For the Irish Times, a pan-European "Immigration pact" cannot be the sole solution: "All governments have a right and a duty to regulate who comes to live in their country and under what conditions. But, in this very unequal world, industrialised and wealthy countries also have a responsibility to share, as well as to trade. ... Creating a Fortress Europe will not resolve that situation. Rather, it will encourage people-trafficking and facilitate a negative view of the EU. There is talk of building a partnership between EU states and the countries of origin of immigrants. Any such partnership should focus as much on economic aid and development as the repatriation of illegal immigrants." (08/07/2008)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Migration, » Europe, » Global

For the left-wing daily die tageszeitung, the EU immigration pact represents a defeat for France's EU Council presidency: "After just a week in office, the new EU presidency has been brought back to reality with a bump. Nicolas Sarkozy saw his 'migration pact' as a chance to solve all the problems that have been plaguing Europe's governments for years: the overcrowded refugee camps, dangerous escape routes and the millions of lives being lived out in a grey zone without rights or social security were to be erased with one bold stroke of the pen. ... But people cannot ... be integrated into an economic system like goods and then sent away when their sell-by date has run out. ... Europe needs a common immigration policy. But it must adhere to humanitarian principles and cannot be allowed to lose sight of the fates of individuals. Only then is there a chance that all the member states can agree on a common legal framework." (08/07/2008)

» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Social Policy / Employment, » Migration, » Minorities, » Labour market / Services, » France, » Europe
All available articles from » Daniela Weingärtner

The conservative newspaper La Razón is happy with this attempt at adopting a common approach to European immigration policy: "In answer to those who view this document as an effort to transform Europe into a fortress that disdains the rights of immigrants, EU Commissioner Jacques Barrot has summed up the spirit [of the pact] perfectly: 'Immigration is not a threat, but it must be regulated'. It is clear that Europe - and Spain - need foreign workers to maintain growth. That is why we need common rules to meet this challenge globally, and with a single voice. ... Disregarding for a moment all the political opportunism, the immigration pact is welcome because it provides a common answer to one of the major challenges facing the EU and formulates immigrants' rights as well as their duty to integrate ... in a balanced way." (08/07/2008)

» full article (external link, Spanish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Migration, » Europe

The newspaper I Kathimerini describes the signing of the immigration and asylum agreement as "hypocrisy". "Are we to believe there is a single European head of government who really wants Indian computer experts and ... Russian mathematicians in his country? ... We should not delude ourselves. The goal of this tough policy is not to limit migration, but to penalise it, so that the majority of migrants find themselves in the position of hunted animals. ... The authorities should not hunt the illegal immigrants but the illegal employers. From the industrialist who employs workers at half price right through to each and every one of us who employs an Albanian bricklayer, an Indian watchman for his summer residence or a Ukrainian maid without social security." (08/07/2008)

» full article (external link, Greek)
More from the press review on the subject » Migration, » Labour market / Services, » Europe
All available articles from » Petros Papakonstantinou

Austria's governing coalition between the conservative ÖVP and the social democratic SPÖ has collapsed just a year and a half after it was formed. According to daily Corriere della Sera, the right-wing populists stand to gain from the situation: "The government crisis was triggered when Alfred Gusenbauer, leader of the Social Democrats, corrected the pro-European course of his party and threatened to hold a referendum on any changes to the Treaty of Lisbon and on Turkish EU membership in an interview with the Kronenzeitung newspaper, a platform for EU-phobia. ... The ÖVP responded promptly by dissolving the coalition. The suspicion voiced by ÖVP leader Wilhelm Molterer that the Chancellor is trying to capitalise on Euroscepticism to counter his own unpopularity is not entirely unjustified. The fierce reaction of the ÖVP towards the anti-EU stance has also sparked a revolt against the Chancellor within his own party. ... The true winner of the situation is the party founded and then abandoned by Jörg Haider, the [right-wing populist] FPÖ, which is at 20 percent and gains terrain and clout whenever there is a crisis." (08/07/2008)

» more information (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Austria
All available articles from » Mara Gergolet

