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Romania
Raed Arafat: A reluctant rebel
18 January 2012Qmagazine Bucharest -
Czech Republic
Václav Havel – neither an angel nor God
19 December 20111Hospodářské noviny Prague -
Transnistria
Stooges’ ballot in Tiraspol
9 December 2011România libera Bucharest -
2 December 201113Der Spiegel Hamburg
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EUROPEAN OF THE WEEK
Guido Strack – the downfall of a whistleblower
6 October 201110Süddeutsche Zeitung Munich -
29 September 2011The Independent London
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Portrait
Power, not nuclear
2 May 20112VoxPublica.ro Bucharest -
Litterature
Paolo Rumiz, soul without frontiers
22 April 20111Le Figaro Paris -
Portrait
A Super Mario for the ECB?
8 April 20113Der Spiegel Hamburg -
10 March 2011Fokus Stockholm
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Literature
In praise of indignation
7 January 2011Libération Paris -
European of the week
How I survived the Irish boom
24 November 20101The Times London -
European of the week
The riddle of Princess Hijab
12 November 2010The Guardian London -
European of the Week
No downfall for Bruno Ganz
8 October 2010România libera Bucharest -
6 September 201019The Independent London
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26 August 2010Sega Sofia
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European of the Week
Béla Bugár, bridge builder
29 June 2010Respekt Prague -
Football
World cup, the succour of soccer
11 June 20103ABC Madrid -
European of the Week
Ilmars Poikans, Latvian cyber-avenger
21 May 2010Süddeutsche Zeitung Munich -
European of the week
Ahmet Davutoglu, between two worlds
14 May 2010Adevărul Bucharest -
European of the Week
Antonio Presti, anti-Mafia patron of the arts
23 April 2010El País Madrid -
EUROPEAN OF THE WEEK
Necla Kelek, defending democracy
16 April 2010Der Spiegel Hamburg -
European of the week
Baltasar Garzón, judge in the dock
9 April 20102El País Madrid -
EUROPEAN OF THE WEEK
Iveta Radičová, phoenix of Bratislava
2 April 20102Respekt Prague -
European of the week
Miriam Meckel, life after burn-out
19 March 20101Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
European of the week
Florence Aubenas, undercover on the crisis
26 February 2010Le Monde Paris -
European of the Week
Agata Buzek, not just daddy's girl?
19 February 2010Polska The Times Warsaw -
European of the Week
Helene Hegemann, the art of cut and paste
11 February 20104Berliner Zeitung Berlin -
European of the Week
Iana Matei, against human trafficking
3 February 2010Adevărul Bucharest -
European of the Week
Eric Cantona : striker universalis
26 January 2010Le Monde Paris
The revolt currently shaking Bucharest is inspired by Raed Arafat, a doctor of Palestinian origin who protested against the privatisation of the country's health system. 
The former Czech president did not seek power for power’s sake, but became indispensable during the next twenty-two years of his country’s post-communist development. A tribute from Prague daily Hospodářské noviny after his death on December 18th. 
The secessionist region of Moldova is to hold presidential elections on 11 December — a vote that will be marked by a strange bargain between its Russian protector and Germany, which aims to resolve a conflict that has been deadlocked for 20 years. 
Jürgen Habermas has had enough. The philosopher is doing all he can these days to call attention to what he sees as the demise of the European ideal. He hopes he can help save it -- from inept politicians and the dark forces of the market. 
He wanted justice, and for it risked family, work and health – to lose it all. Guido Strack was once an ambitious officer with the European Commission. But that was before he began to draw attention to abuses in his department. 
Northern Ireland deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has declared his candidacy for the Irish Republic’s presidential election of October 27. The Independent profiles a candidate whose career begins as IRA leader during the Troubles, to peacemaker, and politician. 
Founder of one of the first cooperatives for producing renewable energy, Germany’s Ursula Sladeck has won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in the United States. 
Traveller, writer and journalist. Italian, Balkan and a little bit Slavic too. Paolo Rumiz is all these things at the same time, this man who has passed through the upheavals of Europe and got it all down in books of highly personal tales. 
Axel Weber has taken himself out of the running, and the candidate from Finland has also withdrawn: That leaves an Italian, Mario Draghi, in line to succeed Jean-Claude Trichet as head of the European Central Bank. A man from a deeply indebted EU nation may now be tasked with saving the euro. 
