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            <channel><title>Presseurop | <![CDATA[Bulgaria]]></title>
                <link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en</link>
                <description>The best of the European press translated into 10 languages</description>
                <language>en</language><item><title>Schengen | Bucharest and Sofia must try harder, again</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/1493921-bucharest-and-sofia-must-try-harder-again</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;Can the CMV report open the door to Schengen?&quot; questions the front page of Romanian daily Rom&acirc;nia Liberă, referring to the interim report of the [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:15:33 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Immigration | Bulgarian passport opens doors to West (Trud, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1258251-bulgarian-passport-opens-doors-west</link><description><![CDATA[Macedonians, Moldavians and Ukrainians are jostling to obtain a Bulgarian passport. Many plan to leave for other countries in the European Union, but first they must confront the Bulgarian administration. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/Bulgaria-passport.jpg" length="120482" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:47:19 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Iceland | Reykjavik to allow Romanian workers</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/1155471-reykjavik-allow-romanian-workers</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;Iceland has decided to open up its labour market fully to Romanian [and Bulgarian] citizens from 1st January 2012&quot;, reports Timpul. The Moldovan daily is [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:50:39 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>River transport | The Danube is running dry (NRC Handelsblad, Rotterdam)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1101321-danube-running-dry</link><description><![CDATA[The Danube, Europe&#039;s second longest river, is one of the most poorly navigable rivers on the continent. Despite the EU’s Danube Strategy, the summer drought has resulted in even lower water levels, resulting in an enormous traffic jam. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/danube-drought.jpg" length="123650" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:42:43 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Vote boosts ruling party</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1090071-vote-boosts-ruling-party</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;No surprises,&quot; headlines Bulgarian daily Dnevnik, summing up the results of the first round of presidential and local elections held on October 23. In the [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/Dnevnik-24102011-100.jpg" length="44005" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:41:00 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | White slave trade profits from the crisis (Sega, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1070101-white-slave-trade-profits-crisis</link><description><![CDATA[Rendered desperate by poverty and a lack of secure employment, a large number of young women yield to the siren call of recruiters who make use of bogus offers of training and temporary jobs to lure them into prostitution. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/human-trafficking.jpg" length="111552" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:23:08 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Collapse of a so-called social model (Trud, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1009501-collapse-so-called-social-model</link><description><![CDATA[The riots that rocked the village of Katounitsa and several cities across Bulgaria have not only marked a sudden upsurge in anti-Roma sentiment: an anthropologist argues that they are also a symptom of a sick society which has been unable to overcome the scourge of clientelism. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/bulgaria-violence.jpg" length="26999" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:46:43 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Unrest over Roma king</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/995071-unrest-over-roma-king</link><description><![CDATA[For Dnevnik, the clashes between the people of the village of Katounitsa in the south of the country and its large Roma community amount to [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/Dnevnik-27092011-100.jpg" length="38872" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:02:53 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Balkans | Ikea, a Bulgarian idea of luxury (Standart, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/982751-ikea-bulgarian-idea-luxury</link><description><![CDATA[The long awaited opening of the Swedish brand’s first shop in Sofia has been spoiled by controversy over prices — an opportunity for Bulgarian journalist Martin Karbovski to poke fun at his compatriots’ taste for novelty at all costs... (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/Ikea-Bulgaria.jpg" length="71626" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:21:25 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Shifting borders | Editorial</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/editorial/981821-shifting-borders</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;In Europe, principles are not what  they once were,&quot; writes Rom&acirc;nia libera  on the eve of the meeting of European ministers. On September 22, the  ministers decided to postpone the accession of Romania and Bulgaria  to the Schengen area, having failed to reach a compromise with the Netherlands  and Finland, which are demanding more guarantees in the fight against  corruption and crime. In Bucharest and Sofia the governments feel betrayed,  as they feel they had worked hard to do just what was asked of them  &ndash; in vain.&nbsp;
Beyond the national perspective, however,  everything today indicates that Europe has become a kind of labyrinth  in which no one recognises his own borders. The external frontiers,  the Schengen area, pressed hard on their Greek or Italian flanks, are  reinforced on one side with barbed wire (between Greece and Turkey)  or with increased sea patrols (in the Mediterranean) &ndash; all without any  guidelines having been drawn up at European level.
