Debates
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Netherlands: ‘Doctors: euthanasia for dementia patients should be restricted’
16 May 2013282PresseuropDe Volkskrant -
Germany: The real trial of the NSU is yet to come
7 May 20132046 Die Welt Berlin -
Banks: Bonuses too big to prevail
8 March 2013103336 The Guardian London -
Sweden: No hitch in gay marriage debate
30 January 2013392351 Libération Paris -
France: ‘Groundswell’
14 January 2013161PresseuropLe Figaro -
Czech Republic-Slovakia: The happy Czechoslovakia that could have been
7 January 2013154165 Respekt Prague -
The press in Europe (3/5): Newspapers will not die in Silicon Valley
26 December 20128125 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
European integration: We need a referendum on the future of Europe
17 October 201227256 Il Foglio Milan -
Nobel Peace Prize: Oslo’s call to Europe
15 October 201261845 La Repubblica Rome -
Belgium: Cutting out an irritating word
20 September 2012708PresseuropDe Morgen -
Democracy: Put citizens at the heart of the Union
14 September 201247456 Gazeta Wyborcza Warsaw -
Eurozone crisis: Time to make the rich pay
17 August 201255759 Der Tagesspiegel Berlin -
Religion: Why circumcision hurts
20 July 201213934 Die Zeit Hamburg -
Banks: How Iceland stalks its banksters
12 July 2012324514 Le Monde Paris -
Austria: Why not let the people decide?
10 July 20121009 Die Presse Vienna -
Eurozone crisis: Germany driving up wrong side of the road
19 June 2012622252 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
Breivik trial: Myth of Norway’s lost innocence
16 April 20121903 Stavanger Aftenblad Stavanger -
Germany: Günter Grass, “the eternal anti-Semite”
4 April 201216825PresseuropSüddeutsche Zeitung -
Romania: Twilight of the intellectuals
29 March 201217618 Evenimentul zilei Bucharest -
Democracy: When will there be a virtual European salon?
27 March 201218076 Dagens Nyheter Stockholm -
Estonia: SS to be given “freedom fighter” status
11 January 2012PresseuropDie Tageszeitung -
Press review: Franco-Turkish spat over genocide law
23 December 201112213PresseuropYeni Şafak, Milliyet, Zaman & 3 others -
Germany: Habermas stokes debate on Europe
9 November 20112617PresseuropFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung -
Slovakia: Law could lead to Communist Party's dissolution
7 November 20113PresseuropSME -
France: Long history of a forgotten massacre
17 October 201158210 Le Monde Paris -
Czech Republic - Netherlands: Cannabis: Medicine or hard drug?
6 October 20111PresseuropDe Volkskrant -
Ideas: Why Hamlet is no euro-federalist
28 August 201123017 Evenimentul zilei Bucharest -
Internet: We need a Euro-Google
9 August 20112273 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
Norway and after: Populism – handle with care
26 July 20113156 Trouw Amsterdam -
Malta: Valleta to allow divorce from October
26 July 2011PresseuropThe Times of Malta -
Spain: The Civil War is still an open wound
18 July 20111142 El País Madrid -
Poland: Abortion debate flares up again
8 July 20111PresseuropNewsweek Polska -
Iceland: A new constitution, via Facebook
4 July 201115232 Sydsvenskan Malmö -
Spain: One step up for the Angry Ones
29 June 20111571 El País Madrid -
European Union: Back to the nation
8 June 201165024 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
Europe: Call for truce in war on drugs
3 June 20114PresseuropLibération -
Political fiction: Onwards to Europe 2.0
30 May 20112467 Die Welt Berlin -
United Kingdom: Minister blunders on rape question
19 May 2011PresseuropThe Independent -
Netherlands: European rabbis defend ritual slaughter
13 April 20111PresseuropDe Volkskrant -
Opinion: Burqa ban — a false move
11 April 20111119 The Independent London -
Burqa ban: Islam in Europe - a real problem
11 April 20111752 Rzeczpospolita Warsaw -
IDEAS: The West, past its best
15 March 20111PresseuropCourrier international -
Poland/Germany: Bundestag reopens World War 2 wounds
15 February 2011PresseuropGazeta Wyborcza -
Multiculturalism: Tolerance doesn't mean you say nothing
11 February 20112561 Spiked London -
United Kingdom: Multiculturalism takes another hit
7 February 20112063 Presseurop -
Baltic states: Where minorities must hold their tongue
6 January 2011814 De Volkskrant Amsterdam -
Integration: In the eighth circle of hell
3 January 2011874 Die Tageszeitung Berlin -
Germany: The immigration debate begins
7 December 20101PresseuropDie Tageszeitung -
Social issues: The counterproductive war on smokers
6 December 20103029 Revue Politika Brno -
Diplomacy: Not such wicked leaks
2 December 20101003511 Libération Paris
The trial of the neo-Nazi NSU group is being dubbed one of the most important trials of the post-war era in Germany. The media circus around the five accused, however, is hiding the true scandal of this affair: that the NSU was not discovered earlier. 
