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            <channel><title>Presseurop | <![CDATA[France]]></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>FRANCE | The open wound of the Rwandan genocide (Le Monde, Paris)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1495181-open-wound-rwandan-genocide</link><description><![CDATA[Two camps, two theories, and two visions of France: 18 years after the massacre of 800,000 Tutsis, the precise role played by Paris is still the subject of heated debate, fueled by the findings of successive criminal investigations. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/rwanda-france.jpg" length="147520" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:45:58 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>France-Germany | Merkel seeks to save marriage of convenience</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/press-review/1487271-merkel-seeks-save-marriage-convenience</link><description><![CDATA[With 80 days left to run before the first round of French presidential elections, the German Chancellor has joined the campaign alongside her most precious ally in Europe,  Nicolas Sarkozy — an initiative judged risky on both sides of the Rhine. &ndash;  (Press review)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/author/SCHOT_merkozy.jpg" length="80021" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:51:36 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>France | Marseille, the new drug empire (Le Monde, Paris)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1476391-marseille-new-drug-empire</link><description><![CDATA[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. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/marseille-police.jpg" length="39763" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:53:44 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Economy | Sarkozy fascinated by German model</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/press-review/1473991-sarkozy-fascinated-german-model</link><description><![CDATA[A probable candidate for re-election, the French President seems intent on proposing an economic project calqued on the German model — a strategy which has surprised the French press. &ndash;  (Press review)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/author/SCHNEIDER_merkozy.jpg" length="107306" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:03:30 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Hungary | Underground Europe | Cartoon (Cicero, Berlin)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1447071-underground-europe</link><description><![CDATA[Underground Europe (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/Mohr-hungary-UE-490.jpg" length="53539" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:03:51 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Cinema | ...! | Cartoon (L'Hebdo, Lausanne)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1436841-</link><description><![CDATA[...! (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/MIX_ET_REMIX-the-artist-490.jpg" length="66411" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:49:44 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | After the downgrades comes the downward spiral (Financial Times, London)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1399301-after-downgrades-comes-downward-spiral</link><description><![CDATA[In the wake of the collective downgrading of 9 eurozone countries, including France, it’s become clear that the EU’s policy of rescue funds coupled with fiscal austerity has exhausted itself. It’s time for Angela Merkel and her partners to find a credible outcome, writes Wolfgang Münchau. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/bojesen-stocks.jpg" length="20164" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:11:12 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | France relegated to 2nd division (Le Monde, Paris)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1399761-france-relegated-2nd-division</link><description><![CDATA[Standard &amp; Poor&#039;s 13 January downgrade of France’s credit rating is a double blow: Nicolas Sarkozy and his presidential election rivals will come under even greater pressure from the markets while the North-South divide in Europe has grown significantly wider. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/bertrand-aaa.jpg" length="18731" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:30:59 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | It can only get worse | Cartoon (L'Espresso, Rome)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1392701-it-can-only-get-worse</link><description><![CDATA[It can only get worse (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/altan-CCC-490.jpg" length="64846" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:47:33 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Ménage à trois | Editorial</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/editorial/1391991-menage-trois</link><description><![CDATA[Changes  are afoot in Europe. If the initial signs are anything to go by, the  &ldquo;Merkozy&rdquo; duo, which took de facto control of the eurozone when the debt  crisis became a threat to the survival of the single currency, has been shaken up by the arrival a third musketeer. 
Appointed  at the last minute, when Italy was on the brink of default and  threatening to sink the euro, Mario Monti appears to be determined to  restore Rome&rsquo;s position  &ndash;  neglected during the reign of his predecessor,  Silvio Berlusconi, who had neither the credibility or the desire to  represent the interests of the eurozone&rsquo;s third largest economy  &ndash;  in the  vanguard of Europe.
Feted  by the Italian press, the entrance of the former European commissioner,  who, unlike Silvio Berlusconi, benefits from remarkable prestige  abroad, has been good news in many respects. First and foremost, it is  good news because the entente between Berlin and Paris has been prompted  by the need for a response to the crisis rather than by any elective  affinity between Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy. The German  Chancellor and the French President have never presented any collective  vision for the future of the euro or Europe likely to inspire the rank  and file of their European partners. On the contrary, they have always  given the impression that they are playing by ear.
