Presseurop

It took the Romanian state four years to recover € 550 000 from two police officers who could not justify how they came by such a sum. The daily reports that this is the first concrete victory won by state institutions in their battle to combat corruption in the civil service. However, it has come a full six years after the launch of the National Integrity Agency (ANI) and the opening of hundreds of investigations.

The news has made headlines on a day when the European Commission is expected to publish its latest report on justice systems and the drive to fight corruption in Romania and Bulgaria.

In a poll published by the daily on January 29, only 41 per cent of Serbs say they would vote in favour of their country entering the EU — the lowest level of support for 10 years, down by 18 per cent on the June 2012 result for the same poll.

In its analysis of the change, Danas singles out a number of factors: the “the economic crisis and the poverty” that have affected Serbia, “the conditions imposed by the EU as part of the accession process”, particularly with regard to Kosovo, “an ignorance of the functioning of the EU”, and “the contradictory messages delivered to citizens by the current and previous governments” in Belgrade.

According to a Ministry of Labour forecast, 35 per cent of the estimated 390,000 children to be born this year in Poland will be raised by families which “barely make ends meet”, where per capita monthly income does not exceed 539 zlotys (€135).

As a result, 132,000 parents will claim social allowance for the poorest citizens. “It’s a myth that poverty and destitution affects only older people,” says an expert quoted by the daily, adding that “Poland is certainly not a country for young people.”

“Well-known Eurosceptic Václav Klaus is looking around Brussels,” reports the daily, quoting a member of the departing Czech president’s entourage. Klaus might start as a regular MEP after the 2014 European elections before trying to reach a higher position.

“His voice in Europe would be inspirational for many,” said Trade and Industry Minister and close ally Martin Kuba. Václav Klaus, 72, will leave office on March 7 and intends to remain in the public eye via his Václav Klaus Institute, and collaboration with the American libertarian think-tank the Cato Institute.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the economic outlook for Hungary will remain „difficult“ in 2013. On January 28 in Budapest, the IMF concluded a two-week joint mission with the Commission to analyse the state of Hungary’s public finances, with a view to granting a loan for €15bn, which was solicited by Budapest in the summer of 2012.

The IMF acknowledged a „significant“ reduction in Hungary’s budget deficit, but remarked that the means used to achieve it — stopgap measures like tax hikes for individuals and companies, especially foreign companies, — had damaged the climate for investment.

German Environment Minister Peter Altmeier wants to counter the steep increase in electricity prices prompted by the government’s pro-renewables energy policy. The law on the promotion of alternative energies has boosted the use of renewables from 8 to 23 per cent of power production. However, taxes paid by consumers to finance wind and solar development are expected to reach €20bn in 2013.

In the run-up to elections this year, the minister wants to freeze the tax to prevent a reductive focus on the cost to households from distorting the debate on renewables. The green energy sector has denounced the move as a “a fatal blow”.

Former finance minister and leader of the liberal Venstre opposition party, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, has warned against China’s ambitions in Greenland. In recent months, several Chinese companies have begun exploration projects or negotiations with a view to operating — either independently or in partnership with Western companies — mineral mines on the island.

“Mining operations are a means, and not an end,” remarked Claus Hjort Frederiksen in an interview with the daily. He further confirmed that Beijing’s real objective is to gain a foothold in the Arctic”, citing Beijing’s application for observer membership of the Arctic Council.

Finance Minister Luis de Guindos has indicated that he may be willing to review deficit targets for Spain’s regions, if the European Commission will consent to lower deficit targets for the Spanish state in 2013.

A more attainable deficit target is one of the “key demands” of the Catalan regional government, notes the Barcelona daily. De Guindos was speaking on the occasion of a Madrid meeting with EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn. For his part, Rehn insisted on the need to persevere with reforms to fight unemployment, which now affects 26 per cent of Spain’s working population.