Internal borders, which theoretically are now largely symbolic administrative  lines, are in turn subject to manoeuvring that undermines the very principle  of free movement throughout the area. Denmark has restored its border  controls, ostensibly to fight cross-border crime, and France has done  the same to prevent Tunisians from crossing over from Italy. Finally,  other borders, these ones political, forced up by domestic issues, are  popping up where they were not necessarily expected: in the Netherlands,  in Finland and in Denmark, pushed for by Geert Wilders and his party,  by the &quot;True Finns&quot;, and by the Danish People&#039;s Party. &nbsp;
&ldquo;I blame Europe and Italy for  being asleep, for not being aware of the nationalist and centrifugal  forces that are tugging it apart.  We have not remembered the lesson from the Balkans: it&#039;s enough simply  to identify an enemy of the people for a people short of reference points  to take it on as truth,&rdquo; writes the Italian Paolo Rumiz  in his book On the Frontiers of Europe (ed. Hoebeke, 2011). He  might have added that it risks abandoning part of its soul to wander  between these more or less shifting borders, and lose itself.&nbsp;
 (Editorial)]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:58:43 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Romania | Congratulations, you failed the Schengen test (De Volkskrant, Amsterdam)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/978281-congratulations-you-failed-schengen-test</link><description><![CDATA[The citizens of Romania and Bulgaria should be delighted by the rejection of Schengen membership applications submitted by Bucharest and Sofia, which have been vetoed by the Netherlands. Dutch daily De Volkskrant argues that it will be the spur they need to step up the fight against corruption and organised crime. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/roumanie-schengen.jpg" length="131644" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:35:31 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Schengen Zone | The millionaires of Europe's eastern frontier (The New York Times, New York)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/913961-millionaires-europe-s-eastern-frontier</link><description><![CDATA[Despite billions invested in hi-tech surveillance equipment, the borders of Romania and Bulgaria remain some of Europe’s most porous. Sumptuous villas built by customs officers might provide a clue as to why. A report. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/bulgaria-schengen.jpg" length="118791" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:05:40 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Sofia cracks down on Lukoil</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/809721-sofia-cracks-down-lukoil</link><description><![CDATA[&ldquo;The state is applying the law against Lukoil,&rdquo; says Bulgarian daily Dnevnik. On June 26, Bulgarian authorities cancelled the licence accorded in Bulgaria to Russian [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/Dnevnik-28072011-100.jpg" length="14221" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:33:05 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Emigrés, get lost (E-vestnik, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/785941-emigres-get-lost</link><description><![CDATA[Every summer, thousands of Bulgarians who live abroad come back home hoping to catch-up with old friends. But for the latter, these forced reunions become agony, notes with wry humour writer Gueorgui Nikolov. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/20072011-airport-meeting.jpg" length="57677" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:56:40 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Sofia gets another earful from Brussels</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/785301-sofia-gets-another-earful-brussels</link><description><![CDATA[&ldquo;Changes have had no impact,&rdquo; headlines Dnevnik. Once again, the European Commission&rsquo;s annual report on progress in judicial reform, and the fight against corruption and [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/20072011-Dnevnik-100.jpg" length="13089" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:08:32 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | The superheroes of Soviet Sofia (Dnevnik, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/765421-superheroes-soviet-sofia</link><description><![CDATA[In mid-June, anonymous artists repainted the Soviet soldiers on a war monument in Sofia as comic-book superheroes. Beyond merely irritating the authorities with the farce, the gesture raises the question of the relationship between power, art and history. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/bulgaria-monuments.jpg" length="182606" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 08 Jul 2011 17:14:45 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Greek crisis | Bulgarians fear collateral damage</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/761841-bulgarians-fear-collateral-damage</link><description><![CDATA[&ldquo;What will the Bulgarians do if Greece goes bankrupt?&quot; The affair unsettles Sofia weekly Kapital, which points out that five of the thirty banks in [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/Kapital-07072011-100.jpg" length="36914" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:52:30 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Schengen Area | Sofia and Bucharest kept waiting</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/705071-sofia-and-bucharest-kept-waiting</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;Europe wants us in Schengen. But when? When pigs fly&hellip;&quot; The popular Sofia daily Trud  sets the tone for reports on yesterday&rsquo;s EU decision [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/110610trud_1.jpg" length="7145" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:00:31 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Internet | Crime spreads on the web</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/636091-crime-spreads-web</link><description><![CDATA[&nbsp;As La Voix du Luxembourg&nbsp;points out on its front page, the &quot;Dark side of the Internet&quot; has created closer links with the poppy fields of [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/La-voix-luxembourg-05052011-100.jpg" length="46480" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 05 May 2011 14:37:34 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Romania-Bulgaria | On the road to