In the spotlight: the European recovery plan and a lot of criticism
Audio 04:55
The European recovery plan turns to the issue of climate and digital technology.
© REUTERS / Francois Lenoir
By: Sébastien Duhamel
11 mins
Publicity
It is the German press which speaks about it best: "
Paris and Berlin decide on a pact on the future
", headlines the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
. Germany and France want to "
push climate protection and digital technology even further than before
", the newspaper tells us. This is what the finance ministers of the two countries, Olaf Scholz and Bruno Le Maire, said on Wednesday April 27, during a joint appearance. Climate and digital, these are the two axes of the reform plans that they have presented together. National plans, which are "
a precondition for receiving financial aid from the EU reconstruction fund
," writes the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
. And "
in such situations, politicians are rarely at a loss for big words,
”says
Die Welt
ironically
. “
Today is a good day for Europe
”, declared the German Minister. Opposite, inevitably, "
The Mayor agrees with his good friend Olaf
", still fun
Die Welt
.
One big day that remains to be seen, but this recovery fund is in any case "
considered as the centerpiece of European aid in the event of a pandemic
" analyzes the
Suddeutsche Zeitung
.
And it is "
a paradigm shift for German European policy
", he emphasizes.
Berlin had previously refused the mechanism, but "
for the first time in the history of the European Union
", the daily explains to us, it is the European Commission which "is
going to contract a large-scale debt, most of which will be paid in the form of grants to Member States
”.
Barely presented, plans already criticized
However, the condition, these barely presented reform plans are already under fire from critics.
Ultimately
, it is the European Commission which will have to examine them to give the green light by the end of June and these plans will be finalized at a European summit in July. But Paris and Berlin are asking Brussels to move quickly, reports the
Financial Times
and there are already criticisms of the direction to be given. The
Financial Times
observes that there will be no "
green reconstruction in the East
". Romania and Hungary, for example, are "
very far from the spending priorities set by the European Union,
" the British daily tells us. The climate is obviously not the primary concern.
On the German level, there are also criticisms. The Greens deplore that the plan presented by Mr. Scholz is not "
a model
", explains the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
. Model is a word that comes up in
Die Welt
. “
Aid from the European reconstruction plan is linked to clear conditions
”, a new and ambitious plan. However, asks the newspaper: “
Germany, which should lead by example, has she understood it?
Asks
Die Welt
. Indeed, the article continues, “
a large part of the expenditure presented by Scholz for the promotion of technology or the energy renovation of buildings
had already been presented in June of last year
, ”in a stimulus package from the federal government.
Critics addressed to the French side
“
If Bruno Le Maire spoke of the major - controversial - reform projects of unemployment insurance and pension insurance in his country, he insisted on the fact that these reforms were not being carried out because the European Commission demanded within the framework of the reconstruction fund, but because they were “
at the service of the citizens and of the French nation
”
”.
The signal is therefore clear, analyzes
Die Welt
"
we will not be pushed to do anything by Brussels
".
Critics finally in Spain, where the government finalized its reform plan on Tuesday, according to
El Mundo
.
But he didn't make it public.
Apart from an inventory drawn up "
in a long declaration
", the government has not even "
explained the main reforms of labor, taxation and pensions
".
He even failed to mention the calendar,
El Mundo
further notes
.
Modernizing Australia's Defense Sector
There is a lot of talk today: in Australia, there is money on the table to modernize the defense sector. "
Let the war games begin
", headlines
The Australian
. "
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ordered a radical modernization of military training bases
," the daily explains. It provides for this an envelope of 747 million Australian dollars (580 million dollars). "
This represents a major strategic advance aimed at extending the 'war games' with the United States,
" develops
The Autralian.
And that interests as far as Japan. "
Australia and the United States organize biennial war games, the next one should start in August
", explains the
Japan Times
, but this Australian announcement comes in a particular climate. Earlier this week, "
one of Australia's top security officials said liberal democracies must prepare for war
." This follows "
a sharp deterioration in Australia's relations with China and a rise in regional tensions in Taiwan
". Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said on Sunday that a conflict between China and Taiwan "
should not be ruled out,
"
Japan Times
.
War games which are therefore perhaps not so trivial.
A funny bird in the United States
Also in the press, a strange bird in the United States.
Or rather 35 funny birds.
It is the
New York Post
among others that reports this story to us.
A man "
arrested Monday at JFK airport
".
He was trying to smuggle 35 live finches from Guyana.
Birds that he had "
stuffed in curlers for the plastic hair and hidden in his clothes
", explains the newspaper.
A method that is common, we learn.
Finches are "
coveted
" because they are used "
in folk song contests in Brooklyn and Queens,
" the
New York Post
tells us,
and the financial stakes are clearly "high" there, too.
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