Secondly,  because a further addition to Euroland&rsquo;s &ldquo;executive board&rdquo; will make it  more representative by increasing its albeit limited legitimacy.  Finally, it will help to establish a balance: as economist Jean-Paul Fitoussi noted on the occasion of the recent Sarkozy-Monti meeting in Paris, France will now have an ally  in its dealings with Germany, which to date, whether it be voluntary or  not, has continued to predominate and to impose its preferred solution  to the crisis  &ndash; &nbsp; discipline and austerity  &ndash;  on its European partners.
And  with regard to austerity, Mario Monti, like Nicolas Sarkozy, is  insisting that his country has suffered enough, and that growth should  now be the priority. Through the European Financial Stability Facility  and the European Central Bank, the EU is supposed to be the driving  force behind this growth, and Germany has been asked not to stand in the  way. This is a vision that is shared the countries of Southern Europe  &ndash;   and in particular by Spain  &ndash;  for which &ldquo;Il Professore&rdquo; has become  something of a spokesman, notably on the occasion of his warning to Germany about the resentment that could be provoked by an excessive rigidity on the part of Berlin.
However,  the trio that is now emerging still remains fragile: Sarkozy will have  to fight for a new mandate in April, while Merkel must justify her  policies to an increasingly weak coalition, and Monti, who is unelected,  depends on an eclectic majority whose members (notably the  Berlusconians and the Northern League) could &ldquo;pull out&rdquo; if there is any  prospect that they might regain control. So, regardless of its  abilities, the new trio will have little time rescue Europe from the  ongoing crisis. And perhaps this is a blessing, because measures to  ensure the survival of the euro are now a matter of urgency.
 (Editorial)]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:07:29 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | Monti takes on Merkozy</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/press-review/1387691-monti-takes-merkozy</link><description><![CDATA[Two days after French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit, Mario Monti traveled to Berlin on 11 January for discussions on saving the Eurozone with Angela Merkel. The Italian PM, who advocates a more flexible approach to the crisis, succeeded in obtaining the support of the German Chancellor. &ndash;  (Press review)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/author/monti-strasbourg.jpg" length="29440" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:19:16 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | The battle goes on | Cartoon (De Groene Amsterdammer, Amsterdam)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1386951-battle-goes</link><description><![CDATA[The battle goes on (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/bertrams-battle.jpg" length="32671" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:53:55 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Finance | Tobin tax: Sarkozy rides alone</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1374541-tobin-tax-sarkozy-rides-alone</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;Tobin Tax: Just bluffing,&quot; headlines French financial daily La Tribune following assurances by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that France &quot;will not wait for the other [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/LaTribune-01092012-v.jpg" length="12691" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:07:55 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Health | Deflated | Cartoon (L'Hebdo, Lausanne)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1360861-deflated</link><description><![CDATA[Deflated (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/mixremix-implant.jpg" length="44993" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:30:40 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Nuclear energy | French plants need strengthening</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1354601-french-plants-need-strengthening</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;Nuclear energy: 10 billion need to ensure total safety,&quot; headlines French daily Le Figaro after the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN), the country&#039;s nuclear watchdog, ruled [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/120104lefigaro.jpg" length="7360" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:34:06 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>European Union | The new 2012 calendar | Cartoon (24 heures, Lausanne)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1314011-new-2012-calendar</link><description><![CDATA[The new 2012 calendar (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/BURKI_NOEL-490.jpg" length="105034" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 30 Dec 2011 09:00:32 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Euro | The birth of the divine currency | Cartoon (Neues Deutschland, Berlin)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1325631-birth-divine-currency</link><description><![CDATA[The birth of the divine currency (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/ hachfeld xmasjpg.jpg" length="48029" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:00:23 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Franco-Turkish spat over genocide law</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/press-review/1325611-franco-turkish-spat-over-genocide-law</link><description><![CDATA[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. &ndash;  (Press review)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/author/STEPHFF_Turkey-France.jpg" length="34050" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:29:59 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Diplomacy | Who to call in Europe | Cartoon (Liberté, Alger)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1318621-who-call-europe</link><description><![CDATA[Who to call in Europe (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/dilem_tel-europe-490.jpg" length="69420" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:53:57 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Debt crisis | Entente discordiale | Cartoon (, )</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1307441-entente-discordiale</link><description><![CDATA[Entente discordiale (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/SCHRANK_2011-12-16-b-M.jpg" length="73338" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:34:48 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>France | Jacques Chirac convicted</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1298671-jacques-chirac-convicted</link><description><![CDATA[In  a first for France, on 15 December Jacques Chirac was given a suspended  sentence of two years for &quot;breach of trust, misappropriation [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/Liberation-12162011-100.jpg" length="11009" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:00:11 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Debate | Europe's seven deadly sins (2/2) (Die Zeit, Hamburg)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1294161-europe-s-seven-deadly-sins-22</link><description><![CDATA[The politicians of Europe love to flourish the flag of Community togetherness. But in their day-to-day politicking they give the lie to their supposed virtues. The second part of Die Zeit&#039;s list of national egotisms that are harming the Community. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/bosch-wrath.jpg" length="45197" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:11:50 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>European Council | Unity dearly bought (Die Zeit, Hamburg)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1268111-unity-dearly-bought</link><description><![CDATA[Without doubt, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy have taken a big step nearer their goal of a fiscal union. But at what price? Britain remains outside it. The salvation or the disintegration of the Union is now approaching. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/cameron-flag.jpg" length="21933" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:21:13 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>European Union | Goodbye Britain</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1267001-goodbye-britain</link><description><![CDATA[&quot;27-member Europe is finished,&quot; headlines Le Monde, in the wake of the agreement concluded in Brussels by the 17 Eurozone states and six other European [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/111209lemonde.jpg" length="6528" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:43:43 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Debt crisis | Sarko, Merko, Euro | Cartoon (The New York Times, New York)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1263401-sarko-merko-euro</link><description><![CDATA[Sarko, Merko, Euro (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/DANZIGER-490_0.jpg" length="40924" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:55:16 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | Farewell sweet sovereignty... (El País, Madrid)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1262391-farewell-sweet-sovereignty</link><description><![CDATA[If approved by the Twenty-Seven, the fiscal union proposed by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy would be a decisive new stage on the path to European federalism. But are all willing to pay the price: the surrender of the budgetary autonomy of states? (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/Europe-sovereignism.jpg" length="126483" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:50:36 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Schengen | For a Europe of borders</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1262801-europe-borders</link><description><![CDATA[&ldquo;EU countries are clinging to border controls&rdquo;, writes the Financial Times Deutschland as it sums up the views most member states take on the proposal [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/FTD-100.JPG" length="35727" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:38:27 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>European Union | The economic order that inspires Merkel (Libération, Paris)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1262991-economic-order-inspires-merkel</link><description><![CDATA[Angela Merkel’s drive to impose discipline and sanctions in the Eurozone is not a bid to establish German hegemony, but simply an extension of the economic doctrine that provided the basis for Germany’s economic miracle: “ordoliberalism”. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/Chapatte-mere-fouettarde_0.jpg" length="113227" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:26:19 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Who will follow Merkel and Sarkozy?</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/press-review/1255171-who-will-follow-merkel-and-sarkozy</link><description><![CDATA[At a 5 December meeting in Paris, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy agreed on a plan to save the euro from catastrophe, which they will be asking the EU’s 27 member states to approve at a summit on 8-9 December. The European press, however, thinks they’re not out of the woods yet. &ndash;  (Press review)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/author/SCHRANK_Merkozy.jpg" length="98964" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:13:44 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | Neither Paris nor Berlin, but Frankfurt... (Les Echos, Paris)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1250461-neither-paris-nor-berlin-frankfurt</link><description><![CDATA[German proposals for greater discipline in the Eurozone  have not been enthusiastically welcomed in France, where several Germanophobic comments have highlighted one incontrovertible reality: the French are very well disposed towards Europe, but on condition that it is a French Europe, remarks a Les Echos columnist. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/HORSCH-EU-DE.jpg" length="85926" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:39:19 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Profile | Jürgen Habermas, the last European (Der Spiegel, Hamburg)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1242541-juergen-habermas-last-european</link><description><![CDATA[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. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/jurgen-habermas.jpg" length="20563" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:31:20 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Debt crisis | Savers rally to patriotic call</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/1229451-savers-rally-patriotic-call</link><description><![CDATA[Will savers prove to be the ultimate defence against the crisis? wonders La Tribune,  which reports that &ldquo;amid demands for the re-nationalisation of European [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/brief/cover-lb.jpg" length="50354" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:03:14 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Euro at a turning point</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/press-review/1225361-euro-turning-point</link><description><![CDATA[Ratings for all European countries are at risk, warned Moody&#039;s on November 28. The warning comes at a time when Italy is under heavy pressure from the markets and proposals for solving the crisis are proliferating. But it may already be too late, worries the European press. &ndash;  (Press review)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/author/TOM_euro.jpg" length="82252" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:53:20 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>"Merkozy" is not alone | Editorial</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/editorial/1216441-merkozy-not-alone</link><description><![CDATA[In  recent days a breeze of relief has been blowing across Europe. It may  not yet be a wind of change, but it is a quite symbolic development.  Meeting in Strasbourg on 24 November for yet more talks on possible  solutions to the debt crisis, &ldquo;Merkozy&rdquo; was not alone. Italian Prime  Minister Mario Monti was also there, and he demonstrated that he had no  intention of taking on the role of page boy for the Franco-German  couple.
