Netherlands
Maastricht goes to pot
18 August 2010
Presseurop
International Herald Tribune 
International Herald Tribune, 18 August 2010
Maastricht, the Dutch town that has come to symbolise a Europe of open borders, may be about start closing them again, having won the first stage of a legal battle to stop foreigners being sold cannabis in its licensed coffee shops. Thousands of "drug tourists" pour into the picturesque frontier city every day, the International Herald Tribune reports. Worried by a rise in crime, city officials went to the European Court of Justice to have sales restricted to people living in Holland. Meanwhile Germany intends to legalise "cannabis on prescription" headlines the Tageszeitung. Cannabis-based drugs will be prescribed for pain relief to cancer patients and people with multiple sclerosis, it reports.
“Hitler”, “Occupying Power" – it’s always the same. Berlin is asserting its stance on the euro crisis and, in turn, is being abused with comparisons to the Nazis. Die Zeit ponders how Germans should respond. 
France’s second city will be European capital of culture in 2013. But for the moment, news from Marseille is dominated by feuds among Kalashnikov toting drug dealers who hold sway over entire neighbourhoods. 
A Greek default can still not be ruled out, and it would place the European Central Bank in considerable danger. To avoid this, states should pay up and provide guarantees, believes economist Melvyn Krauss.