Alexander Hagelüken praises the success of Germany's EU presidency and takes a sceptical look at its successors. "The Chancellor and her ministers managed to achieve a consensus on climate protection and cell phone calls abroad in record time. They also settled the dispute about the EU constitution, manhunts of criminals and credit for consumers. This is the good news at the end of Merkel's turn as EU president. The bad news is that the Germans won't be chairing the EU again until 2021. Now the Portuguese and then the Slovenians are taking over the presidency. Then come the Cypriots, the Lithuanians, the Estonians and the Maltese. With all due respect for the abilities of the smaller countries: the presidencies of the miniature states, which are the norm in a 27-member state EU, will slow Europe down. Many of the future presidents come from the new EU countries and possess neither the experience nor the political clout to lead the Union with its 500 million citizens. When you're navigating troubled waters and the wheel is turning the captain rather than the other way round, the ship can easily run aground." (28/06/2007)

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Germany had an almost perfect performance as head of the EU, writes Yves Petignat, the daily's Berlin correspondent. All except for one point: "Angela Merkel and her diplomats failed to reach out to Moscow. The deal [on EU-Russia negotiations] was blocked by the Polish veto and the Russian embargo on Polish beef. The last summit [on May 17th and 18th] in Samara between Putin and the Europeans didn't go very well either, even according to [German Foreign Affairs Minister] Frank-Walter Steinmeier. There have been few advances, and even some serious impasses emerged, on questions of external relations essential for the EU: the road toward the independence of Kosovo and peace efforts in the Middle East. 'If Europeans are the only ones to decide on their own institutions, simple questions like foreign policy still depend on elements that we are not alone in mastering', said the German minister." (29/06/2007)

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Portugal hopes to take advantage of the EU presidency by orienting European policy toward the Mediterranean and southern countries. Journalist Olivier le Bussy lists the pressing issues. "In the first place, a summit between the EU and Brazil, an emerging country who is also a former Portuguese colony, which will perhaps allow us to smooth over our differences coming out of the Doha round of WTO negotiations. Another with Africa - the first since 2000, also under a Portuguese presidency - to help the black continent establish the foundations of integration inspired on the European model, but also to discuss peace, sustainable development and regulation of the floods of migrants. Finally, a conference 'Euro Med' on the cooperation of the Mediterranean countries." (29/06/2007)

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António Vitorino, a writer for the Portuguese daily, hopes that when Portugal takes its turn as President of the EU, it will protect the consensus obtained in Brussels. "After long hours of negotiations, the European Council approved the mandate necessary to hold an Intergovernmental Conference for the reform of the European treaties. This mandate is a good omen for the [future] Portuguese President of the Union who assumes its post this Sunday. ... The 27 member EU needs this reform so that it can improve its decision-making ability and reinforce its transparency and democratic responsibility. ... The mandate is thus a precious charge for the Portuguese presidency, but it's not yet a treaty. We must therefore hope that this good start is followed by a positive conclusion at the end of the semester ... that corresponds to the preoccupations and aspirations of Europeans, independent of the way each country chooses to approve and ratify the future treaty of the Union!" (29/06/2007)

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Columnist Raymond Klein sees an historic opportunity for the European left in the recasting of the constitutional treaty into a 'mini-treaty'. "The disavowal of the constitutional project by centre-right governments was dictated first and foremost by the desire to avoid putting the new text to a popular vote. ... Now, for months they've been chewing our ears off with this discourse on the democratic dimension of Europe and dialogue with its citizens. By acting in a completely contrary manner, the right looses all its credibility as a player in European construction. ... The political forces on the right who concocted this deal make poor Europeans. The ball is now in the other camp's court. It's up to political forces on the left to develop and propose an ambitious project for Europe, united around social values." (29/06/2007)