Schengen</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/631791-road-schengen</link><description><![CDATA[On 2 May, a further obstacle was removed from the path towards the inclusion of Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen area: &quot;the European Parliament&rsquo;s [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 03 May 2011 14:14:39 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Ready for Schengen</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/584101-ready-schengen</link><description><![CDATA[Bulgaria takes &ldquo;a real step&rdquo; towards joining Schengen, reports the daily Monitor which, along with all of the Bulgarian press, enthusiastically welcomes the conclusions of [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/Trud-05042011-100.jpg" length="42434" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:10:00 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Central Europe | The wilted charms of the euro (Presseurop, )</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/583111-wilted-charms-euro</link><description><![CDATA[Europe’s sovereign debt crisis has dampened enthusiasm for the single currency in most of the countries of Central Europe. Today, only the Baltic States are still eager to join the Eurozone, writes &quot;Rzeczpospolita&quot;. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/AREND_euro.jpg" length="89802" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:48:19 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Europact | What's in it for Eastern Europe? (Adevărul, Bucharest)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/572781-what-s-it-eastern-europe</link><description><![CDATA[The EU’s 27 member states have adopted a pact for the euro that will provide a collective guarantee for the single currency. However, a former Romanian diplomat argues that Brussels will still have to find the courage and the means to implement it. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/euro_4.jpg" length="75120" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:28:31 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Libyan war | Bulgaria wants Gaddafi's guts for garters (24 Chasa, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/566271-bulgaria-wants-gaddafi-s-guts-garters</link><description><![CDATA[A popular Sofia daily takes issue with the Bulgarian government, which has dubbed the allied intervention in Libya &quot;a military adventure,&quot; and argues that Bulgaria has every reason to join with its real friends in seeking revenge on the Libyan dictator. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/Libya-Bulgaria_0.jpg" length="120924" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:58:31 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Economic crisis | Iron chancellor will have her way</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/524641-iron-chancellor-will-have-her-way</link><description><![CDATA[Angela Merkel is not for turning, and her European partners are increasingly jittery. &ldquo;Kenny bailout blow,&rdquo; headlines the Irish Independent. Speaking at a joint press [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:39:20 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Return of a nation&#039;s gilded youth (Tema, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/524931-return-nations-gilded-youth</link><description><![CDATA[The brain drain is a serious issue for Bulgarians. But not all of the country’s young people leave for good. Those who have opted to return home after studies abroad have even created an association to build bridges with the rest of Bulgarian society. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/bulgaria-students.jpg" length="82893" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:04:03 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Romania | High profile crackdowns to please EU</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/494421-high-profile-crackdowns-please-eu</link><description><![CDATA[&ldquo;A coup for the country&#039;s image,&quot; hails Capital following the crackdown  by the National Anti-Corruption Department on the border with Moldova  in early [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 14:54:39 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Sofia embarassed by latest jobless figures</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/487241-sofia-embarassed-latest-jobless-figures</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;Unemployment rises with rate in Bulgaria now third highest in the EU,&quot; headlines Dnevnik, which reports on Eurostat figures  published on 1st February. According [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/110202dnevnik.jpg" length="7492" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:28:41 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Borisov survives another scandal</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/471901-borisov-survives-another-scandal</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;Storm  in a glass of water,&quot; headlines Trud. The Sofia daily reports on the 20  January vote of confidence, which has ensured the [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/110121trud.jpg" length="7583" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:43:09 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | A great disappointment (Sega, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/461131-great-disappointment</link><description><![CDATA[Battling with organised crime and held back in its bid to join the Eurozone and the Schengen Area, Bulgaria has begun 2011 without a political project to mobilise its people. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/Bulgaria-Sofia.jpg" length="69252" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:00:00 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Schengen area | Paris and Berlin leave Bucharest and Sofia high and dry</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/439731-paris-and-berlin-leave-bucharest-and-sofia-high-and-dry</link><description><![CDATA[On 21 December, the German and French interior ministers wrote to the European Commission to request that Bulgaria and Romania&rsquo;s inclusion in the Schengen Area, [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/brief/dnevnik-gandul.jpg" length="45588" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:41:19 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria | Sofia diplomats outed as ex-spies</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/431291-sofia-diplomats-outed-ex-spies</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;President defends DS spy ambassadors,&rdquo; announces Dnevnik. Bulgarian President Gu&eacute;orgui Parvanov has declared that he will oppose Prime Minister Bo&iuml;ko Borissov&rsquo;s plan to recall 40 [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/16122010-Dnevnik-100.jpg" length="18278" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 16 Dec 2010 13:55:51 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Belgium - Bulgaria | Sofia and Brussels in Roma mix-up</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/417791-sofia-and-brussels-roma-mix</link><description><![CDATA[The Bulgarian press has misconstrued a new Roma integration scheme approved on 3 December by the Flemish government, triggering an &ldquo;incident&rdquo; between Belgium and Bulgaria. [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:06:24 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Portugal | Half a million working poor</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/413631-half-million-working-poor</link><description><![CDATA[Portugal &ldquo;already has 500,000 working poor&rdquo;, reports Jornal de Not&iacute;cias, noting that within the working population, the 20% highest-paid earn 6.1 times more than the [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/02122010-Jornal-Noticia-100.jpg" length="18580" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:40:46 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Bulgaria / Russia | Sofia bends to Putin gas deal</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/389131-sofia-bends-putin-gas-deal</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;In Sofia, Putin launches South Stream, but Belene still on hold,&quot; headlines Dnevnik. &ldquo;The Russians have succeeded in rallying the Bulgarians to South Stream while [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/15112010-Dnevnik-100.jpg" length="12726" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:10:28 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Economic Crisis | Austerity progress report</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/363041-austerity-progress-report</link><description><![CDATA[Rom&acirc;nia liberă presents &quot;a progress report on European austerity&quot;, comparing the impact of measures adopted by different EU member states. The Bucharest daily notes that [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/RL.jpg" length="36127" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:23:14 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>ROMA | Brussels goes soft on Sarkozy</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/349611-brussels-goes-soft-sarkozy</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;EU kowtows to Sarkozy,&quot; headlines Die Presse. &quot;The European Commission is only going to launch a watered-down procedure against Paris for infringement of the treaties.&quot; [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/30092010-Die-Presse-100.jpg" length="12695" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:05:17 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Roma Expulsion | European double standards</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/332321-european-double-standards</link><description><![CDATA[The French Roma-repatriation crusade is going down rather differently in the two countries directly concerned, Romania and Bulgaria. The Bucharest-based paper Adevărul recalls that &ldquo;till [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:52:49 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Riber Hansson, Svenska Dagbladet (Stockholm) | Under a Sarkozy moon | Cartoon (, )</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/picture/330981-under-sarkozy-moon</link><description><![CDATA[Under a Sarkozy moon (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/RIBER_2010-08-26-460.jpg" length="56298" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 16:55:48 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Roma | Prague accuses France of racism</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/326261-prague-accuses-france-racism</link><description><![CDATA[On the front page of Saturday&rsquo;s Lidove Noviny, Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg condemns the French government&rsquo;s Roma &ldquo;repatriation&rdquo; crusade. &ldquo;One can&rsquo;t help thinking racist [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/28082010-Lidove-Noviny.jpg" length="15371" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:07:36 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Restless holidays | Editorial</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/editorial/325781-restless-holidays</link><description><![CDATA[Can we really talk about a return from the easy, slow-news days of summer holidays at a time when it seems that the whole of Europe was unable to shut down for even a weekend? Between saving Greece, the government negotiations in the Netherlands and Belgium, the debate on the proposed energy tax in Gemany, the raging fires in Russia, the floods in Central Europe and Pakistan (where the EU was very last at jumping in to help, unusually), and of course the issue of the &quot;voluntary repatriations&quot; of Romanian and Bulgarian Roma from France, this summer has been anything but idle. Except, perhaps, in the case of European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, from whom we have heard nothing for the last month, notes La Stampa.
And things might well continue at the same pace. Following the summit of the &quot;Big four&quot; European powers set for 6 September  &ndash;  that the Belgian EU presidency threatens to boycott, fearing that its real purpose is to legitimise France&#039;s expulsions of the Roma&nbsp; &ndash;  there will be a meeting of foreign ministers, who are to discuss, among other topics, the issue of Kosovo (Berlin has suggested to Serbia that they would have an open door into the EU if they recognised Kosovo&#039;s autonomy). There is also the (less than inspiring) state of justice in Bulgaria and Romania, both trying to be a part of the Schengen zone. Next up are the referendum on the presidential election in Moldavia (a requisite condition for pursuing negotiations toward an eventual membership in the Schengen area), as well as one on Constitutional reforms in Turkey (ditto), not to mention the legislative elections in Sweden. Which leaves a lot on the plate of the Union&#039;s unusually quiet Belgian presidency, whose first hundred days will soon be coming to an end.