American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will today sign an agreement in Prague for the stationing of a radar station that will form part of the US's missile defence shield in the Czech Republic. Around 60 percent of Czechs oppose the project, much to the disappointment of the liberal daily Mlada fronta Dnes: "Let us look to Germany, which has a pacifist stance and where anti-Americanism is a matter of good form. Yet no one there is calling for the closure of the American military bases, because they create jobs. It will be the same in the Czech Republic. ... Besides, what could be more in the Czechs' interest than the Americans providing us with the ability to defend ourselves for free." (08/07/2008)

» more information (external link, Czech)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Czech Republic, » U.S.
All available articles from » Teodor Marjanovič

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has had talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the G8 summit in Japan. Commentator Mary Dejevsky analyses the poor bilateral relations between the two countries in a leading article: "The first step to improved relations has to include an acknowledgement that there is as much of a Britain problem as a Russia problem. ... Britain is unique in the number of recent Russian émigrés it has attracted to live here. A few are seen by Russia as heinous criminals. The very same individuals are treated here as political refugees. This divide is simply not going to be bridged for the foreseeable future. ... Britain is also unique in the scale and sensitivity of its business relations with Russia. ... The current dispute between the British and Russian halves of the oil company TNK-BP is a case in point. The Kremlin can hardly be blamed for a vulnerability built into a business structure that BP entered into willingly. ... Britain likes to rationalise its almost uniquely bad relations with Russia as the result of Moscow's policy of 'divide and rule' towards Europe. But there is an element of wishful thinking on Britain's part - even deliberate misinterpretation." (08/07/2008)

» full article (external link, English)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » United Kingdom, » Russia
All available articles from » Mary Dejevsky

On July 3rd the Cypriot parliament ratified the EU Reform Treaty with a clear majority. Ionas Nikolaou, vice-president of the centre-right party DISI, comments in the Cypriot daily on the position of the 17 members of parliament for the communist ruling party AKEL who voted against ratification. "These negative votes from within the ruling party ... are proof of the low priority EU membership prospects have for the government. The question is: how strong are the negative arguments that led AKEL to vote against the EU treaty? From which perspective did it look at the treaty and decide that it would not bolster our political position? ... The notion that it is not a perfect treaty and therefore should be rejected is a blow for our country and also for the idea of European integration." (07/07/2008)

» full article (external link, Greek)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Constitution, » Cyprus
All available articles from » Ionas Nikolaou

According to the weekly magazine Expresso, national governments are responsible for citizens' mistrust in the European Union: "In recent weeks many governments were taken aback by the EU citizens' hostility towards European institutions. They should not be surprised, because they themselves are to blame. For years the governments have been claiming the successes in their countries for themselves, and passing the blame for anything that goes wrong onto the EU Commission. This is suicidal, because without a strong Union the countries of the EU ... will not be able to get by in the globalised world. ... An EU that can effectively manage the domestic market, foreign trade, competition, the single currency and soon also energy and the environment will be strong. But this is only possible if Europeans avoid getting caught up in misplaced internal wrangling." (07/07/2008)

» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » José Cutileiro

The newspaper Le Figaro analyses the current problems of European democracy. "On the eve of the summer holidays, when it is fitting to reflect on the events of recent months, one topic must be addressed: the malaise of democracy. Certainly, this malaise is neither recent nor new. But even in France, which together with Italy is the object of the most pessimistic prognoses, the recent presidential elections have shown that politics continue to enthral the general public, that voters remain strongly attached to their institutions and that the split between Right and Left continues to give meaning to debates about social justice, defence and ecology. Yet with the exception of Frau Merkel, who benefits from favourable economic circumstances ... not a single head of state or government has been able to escape a generalised crisis of confidence." (07/07/2008)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Alain-Gérard Slama

The business newspaper Les Echos analyses the EU Commission's new Small Business Act, a guideline for the development of Europe's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). "The European definition of SMEs covers a very broad spectrum of enterprises, ranging from companies with hundreds of staff to very small firms with just a few employees. ... However this step by the European Commission shows little ambition. It confines itself to simplifying the rules and procedures because it believes SME policy should remain primarily a national matter. ... Simplifying the procedures seems to be a useful goal, but it could prove inappropriate if it fails to take into consideration the extreme diversity of the SMEs. The Small Business Act will only be effective if it accounts for all of the legal forms and particularities of these firms as socio-economic entities." (08/07/2008)