This is the couple born from a marriage of convenience whose (economic) health declining. According to several observers,  France is already on the point of losing its precious AAA rating, while  German debt has lost a lot of its charm  &ndash;  as demonstrated by the half bungled bond sale  on 23 November. 
This is the couple whose quarrels over the resources  that are required to counter speculative attacks on sovereign debt  &ndash;  the  launch of eurobonds  and loans to states in exchange for the inclusion of austerity and  fiscal harmonisation measures in EU treaties  &ndash;  has kept the Eurozone in  suspense, while every additional day spent in limbo has brought the  monetary union closer to breaking apart.
While  Italy&rsquo;s press has hailed the country&rsquo;s &ldquo;return to Europe,&rdquo; in the wake  of years of disinterest and Berlusconian bloopers, the enhanced role  attributed to Europe&rsquo;s third largest economy, represented by a highly  respected former European commissioner, has raised hopes of an end to  the deadlock in which Euroland finds itself. 
Although Monti might not be  able to nor wish to play the role of referee between Paris and Berlin,  he is very well placed to act as a mediator: a mediator who  &ndash;  and he was  keen to make this point in Strasbourg to his two colleagues who sing  the praises of the intergovernmental method  &ndash;  considers that the best  approach to resolving the EU&rsquo;s political and economic crisis will  involve a strengthening of the community&rsquo;s method and institutions. In  this regard, he can depend on the support of Commission President Jos&eacute;  Manuel Barroso, who has recently advocated such a policy.
All of this will no doubt reassure those who feared that Merkozy would be replaced by a m&eacute;nage &agrave; trois  directorate for which European journalists will delight in finding a  new name: Sarmonkel, Merkozonti, Merkonti, AnNiMa or MMS are just some  of the suggestions that have been mooted. But although expectations are  rising, time is running out. 
Translated from the French by Mark McGovern
 (Editorial)]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:25:04 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Who’s afraid of Germany? (5) | Europe - an awfully wonderful family (Die Zeit, Hamburg)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1216581-europe-awfully-wonderful-family</link><description><![CDATA[A family with strict parents, black sheep and tough love: that’s today’s Europe, says an editor at Die Zeit, who sends out a call to defend the historically unprecedented culture of solidarity. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/krauze-toy.jpg" length="32020" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:21:48 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | Only Eurobonds can save us (El Mundo, Madrid)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1210481-only-eurobonds-can-save-us</link><description><![CDATA[The measure demanded by most European partners and supported by the European Commission still meets with stiff opposition from Germany. But Berlin cannot indefinitely block the launch of Eurobonds, which increasingly appear to be the only solution to the debt crisis. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/HACHFELD_eurobonds.jpg" length="77762" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:49:59 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>European Union | A revolution from above (Libération, Paris)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1205541-revolution-above</link><description><![CDATA[Political changes in Greece, Italy and Spain have highlighted how European leaders have upset the balance of power between society and the state and politics and the economy. French philospher Etienne Balibar points out that these developments have overlooked the role of citizens. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/VLAHOVIC_revolution.jpg" length="126115" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:19:31 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Austerity | Fording the river | Cartoon (Trouw, Amsterdam)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1205381-fording-river</link><description><![CDATA[Fording the river (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/Tom_merkel-europe-490.jpg" length="78710" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:49:14 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | Frankfurt Group, Europe's hit squad (The Spectator, London)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1175691-frankfurt-group-europe-s-hit-squad</link><description><![CDATA[Gathered around Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, a small group of unelected EU officials have been assigned the task of governing the eurozone and removing leaders who fail to toe the line, writes the British conservative weekly The Spectator. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/ruben-boot.jpg" length="12416" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:00:44 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Controversy | The late British Empire irks the continent</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/1176991-late-british-empire-irks-continent</link><description><![CDATA[A Europe under the rule of the Iron Lady Merkel and her people, authors of an &ldquo;economic miracle&rdquo;? The thesis repeated by British newspapers is [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:59:04 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Debate | Look behind you, Lucas and Mario (Financial Times, London)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1171901-look-behind-you-lucas-and-mario</link><description><![CDATA[The arrival of technocratic governments in Greece and Italy may well calm jittery markets, but could also help boost populist political parties who point to the democratic deficit at the heart of the EU, argues Gideon Rachman. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/ingram-pinn.jpg" length="136300" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:07:00 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | Europe against the people? (The Economist, London)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1159631-europe-against-people</link><description><![CDATA[Efforts to save the euro cannot run against the will of the voters indefinitely, writes Charlemagne of the Economist. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/schrank-democracy.jpg" length="29406" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:03:38 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Breaking the circle | Editorial</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/editorial/1160691-breaking-circle</link><description><![CDATA[Exit  Berlusconi. The last government leader among the PIIGS  &ndash;  a charming  acronym invented by the Anglophone media for European countries which  fail to live up to economic standards  &ndash;  has finally succumbed to the  only law that that he has been unable to subvert: the law of the  markets. 
To  date, this same law has already claimed the heads of Ireland&rsquo;s Brian  Cowen, Portugal&rsquo;s Jos&eacute; S&oacute;crates, Greece&rsquo;s George Papandreou and Spain&rsquo;s  Jos&eacute; Luis Zapatero. The Spanish Prime Minister, who has decided not to  run for a second term, will remain in power until 20 November elections  that his Socialist Party will probably lose. He thereafter plans to  leave politics.
As  unrelenting as a law of nature, the debt crisis has swept away  governments that have been too weak to resist its onset. The governments  are weak, because they have been forced to face the crisis alone: we  have seen how solidarity between eurozone partners is only triggered  when the survival of the single currency  &ndash;  that is to say everyone&rsquo;s  vital interest  &ndash;  is under threat. 
They  are weak, because they have been forced to adopt virtually  non-negotiable budgetary adjustments dictated by international  institutions (the IMF and the EU). They are weak, because they have been  deprived of the support of populations, which did not elect them to cut  back on social services. Finally, they are weak because they have been  unable to admit the truth, which is that in response to market attacks  the best they can do is attempt to limit the damage.
As  a result, these government&rsquo;s have been deprived of room for manoeuvre;  their role in this time of crisis, has been restricted to applying  decisions taken elsewhere and managing day-to-day business. Differences  and divisions that were significant in &ldquo;pre-crisis&rdquo; politics have been  wiped away, while politicians appear incapable of proposing  &ndash;  or even  imagining  &ndash;  solutions that go beyond standard orthodoxies.
In  the meantime, disoriented citizens have become sceptical about the  capacity of politics to respond to problems to the point where its  legitimacy is continually being eroded, and technocracy appears to be a  more effective option.
That  said, politicians still benefit from democratic legitimacy. The problem  is that the issues they are supposed to address extend beyond the  framework of national sovereignty, which is the foundation and the limit  of their field of action.
As  for supranational organisations like the EU, they could intervene more  effectively on these issues, were it not for their lack of democratic  legitimacy. Nation states are, not without justification, reluctant to  let go of their prerogatives. And were it not for the crisis that Europe  is currently experiencing, no one would have even have thought of  breaking free of this circle.