Iulia Badea Gu&eacute;rit&eacute;e
 (Editorial)]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:18:22 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Press Review | European press thrashes France on Roma (Presseurop, )</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/324811-european-press-thrashes-france-roma</link><description><![CDATA[All Europe has its eyes on France as it “repatriates” Roma to Romania and Bulgaria, and most deplore what they are seeing. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/GLEZ_2010-08-23.jpg" length="64843" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:27:45 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Roma | No end to hypocrisy from Paris and Brussels (Sega, Sofia)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/324541-no-end-hypocrisy-paris-and-brussels</link><description><![CDATA[The &quot;humanitarian&quot; repatriation of several hundred Roma from France to Romania and Bulgaria is &quot;cynical and demagogical&quot;, insists Bulgarian editorialist Svetoslav Terziev. And worse yet, it offers nothing toward solving the problem of their eventual integration. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/Roms-.jpg" length="33823" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:30:20 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Stephff, The Nation (Bangkok) | Monsieur Sarkozy's holiday | Cartoon (, )</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/picture/324321-monsieur-sarkozy-s-holiday</link><description><![CDATA[Monsieur Sarkozy's holiday (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/STEPHFF_2010-08-25-Roms-460.jpg" length="64052" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:06:37 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Christo Komarnitski, Sega (Sofia) | Hop it, Madame! | Cartoon (, )</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/picture/318721-hop-it-madame</link><description><![CDATA[Hop it, Madame! (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/Christo-Komarnitski-Gitan-M.jpg" length="61196" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:01:30 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Stability pact | That figures</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/318101-figures</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;The European Commission has agreed to study an alternative model for calculating its public debt,&quot; reveals P&uacute;blico, speaking of the letter signed by nine member [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:20:39 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Enlargement | EU's backdoor thrown open (Le Figaro, Paris)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/316361-eu-s-backdoor-thrown-open</link><description><![CDATA[Millions of Turks, Serbs, Moldovans, Ukrainians and Macedonians could soon be European citizens, thanks to some fancy footwork by new member states (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/romanian-border.jpg" length="56257" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:25:58 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Fires | The ghost of Chernobyl again floating over Europe</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/314611-ghost-chernobyl-again-floating-over-europe</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;Natural catastrophes and nuclear energy: the danger has been pushed back&quot;, reads the headline of Die Tageszeitung, depicting the image of a Russian forest contaminated [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/12082010-Taz.jpg" length="11544" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:18:04 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Firefighting | Europe works together as fires blaze</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/312641-europe-works-together-fires-blaze</link><description><![CDATA[As southern Europe braces itself for forest fires a crack EU firefighting squad has been brought together, reports the New York Times.&nbsp;For the first time, [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:46:15 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Corruption - a European problem | Editorial</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/editorial/301461-corruption-european-problem</link><description><![CDATA[It&rsquo;s a commonplace to say that corruption is a plague that overruns the Balkans. On 20 July, a report published by the European Commission voiced grave concerns over the effectiveness and independence of the judicial systems in Romania and to a lesser extent in Bulgaria. In 2007, the implementation of measures to combat corruption was one of the key conditions for the accession of both countries to the EU. And it is on this basis that the 2000 reform and extension of the the scope of the country&rsquo;s anti-corruption legislation remains one of the most important laws to be adopted in post-communist Romania. However, in the decade that followed, several public anti-corruption have campaigns have come and gone without delivering satisfactory results.
In Sofia, the government will be pleased that the European Commission praised its &ldquo;strong political will&rdquo; to combat corruption. However, in Bucharest President Traian Băsescu, who was none to happy with the Commission&rsquo;s assertion that his country was not meeting its European Union obligations, &nbsp;insisted that criticism of his country was exaggerated. His argument with the report is largely based on the following reasoning: corruption prevails when private interests undermine the probity of official process. The perception that corruption is part and parcel of doing business in Balkan member states has meant that most companies operating in these countries feel obliged to offer bribes, and they claim that if they did not resort to this practice they would quickly be overwhelmed by bureaucracy. As a result, corruption has become the norm, and the issue should be approached differently.
On the initiative of Romanian &nbsp;MEP Monica Macovei, on 6 May the European Parliament endorsed a declaration demanding a clear EU policy against corruption and a mechanism to regularly monitor the situation in member states. As a study published by geopolitical news website Diploweb.com has demonstrated in its analysis of the NGO Transparency International&rsquo;s rankings, corruption is a phenomenon that affects all of Europe  &ndash;  and in particular Greece, Italy and Spain. In view of these conditions, should supervision be limited to countries that are entering the EU? Would it not be wiser to subject all of the EU&rsquo;s member states to ongoing evaluation, which is certainly somewhat embarrassing, but nonetheless useful and even necessary? The success of the drive to combat corruption will ultimately depend on the recognition of the scope of the problem everywhere in the EU. 
Iulia Badea Gu&eacute;rit&eacute;e
 (Editorial)]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:47:07 +0100</pubDate></item>
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