Czech Republic
Backroom antics at Ministry of Defence
3 September 2010
Presseurop
Mladá Fronta DNES 
Mladá Fronta DNES, 3 September 2010
"The vice-minister: how we cheated" headlines Mladá Fronta DNES, which secretly recorded a business meeting between a high-ranking official of the Czech Defence ministry and an arms industry representative. The daily reveals how the ministry was able to get around the European laws governing arms contract offers in public markets: it suffices to create a "strategic project" with another member state, such as Slovakia. The dealers can then exact higher prices than in other countries, while corrupt officials pocket commissions on the transactions.
As Greece pimps its ancient monuments to bring in the tourists, lovers of cultural heritage are up in arms. But the country is only doing openly what the whole of Europe is: looting historic sites to drum up more ready cash. 
Asserting national values is central to the political project of the Hungarian PM. Since the start of the year, fifteen paintings, specially commissioned for an exhibition in the Castle of Buda, have been putting this ambition on show. 
The game has gone on for nearly two years: Athens pretends to comply with the demands of its creditors and partners, and they pretend to believe in Greece’s commitments. As the spectre of default comes nearer, however, the Greek bluff cannot go on much longer, writes an El Mundo editorialist.