Translated from French by Mark McGovern
 (Editorial)]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:54:41 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Debt crisis   | Wave of panic in France</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1160291-wave-panic-france</link><description><![CDATA[&ldquo;After Greece and Italy &ndash; France?&rdquo; wonders the front page of Le Monde in the wake of a wave of panic that has swept across [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/111111lemonde.jpg" length="6637" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:04:15 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>INTEGRATION | Arabic, a European language like any other (Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1159591-arabic-european-language-any-other</link><description><![CDATA[A Swedish journalist of Palestinian origin embarks on a tour of Europe to take an inventory of the use of Arabic across the continent with surprising results. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/street-arab.jpg" length="93294" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:04:54 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Natural gas | Gazprom gains first European foothold</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief/1147271-gazprom-gains-first-european-foothold</link><description><![CDATA[The  coming into service, on Tuesday 8 November, of the Nord Stream gas  pipeline, which will link Russia&rsquo;s gas fields to Germany, &ldquo;marks [&hellip;] (News in brief)]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:21:49 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>France | Sarkozy's triple A for Austerity</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/news-brief-cover/1147131-sarkozy-s-triple-austerity</link><description><![CDATA[On  7 November, two and a half months after an initial plan to boost state  revenues by 12 billion euros, French Prime Minister [&hellip;] (News in brief : cover)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/briefcover/Les-echos-08112011-100.jpg" length="37783" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:33:37 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>Eurozone crisis | Welcome to the union of unequals (The Daily Telegraph, London)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1135771-welcome-union-unequals</link><description><![CDATA[France and Germany have been largely responsible for thwarting Greek PM George Panpandreou’s decision to hold a referendum on its EU/IMF bailout. A naked display of power that bodes ill for a union of equals. (Article)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/article/Papandreou-forced-union.jpg" length="85773" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:33:04 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>With TINA at the helm | Editorial</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/editorial/1136881-tina-helm</link><description><![CDATA[Ever since the debt crisis began to threaten the stability of the single currency, the &ldquo;Merkozy&rdquo; duo has taken over the bridge of the good ship Euro. Not by virtue of any agreement among the member states, but due to a simple conclusion: &ldquo;There Is No Alternative&rdquo; &ndash; T.I.N.A., to quote a certain Iron Lady.
Or perhaps there is. There&rsquo;s the European Commission, guardian of the treaties and of the &ldquo;economic government&rdquo; of the EU, as its President, Jose Manuel Barroso, recently repeated. But when it comes to the eurozone, it&rsquo;s the Eurogroup &ndash; the Ministers of Economy, i.e. national governments &ndash; that has taken over. Again, therefore, Paris and Berlin.
The recent appointment of European Council President Herman Van Rompuy as &ldquo;Mr. Euro&rdquo;, with the blessing of Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, strengthens the role of member states in the economic governance of &ldquo;Euroland&rdquo;, with Germany and France in the lead.
The catch is that this set-up isn&rsquo;t based on any agreement and that the decisions taken by &ldquo;Merkozy&rdquo; seem increasingly to be evading any debate, even within the eurozone itself. Indeed, no other country is able to influence the discussions or to act as counterweight to a steamroller increasingly unencumbered by courtesies when addressing one&rsquo;s peers, as shown by the angry and hostile tone in which the proposed referendum in Greece was greeted by &ldquo;Merkozy&rdquo;.
Among the other &ldquo;big&rdquo; countries, Italy, the third-largest economy in the eurozone, finds itself in the hot seat because of the precariousness of its government and its public finances. Meanwhile Spain, in the middle of an election campaign, is not out of the rut yet.&nbsp; 
Hammered by the debt crisis, they are, like Portugal and Ireland, well distant from the &ldquo;triple A&rdquo; of the rating agencies that seems to confer supernatural powers on countries that still have it. Which, incidentally, explains why the French president is obsessed with keeping his country in the most prized circle of the moment. In the eurozone, the other members of this triple-A club &ndash; Austria, Finland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands &ndash; either pack a light punch or are aligned with the Franco-German duo.
While Merkel and Sarkozy may be able to avoid the most threatening whirlpools, however, they seem to have no clear idea of where they want to steer the good ship Euro &ndash; and they have no mandate for it either. This lack of clarity and legitimacy weighs heavily over the uncharted course of the crisis and gives the impression that they&rsquo;re navigating by sight. Steering through the storm, we&rsquo;re not willing to hand the helm over unless those who take it can guide the ship and crew safely to harbour.
Translated from the French by Anton Baer
 (Editorial)]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:41:28 +0100</pubDate></item>
<item><title>G20 | Here comes China | Cartoon (L'Hebdo, Lausanne)</title><link>http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/cartoon/1128701-here-comes-china</link><description><![CDATA[Here comes China (Cartoon)]]></description><enclosure url="http://www.presseurop.eu/files/images/picture/mixetremix-china.jpg" length="54937" type="image/jpeg" /><pubDate>Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:03:53 +0100</pubDate></item>
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