After the whopping bailouts to Europe’s banks failed to trigger growth, a new zeitgeist is sweeping the continent. The tide has turned against corporate excess. The public wants revenge and the bankers have only themselves to blame, writes a British columnist. 
In a Europe where “marriage for all” has opened up a bitter divide in France, and at time when the Polish parliament has recently rejected civil union legislation, Sweden stands out as a country where lesbian bishops can legally get married without sparking controversy. 
Twenty years ago, Czechoslovakia split in two new countries. If the Czech Republic and Slovakia had stayed together and transformed the impoverished former nation into a multi-ethnic country, both societies would be more democratic today, argues a dual-nationality columnist. 
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. 
The European project, as it has been constructed so far by the elites and their "benevolent paternalism", has run up against its limits. The next step towards political union cannot be taken without a direct consultation with the citizens, writes the director of the Italian geopolitical magazine Limes. 
The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the EU is a double appeal, writes German philosopher Jürgen Habermas: to European leaders to save a Union that has broken down; and to its citizens, to show solidarity just as the crisis is undermining the European social model. 
Europe today is suffering an erosion of representative democracy, citizenship and solidarity, making emerging from the crisis that much harder. If the Union cannot encourage an upswing in citizen participation it will not survive in its current form, warns a Polish columnist. 
In their bid to cope with debts, governments are taxing the middle classes, and overlooking the fact that bad investments — banks, property, public debt — made by the wealthy, are the cause of the current crisis. Taking up this idea, the liberal Der Tagesspiegel argues that the well-off should dig deeper. 
Ever since a German court declared circumcision of a minor a punishable offense Germany has been debating religious freedom. As with the headscarf or the crucifix, the anxiety shows that German society is becoming ever more fearful of religion. 
In London, Barclays rigged the interest rates on interbanks loans, while in Madrid, Bankia cooked the books in order go public. How can banks be held accountable? Iceland has appointed a team of investigators that seeks out fraud and sends the perpetrators to court. 
The ESM is one, and the fiscal pact another: should the major political decisions of a country be put to the people for a vote? In Vienna, which has been debating more transparency and direct democracy for some months, the politicians have been slamming the brakes on with both feet. 
Angela Merkel and Germany's quality and tabloid press would have have it that the world is out only for the Bundesrepublik's riches. Not only untrue, laments the editor of German weekly Der Freitag, but also dangerous for the future of Europe and democracy. 
In the run-up to the opening of the trial of extreme right terrorist Anders Breivik, which is set to begin in Oslo on 16 April, a Norwegian journalist contests the myth of Norway’s “lost innocence”, which has been a feature of international press coverage of the aftermath of the Utøya massacre. 
Writer Mircea Cărtărescu argues that since the fall of communism Romanian society has been characterised by bad taste, physical and verbal violence, sexism and racism. Worse still, at a time when populism is emerging in the country’s media, Romanian intellectuals are increasingly ignored. 