» full article (external link, French)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Europe
All available articles from » Jean-Claude Détilleux

Germany is one of the last EU states to continue to block access to its labour market for thousands of citizens from the Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004. The online portal of the conservative news magazine Wprost criticises the plans of the German government to postpone freedom of circulation for Eastern European workers until 2011 and only facilitate access for skilled workers. "Yet again the Germans are fighting the symptoms, but not the disease. ... The German government is convinced ... that opening its labour market to all EU members would flood the German job market with cheap labour. But German farmers are already complaining about labour shortages. ... Because even though Poles are allowed to work in Germany as seasonal workers, they do not want to go to Germany. We all know how a state with a planned economy works. So it is no wonder that a growing number of Germans are leaving the German Eldorado. Last year alone, 170,000 Germans emigrated." (07/07/2008)

» full article (external link, Polish)
More from the press review on the subject » Social Policy / Employment, » Migration, » Labour market / Services, » Germany, » Poland, » Eastern Europe
All available articles from » Małgorzata Zdziechowska

The European Commission plans to raise the price of the Eurovignette for heavy goods vehicles. In view of general dissatisfaction at high petrol prices in the transport sector, this would amount to "pouring oil on the fire", writes the tabloid De Telegraaf: "Brussels thinks this will give transporters an incentive to purchase clean vehicles. Four cents does not seem like much, but the price margins in the transport sector were already under major pressure, and the new environmental fee is not going to help things. Plus, this might seem like a good idea, but experience shows us that European plans are generally much costlier than promised. That explains the hauliers' growing distrust in Brussels. The European Commission hopes that with this plan it will not longer be the taxpayers but the polluters who pay the hundreds of millions. But this is simply naive. No matter how you look at it, ultimately the extra costs are paid by consumers." (08/07/2008)

» more information (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Infrastructure / Travel and Transport, » Europe

With an eye to the attacks of right-wing extremists against homosexuals taking part in the "Gay Pride Parade" in Budapest last Saturday, political scientist Attila Ágh voices concern about right-wing extremism in Hungary: "In the past few years public life in Hungary has been repeatedly disrupted by the rioting of extreme right-wing groups. ... We no longer need to question the reasons behind this unrest. We know only too well that the right-wing extremist mob was stirred up by the opposition Young Democrats [Fidesz] under ex-prime minister Viktor Orbán. We also know that Fidesz has recently made half-hearted attempts to distance itself from the riots. ... The real question now is why and for how much longer the great majority of Hungarian society intends just to sit back and watch the vandalism of the right-wing extremists. When will someone put an end to the blind fury raging on Budapest's streets? There have been occasions when the passive majority has raised its voice in protest. Nevertheless, the great majority of our society continues to be held hostage by a tiny minority of vandals." (08/07/2008)

» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Minorities, » Crime and Law, » Hungary
All available articles from » Attila Ágh

With the support of his union, a petrol station employee in the northern Swedish town of Piteå has been successful in refusing to work in a location where pornographic magazines are sold. Since then, local politicians and press have worked to make the entire town a porn-free zone. A dangerous trend, writes the Göteborgs-Posten: "Certainly, no one is obliged to approve of the image of women in erotic magazines ... or their even less tasteful cousins. But disdain for certain magazines is one thing, and preventing people from buying these magazines with threats, censorship and by massively influencing opinion is another. Even trashy literature is protected by the freedom of expression. But when the unions, politicians and press of a small town unite against it, tolerance is restricted. Piteå-Tidningen newspaper writes in its leading article that those in power are entitled to use their positions provided it is not to further their own interests. So the end justifies the means. That is an alarming stance to take on democracy and the rule of law." (08/07/2008)

» full article (external link, Swedish)
More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Media policy, » Sweden
All available articles from » Håkan Båström