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The museum is the "ventricle" of contemporary art, writes Thomas Wagner, who has visited all three of this summer's major exhibitions: the Venice Biennale, the documenta 12 in Kassel and the "Sculpture Projects" in Munster. "The museum is the place that unites the many periods, that brings to light the differences, underscores the links over the centuries and allows things to find their own place because it grants them long-term freedom from the forces of the market. Naturally the institution of the museum cannot encompass everything; and the exhibition collections in particular are currently in a crisis. But at the same time it's as if contemporary art, which lacks a historical dimension but not acceptance, yearns for a benchmark that the present alone cannot offer. Even the market has a need for the timeless in order to categorise its commodities." (29/06/2007)

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A study conducted by the World Bank predicts that in 20 years' time the average age of the populations of the countries of Eastern Europe will be the highest in the world. The decrease in their birth rates is so dramatic that it threatens to damage their economic development. The authors of the study, Arup Banerji and Gordon Betcherman, conclude that this transformation in Eastern Europe's demographics constitutes a social revolution akin to the fall of communism in 1989: "There are currently 400 million people living in the former socialist countries. By 2025 the proportion of over 65-year-olds will be much higher than today. Over the coming two decades their population will shrink by almost 24 million... They are in a unique position worldwide because these countries have a much worse starting position in the battle against the problems resulting from their aging societies than Western Europe. Other countries that have similarly rapidly aging populations don't have to worry at the same time about developing modern economic and political institutions." (29/06/2007)

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Reacting to the high proportion of cocaine users in Spain revealed in a UN report this week, journalist Vicente Verdú considers the reputation a necessary price to be paid for his country's reputation as a hedonist paradise. "Over the course of the last 10 or 15 years, all the studies conducted among professionals promoted Spain as the best place to live. Immigrants coming from the south, north or east saw in Spain a land of welcome so permissive that communities like San Fulgencio, where two thirds of the population is foreign, were created. ... In a few decades, reclusive Spain has opened its doors wide to allow escapades of every type to occur. ... Good wine abounds, laws on tobacco are broken, millions of lines of cocaine criss-cross the country. The sudden development of pleasure has become a veritable subject of research and development in the country, and all this without any need for laborious scientific planning." (29/06/2007)

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Laurent Zecchini is surprised with how easily Europeans accepted the American missile-defence shield on their soil, even with the risk of agitating Moscow. "It is curious that they didn't first consider their continental interests ... Are they preoccupied with the perspective of entrusting a growing part of their collective security to the United States, after having devoted so many years to financial efforts to bolster European defence? Have they understood that the reason for the sites in Poland and the Czech Republic is above all the security of American interests? [The project would install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic.] I don't think so. The risk of sacrificing the Euro-Russian relationship on the alter of Atlanticism at all costs seems dangerous." (29/06/2007)

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Columnist Polly Toynbee sees promise in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's cabinet, named on June 28th, but cautions that difficult tasks lie ahead. "Cabinet making is necessarily ruthless. Though Brown avoided public humiliations, nine ministers were knifed to make way for fresh blood. But the balance is good between young and experienced, Blairite and Brownite. ... For all the good mood music, most departments face formidable challenges. One sharp turn in policy direction, and the most urgent, is likely to be under David Miliband as meteoric young foreign secretary, ... [he] can be trusted not to take us to war, not to rattle out war on terror nonsense, nor to strut and posture in Blairite messianic mode. ... As they stepped into No 10 yesterday, here was as decent and clever a team of ministers as ever graced the cabinet table. It's certainly the most genuinely united government in living memory. Now they have to show they can seize the public's imagination too." (29/06/2007)

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The weekly considers the implications of bribery at the Maltese Maritime Authority, the latest in a series of corruption scandals in the country. "Clearly, the time has come to take stock of what, exactly, is rotten in our state. And the first step would be to acknowledge that mistakes have been made in recent administrative reforms. Partly as a result of EU membership, and partly also out of an understandable drive towards achieving a 'smaller' government, many responsibilities previously shouldered by the Civil Service have now been apportioned to a number of supposedly autonomous 'authorities'. Most would argue that this is a good thing, ... But improved efficiency has come at a cost: for while the Civil Service is undeniably bureaucratic, it also abides by a time-honoured set of principles and procedures. ... No such corresponding code exists to govern the actions and decisions of our multifarious authorities, which are free to operate in the absence of any clear checks and balances." (24/06/2007)

