capital income. Cuts in social programmes leave little hope that this situation will improve. 
The early regional elections of November 25 marked a decline in the party of Catalonian President Artur Mas, which had focused on winning an absolute majority in order to organise a referendum on independence for the region. In the end, it was the ruling order which prevailed. 
The EU leaders' failure to find an agreement on the budget is largely symbolic as negotiations concern only a very small part of the Union’s wealth. More important to the EU’s future is the efficiency of the single market and relations between the countries inside and outside the currency bloc. 
On the sidelines of the Brussels budget summit on November 22 and 23, Eurozone leaders approved the appointment of Luxembourgian Yves Mersch to the board of the European Central Bank. But he was elected despite the European parliament voting against him, a move which highlights the EU's dysfunctional nature. 
The issue of self-determination is the main issue in Catalonia's November 25 regional election, and has emerged as the single theme of the campaign. It has been foisted on the electorate in order to avoid more pressing concerns such as unemployment, education and health, argues a columnist. 
Everyone has forgotten that the European executive prepared the budget which is currently being negotiated by European leaders. And there is a simple reason for this: Commission President José Manuel Barroso has become invisible. Libération’s Brussels correspondent deplores what he describes as a political “suicide”. 
It will be decades before the most economically stricken countries recover their pre-crisis standard of living. And the gulf between with these states and those doing well is widening all the time, threatening the unity and stability of the EU. 
The regional elections of 25 November should hand the Catalonian nationalists a majority. The independence referendum they are promising, however, must first get the approval of Madrid and the support of the Catalans.