With an eye to the meeting of the 43 states participating in the Mediterranean Union yesterday in Marseille, at which Barcelona was named the seat of the Union, the Irish Times comments on the problems which beset the European Neighbourhood Policy: "The new entity is inserted into the EU's European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which brings in relations with eastern European and Caucasus states such as Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Existing flexible arrangements allowing differentiated political, cultural and economic relations between the EU and individual Mediterranean ones will continue. The ENP is an unwieldy structure, which badly needs to be developed into a more effective instrument in coming years. That can best be done by linking it to the negotiations with Russia which are now set to be reopened after the Georgian conflict in August. This would provide a more coherent security, political and economic framework for organising relations with the EU's neighbours." (05/11/2008)

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Corriere della Sera newspaper comments on the attempt by the German CDU/CSU parliamentary groups to pass a document condemning Kristallnacht without the approval of the Left Party. "This unrelenting ostracism can be explained by the fact that the Left Party, which includes the successor party to the East German Communist Party, harbours renegade politicians who support anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli groups like Hisbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Territories. ... For some time now we have been seeing the first tirades against the Left in German politics. ... In view of Germany's past, solidarity with Israel remains an indispensible requirement there. Politicians who participate in demonstrations where the Israeli flag is burned are not credible partners for the government in the fight against anti-Semitism. The CDU is endeavouring furthermore ... to show that under the guise of communism, the regime in East Germany was in fact anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Minorities, » History, » Germany
All available articles from » Danilo Taino

The German left-wing daily die tageszeitung comments on the situation of the Roma in Hungary in the context of the current financial and economic crisis. "Although Hungary cultivates the romantic gypsy clichés and the fiddle-playing 'cigan' (gypsy) at restaurants for the tourists, the latter rarely get to see how the Roma really live. Even most Hungarians have never set foot in a Roma slum. ... The economic boom has passed by the East and the areas where the Roma live without a trace. The aggressive mood against the minority is magnified by the media. And local politicians can be sure of winning the approval of the majority if they promise to make community service a condition for Roma receiving unemployment benefits. ... The deeper the political and economic crisis in Hungary becomes, the more people turn to the right-wing extremist groups. Following riots during demonstrations some of the culprits of the violence were arrested, but their only punishment was a brief spell in prison. It's no wonder people don't expect to be prosecuted or punished for crimes against the 'gypsies'." (05/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social Policy / Employment, » Integration, » Minorities, » Hungary
All available articles from » Ralf Leonhard

The Dutch ruling CDA party has put forward a 15-point plan aimed above all at limiting Eastern European migrants' access to social benefits. The conservative news magazine Elsevier writes that the plan does not go far enough: "A nice plan. But too little and too late. For example, [CDA politician and author of the plan] Eddy van Hijum is against (partially) cancelling contracts, meaning it will be impossible to treat migrants differently than Dutch people. As a result his plan will have minimum impact. The CDA should have figured out that Eastern Europeans are also scheming cosmopolitans who given the choice will always prefer to live from social benefits in the Netherlands if not working here earns them more than a job at home. If van Hijum really wanted to achieve something he would put his foot down and stop [CDA Minister of Social Affairs and Employment] Piet Hein Donner from allowing Bulgarians and Romanians unrestriced access to the Netherlands." (05/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Syp Wynia

In the face of the economic and financial crisis the daily La Vanguardia warns of the dangers of nationalist populism, which in times of crisis flourishes and calls democracy into question. "We have problems, this is true; grave problems, this is also true. But we also have the most stable foundations we have ever had to help us find the solution to these problems. However, to achieve this we must repudiate those who like wailing sirens are once again invoking the spirit of nationalist populism. It is the same group of people as usual: those who only grudgingly accepted democracy; those who never fought for freedom because they already had theirs. Those who have no love for pluralism and who reject institutions that do not serve their own interests. In this crisis we should be more united than ever in defending the values that have made Spain's new democratic reality possible." (04/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social Policy / Employment, » Social movements, » Spain
All available articles from » Miquel Roca Junyent

On a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs David Miliband and his french colleague Bernard Kouchner have called for a strengthening of the UN peacekeeping troops in the crisis region. The Irish Times also feels the UN mission must be bolstered: "The British and French foreign ministers, who visited the region at the weekend, are putting pressure on the African Union to mediate the conflict and want to strengthen the existing 17,000 UN force in Congo. So far they are not willing to recommend supplementing it with a European Union force with a temporary mandate to restore security which would allow people return to their homes. That may well become necessary if conditions deteriorate further, possibly leading to another regional conflict and a recurrence of mass inter-communal violence. Measured by the numbers of casualties and the blatant self-interest of contending parties and interests the Democratic Republic of Congo has been the worst example of a failed state in recent history." (04/11/2008)

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The daily newspaper Cotidianul accuses the Romanian Police of indifference for so far failing to classify the desecration of Bucharest's Jewish cemetery as an anti-Semitic incident. "All the stuttering of the police is just the tip of an iceberg of indifference that is paired with a fear of our own past (we still have great problems recognising the role Romania played in the Holocaust) and a fear above all of anything that has to do with Romanian anti-Semitism (the fanaticism of certain Romanian intellectuals of the inter-war period was promptly dismissed as 'errors of youth' and that was the end of it). The destruction of over 100 graves can't simply be dismissed - this was an act of aggression of such import that it cannot be put down to the antics of a few drunken youths. Why does something like this happen? No one seems interested in the motives. In a gesture that was more symbolic than anything else, the prime minister and the justice minister ordered a cursory investigation. Since then ten days have passed and there are still no answers." (04/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Minorities, » History, » Romania
All available articles from » Costi Rogozanu

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serj Sarkisian have signed a joint statement in Moscow declaring their will to find a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The newspaper expresses the hope that the 10-year conflict over this enclave in the Caucasus will thus soon be resolved. "The moderately successful efforts to mediate in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh are a sign ... firstly that Russian President [Dmitry] Medvedev is indeed keen to get a 'good press' and secondly that Moscow has an interest in securing stability in the South Caucasus - needless to say under its own patronage. ... On the other hand Turkish-Armenian relations also appear to be improving. Things are on the move in the region - and not always in the wrong direction." (04/11/2008)

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Slovenia is the only EU member state to have voted against opening a new chapter in Croatia's EU membership talks. In the Slovenian daily Dnevnik columnist Zoran Senkovič has the following to say on the subject: "Croatia had already learned that one does not violate EU rules. ... The first lesson was the case of Croatian general Ante Gotovina, who was wanted by the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Brussels delayed negotiations with Croatia until his arrest. ... But above all Croatia only has itself to blame for the delays, because the country's difficulties with its shipyards, the stalled reforms of its legal system and its problems with organised crime have pushed EU membership further into the distance than Zagreb would like to see it - and Slovenia is not to blame for these problems. Croatia's biggest problem is that it has learned nothing from the lessons of the past." (03/11/2008)

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All available articles from » Zoran Senkovic

The Dutch government has struck the ban against blasphemy from the country's penal code. This step was long overdue, writes the progressive Christian daily Trouw: "It is time that the animosity between the Christian and secular Dutch gave way to the realisation that in this pluralistic world one must learn to deal with differences. In this respect it is good that the cabinet has abolished the distinction between religious and non-religious outlooks in the penal code. The Netherlands is no longer a Christian country, but nor has it become a secular one. ... On the other hand the cabinet has made it clear that freedom of expression is not unlimited. This freedom does not encompass the right to insult. But fortunately nor is there the right to be protected against insults." (03/11/2008)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Weltanschauung, » Netherlands