First there were books, then came the press, and now we have Internet. For almost two centuries, media have provided a virtual space for discussion that has enabled democracy to develop. Today, however, a Swedish columnist remarks Europe lacks a virtual space that is not constrained by national boundaries. 
The French parliament’s vote which approved a private member’s bill making it a crime to negate the Armenian genocide has provoked an angry response from Ankara. The reaction to the initiative in the French press has been largely negative, while the Turkish media is much more outspoken. 
Exactly 50 years ago today, between 100 and 200 Algerians, who were taking part in a peaceful demonstration, were murdered by Paris police. After decades of official cover-up, the collective memory of the events of 17 October 1961 is finally being restored. 
Although many commentators have called for it to be established, the United States of Europe remains a chimera, which is incompatible with the history and plurality of cultures on our continent, argues Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu. 
What you can look up, you needn’t commit to memory. This old maxim is one that drives Google's business today. But the Internet revolution is still in its infancy, and soon the material of our everyday lives could be fodder for search engines. We should be cautious about what we hand over, warns FAZ. 
Although Anders Breivik was solely responsible for the atrocities in Norway, his far-fetched ideas clearly owe much to a culture of populism. A Dutch historian argues that the events which took place on 22 July ought to be considered in the context of political trends in Europe.
75 years after Franco's coup against the young Spanish republic and the start of a bloody civil war, Spain has yet to write a definitive and undisputed history of the period. For El Pais, part of the right still cultivates a selective forgetfulness. 
Begun after the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent fall of the government under popular pressure, Iceland’s citizen revolution continues. The most recent example is that all internet users are called upon to draft the country’s next constitution. 
In having accepted to reopen the debate on transparency and property held by those in public office, it looks as if Spain's politicians are responding to some of the demands made by the Angry Ones movement. But if they're to build on these first successes, protestors must elaborate a coherent politcal project. 
The European Union was the best thing that could have happened to the continent. But over the years it has grown into a demon, uncontrollable and impossible to throw out of office. To avoid collapse, there is only one road open: back to the nation. And back to democracy. 
Forget the nation-state: Europe would be much better off if it were fundamentally reorganised – into powerful regions in the north and the Alps and picturesque bankrupts in the south 
Wearing the burqa in public places is now forbidden in France. For the Independent, the new law is a piece of electioneering from an embattled Nicolas Sarkozy, and will worsen the condition of Muslims in Europe. 
The debate about secularism organised in France by the ruling right-wing UMP party has been decried by the Muslim community as a brutal attack on Islam, while the Left has seen it as a disguised attempt to curry favour with the supporters of the National Front. But no debate at all is a victory for extremism, argues a Polish editorialist. 
First Merkel, then Cameron, now Sarkozy. Across Europe, multiculturalism and its legacy are in the dock. But according to sociologist Frank Furedi, multiculturalism is divisive because it promotes a watered down version of tolerance. 
A few months after Angela Merkel controversially argued that the multicultural society in Germany had “utterly failed”, David Cameron’s 5 February speech echoing the Chancellor’s sentiments has revived the debate about national identity in the British press. 
The linguistic rights of the sizeable Russian and Polish minorities in the three former Soviet republics, which joined the EU in 2004, are hardly recognised. A Dutch journalist deplores governmental intransigence on the issue of languages. 
Thilo Sarrazin's controversial book on the dumbing down of Germany has ignited the debate on immigration. Russian emigré writer Wladimir Kaminer now joins the fray to warn against the dangerous habit of dividing society up into the strong and weak, productive and non-productive. Like it or not, he says, we stand or fall together. 
The European Commission is preparing a general ban on smoking in public areas. However, a Czech legal expert argues that the desire to legislate to improve public health could ultimately undermine civil liberties. 
For the celebrated novelist and intellectual Umberto Eco, the Wikileaks affair or "Cablegate" not only shows up the hypocrisy that governs relations between states, citizens and the press, but also presages a return to more archaic forms of communication. - 1 of 3
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