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According to a Reuters News Agency report, in an internal letter the European Central Bank (ECB) calls into question the plans for allowing Slovakia to join the monetary union in 2009. The reason is the ECB's doubts that the country's inflation rate, which currently meets all EU criteria, can be kept at its present level on a long-term basis. Jan Machacek is disappointed by the ECB's stance: "Up to now it seemed the Maastricht Criteria had been applied in strict accordance with the stipulations and that a country wouldn't have problems joining the monetary union once it fulfilled the criteria. But a short time ago the ECB refused to allow Lithuania to join - an unexpected and harsh decision because the Baltic country fell short of the inflation criteria by just 0.01 percent. But now Slovakia is facing a much harsher deal: now it's not enough to just fulfil the criteria; the ECB is also beginning to examine whether a country will be able to do so in the long term... This sends a clear message: the 'Easties' are unwelcome in the elite euro club at present." (29/06/2007)

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Vigorous economic growth and sinking unemployment figures are boosting the general mood in Germany. At 8.8 percent, the unemployment rate is lower than it has been for the past five years and according to business analysts these trends will continue for the next two years, writes the daily's Berlin Correspondent Peter Rasonyi. But he adds critically: "Despite the positive outlook there's no cause for euphoria. A glance at the charts suffices to show that we still have a long way to go on the path to full employment. Moreover the fact that despite the unemployment of roughly 9 %, business and industry are complaining louder about the lack of skilled labour than about the 3.7 million jobless reaffirms the notorious lack of flexibility and market orientation of our labour market... Given that the government is making no effort whatsoever to correct the structural weaknesses in its labour market policy, it's unlikely the current economic upswing will endure." (29/06/2007)

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The "German Literature Days" literature festival began yesterday in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt. At the event 18 up-and-coming authors will compete for the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the German, Austrian and Swiss literary scene. Cornelia Niedermeier takes stock after the first day: "The texts that kicked off this year's competition varied greatly, but they all had one thing in common on the first reading: the narrative perspective of the lonely, isolated first person, somewhat disorientated by today's world and the complexity of the information on offer. ("Even a penknife is beyond our power of imagination." – Jochen Schmidt) For this reason the preferred course of action is to withdraw to the perspective of the irritated, disgruntled observer rather than take action or commence a relationship." (29/06/2007)

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All available articles from » Cornelia Niedermeier

This week the foundation stone for the new Museum of the History of Polish Jews was laid in Warsaw - right next to the monument commemorating the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Jerzy Halbersztadt, founding director of the museum, explains in an interview with Joanna Podgorska why this museum is so important in a country which was home to 3.5 million Jews before the Holocaust. He points out that the goal is "visitors to the museum should include both Poles familiar with Jewish history, and Jewish tourists who want to see how the Poles present the Jewish legacy. Both are to meet here. They can observe each other's reactions. The museum can serve to demystify these relations... Here, they [the Jewish tourists from abroad] can see how the state of Israel has roots on the River Vistula. For two centuries the unique Jewish parliament worked here. It is here that secular Jewish life began, and here that the phenomenon of Chassidism took root and developed." (27/06/2007)

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All available articles from » Joanna Podgorska, » Jerzy Halbersztadt

In the Czech city of Brno the municipal authorities have had the hammer and sickle and other communist symbols erased from a monument commemorating the country's liberation by the Red Army. This has provoked protests from Russia. The Czech Foreign Ministry has criticised the responsible local politicians for their actions, and according to Martin Zvěřina it was right to do so because the past can't simply be erased. "For 40 years the Communists governed here like lifeless puppets in the hands of Soviet Russia, so it's understandable that people resent the hammer and sickle. Historians research and evaluate the imperialist practices of Stalinist or Brezhnevian Russia, but no one and nothing can change the fact that Soviet soldiers liberated Brno-Kralovo Pole... The removal of monuments commemorating the fallen liberators is not only irreverent but also childish. The crimes of the Soviet regime should not be allowed to cloud our minds to such an extent that we ignore the thousands of dead soldiers who liberated us." (29/06/2007)

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All available articles from » Martin Zvěřina