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This week the European press focused on the No vote to Scottish independence, but also on the impact of the Swedish election results on the EU. The Polish newspaper “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” worried about the “French idea” of creating a new European club dividing the EU. And German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” commented on Vladimir Putin’s new “empty threats.”
England: Scotland votes no: the union has survived, but the questions for the left are profound (The Guardian)
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British newspaper “The Guardian“ published an article about the victory of the No side in Scotland’s independence referendum on Thursday (18.09.2014). Whereas the UK can call that a relief, the article reminded its readers that a new constitutional settlement needs to be on the table by the end of next month.
Journalist Martin Kettle stressed that the results were quite close, around 54 percent No, 46 percent Yes. Secondly, it was women who saved the union. In the polls, men were decisively in favour of Yes.
However, continued Kettle, the immediate political question is going to London. The Scottish parliament may obtain more powers than before, as Prime Minister David Cameron has promised.
Cameron said after the referendum: “To those in Scotland sceptical of the constitutional promises that were made, let me say this: We have delivered on devolution under this government and we will do so again in the next parliament.”
He added: “I want to say to all those who did vote for independence, we hear you. We now have a great opportunity to change the way the British people are governed for the better.”
Read the entire article in English – recommended by the Euranet Plus News Agency
Latvia: Ukraine’s advocate walks off (Latvijas Sabiedriskie mediji)
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An opinion piece on the results of parliamentary elections in Sweden was published this week on Latvia’s public media portal “LSM (Latvijas Sabiedriskie mediji).” It stated that the outcome of the elections, the return of a left-leaning government after eight years in opposition, will have repercussions throughout Europe.
Firstly, Latvijas Radio correspondent in Brussels, Ina Strazdina, focused on the impact the results will have on the UK. She explained that until now Fredrik Reinfeldt, the outgoing Swedish prime minister, was British Prime Minister Cameron’s ally in cutting the EU budget and Reinfeldt also supported British claims about reassessing EU powers.
According to Strazdina, Ukraine also lost a strong supporter as the Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt was quite critical of Russia and one of the loudest defenders of the democratic process in Ukraine.
She added that over the entire period of Russian aggression, Bildt has not avoided using strong words in the media, all throughout the EU foreign minister meetings in Brussels.
However, the victory of the left in Sweden can be enjoyed by those politicians in power in Italy and France, for whom this serves as an example that society can swing in the opposite direction from an attitude of austerity.
Read the entire article in Latvian – recommended by Latvian Euranet Plus partner station Latvijas Radio.
Poland: Two-speed Europe: A revival (Dziennik Gazeta Prawna)
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Polish newspaper “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” published a comment on France’s will for the division of Europe two parts, one better, one worse.
This division will be linked with the creation of a club of 18 EU member states (eurozone members), which may be established as soon as next year.
Moreover, a special subcommittee for the Eurogroup at the European Parliament and a separate budget for members of the monetary union are also in the pipeline.
This idea has been endorsed by France, and supported by the Benelux countries. Dominika Ćosić, the article’s author, argued that because Paris did not win any significant positions, neither in the European Commission nor in the European Parliament, France may try to compensate this “failure” by upsetting the EU’s order.
Unfortunately, said Ćosić, Poland would be included in the latter group. And the risk may be that Donald Tusk, the new president of the European Council, would be confronted by a president of the eurozone council acting only in the interest of the monetary union.
Read the entire article in Polish – recommended by Polish Euranet Plus partner station Polskie Radio.
Italy: Europe, the map of the economic imbalance country by country (Il Sole 24 Ore)
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Italian newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore” analysed the results of study by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, about the eurozone trade surplus, published on Monday (15.09.2014).
The data showed that the eurozone trade surplus rose year-on-year in July as exports grew faster than imports. This is good news for economic growth at the start of the third quarter of 2014.
However, the article pointed out that the 18-member eurozone and the complete 28-member European Union have different economic performances and cultures and show differences, such as in the inflation rate in the first 15 years of the euro between countries like Germany and countries like Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy. Another example is the unemployment rate, at 25 percent in Spain and Croatia, compared with less than 10 percent in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Moreover, continued journalist Vito Lops, the EU has many macroeconomic unresolved imbalances. A special table, published by Eurostat, showed the imbalances, country by country (see this link to the table as PDF file).*
The European Commission has established 11 parameters indicating which countries are the most imbalanced. The table can be a major indicator for preventing future crises.
Read the entire article in Italian – recommended by Italian Euranet Plus partner station Radio 24 II Sole.
Estonia: Seven-hour meeting of Russian and Estonian border guards ends without agreement (ERR)
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The website of the Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) service published an article about a long meeting between Estonian and Russian border guards on Tuesday (16.09.2014).
It concerned the captured Estonian security officer Eston Kohver near the Russian border on September 5.
Kohver is currently held in a Moscow prison, accused by the Russian security service of espionage. Russia maintains that Kohver was on Russian territory when arrested.
Tuuli Härson, a spokesman for the police and border guard, told ERR: “The Russian side didn’t give any new evidence on border violations during the seven-hour meeting, and continued to refuse to sign a document of observation, which was signed by deputies from both sides on September 5.”
Border guards from both nations investigated the area and signed a document saying that a struggle happened on the Estonian side. The document needs official approval from both countries.
Read the entire article in English - recommended by Estonian Euranet Plus partner Sky Media
Germany: Vladimir Putin: Empty threats (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
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German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) commented on Thursday (19.09.2014) on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko.
Putin had allegedly told Poroshenko on the phone that Russian troops would be able to take Warsaw, Riga or Vilnius within two weeks. According to journalist Nikolas Busse, this may again be a kind of “empty threat.”
The FAZ believes Putin is just trying to conceal his weaknesses with the threat: “If Putin is really talking about his military options on the phone with Western or Ukrainian politicians, we could already observe that the Kremlin has few economic instruments to counter the pressure of the West. Its card is just the threat of violence. This threat doesn’t have to be taken all too seriously when it comes to states that are members of NATO,” the newspaper concluded.
Read the entire article in German – recommended by German Euranet Plus partner AMS-NET
The Euranet Plus News Agency suggestion
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- Watch the latest edition of EUphoria, the weekly two-minute YouTube video roundup of the amusing, clever and odd social media buzzes in current EU affairs – produced by the Euranet Plus News Agency: EUphoria: Commission criticism and Scottish independence | 18-09-2014