With two months left to run before general elections, the anti-immigration, eurosceptic populist leader is moving ahead in the polls. Taking advantage of a nice-guy image, Timo Soini could undermine Finland’s political establishment. 
With sales of more than 500,000 copies, the pamphlet Indignez-vous [which literally translates as “Be indignant”] by 93-year-old philosopher and former member of the French Resistance Stéphane Hessel launches an appeal for social and political commitment fueled by the emotion inspired by injustice. 
Irish author Julian Gough got through the Celtic Tiger years on little more than love and fresh air. Now resident in Berlin, here’s his tale of staying sceptical (and broke) as the rest of the country went mad (and bust) on property fever. 
In the midst of heated debates about national identity and burqa bans, French graffiti artist Princess Hijab’s ad-busting interventions on Paris metro fashion ads now have a worldwide audience. But who is she? And does it matter if she’s not even a she? 
Every year the European Film Academy honours a practitioner of the “seventh art” for the entirety of his or her past work. This year the lifetime achievement award goes to Swiss actor Bruno Ganz. 
As interior ministers from several EU states gather to discuss immigration in Paris, French president Nicolas Sarkozy's drive against illegal Roma settlement has been vilified at home and abroad. A British columnist takes his defence. 
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. 
Founder of Hungarian-Slovak reconciliation party Most-HÍD, the Magyar politician leads the drive to improve the troubled relations between the Slovak majority and the country's ethic-Hungarian minority. His success in recent elections is a positive sign for stability in Central Europe. 
The World Cup kicking off on 11 June in South Africa is a lot more than a sporting event: it has become a mass sociological phenomenon that eclipses our daily doldrums. A case in point is Spain: a country in a fix but favorites to win the tournament. 
For months he was Latvia’s cyber Robin Hood. After hacking into secret tax files, Ilmars Poikans, alias Neo, showed his compatriots how the country’s elite lined their pockets during the crisis. 
Can Turkey reconcile its European orientation with an ambition to play a more active role in the Muslim world? The answer to this question will be largely determined by one man: Turkey's current Minister for Foreign Affairs, an increasingly influential neo-Ottoman academic. 
For 30 years this Sicilian entrepreneur has been lavishing the bulk of his fortune on artistic projects. Defying convention, corruption and the Cosa Nostra, he seeks to "help people respect their patch” and “rediscover their identity" through art. 
The Turkish-German writer Necla Kelek is a vehement defender of democracy. Her criticism of Islam has sparked controversy amongst many German intellectuals. Der Spiegel wonders whether she is unjustly vilified by her critics. 
Famous for having prosecuted Pinochet, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón is facing trial at the Supreme Court of having committed abuses of power while investigating crimes committed under Francoism. Is he a hero or an megalomaniac? wonders El País. 
The first woman to have penetrated the higher echelons of Central European government, Iveta Radičová's style and political positions have created a new phenomenon in the virile world of Slovak public affairs. According to the weekly Respekt, on 12 June, she may well become the country's next prime minister under the banner of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ). 
Until her nervous breakdown, Miriam Meckel, a high profile professor, broadcaster, and PR agent, was widely considered a role model in her native Germany. Her bestselling book about the experience warns of the perils of a non-stop communication society, and has reignited the debate about Germany's much vaunted work ethic. 
Journalist and former hostage in Iraq, Florence Aubenas spent six months immersed in the world of precarious employment. She wrote about her experiences in a book which reveals a little known aspect of the reality of life in Europe.
Voted one of the year’s ten best European actors at the Berlinale, the Polish film actress is chalking up one high-profile part after another – in life as on the silver screen. Agata, daughter of European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek, is making a first name for herself.
She’s the new star of the German literary scene. At 17, Helene Hegemann has already beguiled the critics with a novel about disoriented and unrestrained youth. The only problem is she lifted whole passages off the web. But she admits it – and ushers in a new take on plagiarism and “authenticity”, writes the Berliner Zeitung. 
Designated "European of the year 2010" by Reader's Digest for rescuing 420 women from forced prostitution, Iana Matei manages a centre where the victims of human trafficking are given a chance to rebuild their lives. 
Having played himself in Ken Loach's Looking for Eric, the former star of Manchester United is now preparing to take on a leading role in a major Parisian theatre production. Le Monde presents a portrait of a legendary footballer who has found a new career as a sensitive and committed artist.