Newspapers : 11th November

Merkel snubs WWI ceremony. Peter Allen, The Telegraph (en)
" ... Mrs Merkel is said to be furious with the choice of Tuesday's venue by Mr Sarkozy, with Verdun the site of arguably the most controversial battles in military history, with the Germans in particular portrayed as acting like industrialised killers ...
... But rather than being held in Paris - as is traditional - the 90th anniversary events have been switched by President Nicolas Sarkozy to Fort Douaumont, on the Verdun battlefield in the north east of the country. Arthur Titherington, a British veteran who was a prisoner of war during the 1939-45 conflict, said: "I would certainly have expected Prince Charles to be at a British battlefield on November 11th." ...
... Despite a number of recent meetings, there have been numerous reports of frosty relations between Mrs Merkel and Mr Sarkozy, with her even complaining about his Gallic kisses and hugs ...

Fischer urges Merkel to be ‘more decisive’. Bertrand Benoit, The FT (en)
" ... In an interview, Mr Fischer told the FT the government of Angela Merkel, chancellor, had played too passive a role in the debate over Europe’s response to the financial storm and was underestimating the severity of the coming economic crisis, “the like of which none of us has seen in our lifetimes” ...
... “Both Nicolas Sarkozy [the French president] and Gordon Brown [British prime minister] have made more decisive contributions,” said Mr Fischer. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the French proposals are the right ones. We don’t need a new protectionism, but only to say ‘no’ is not enough (...) Through its crisis management, Germany has given the impression that Europe’s largest economy is now acting purely nationally. This is a big concern because the economic crisis will put the European project, including the euro, at risk.” ...

European nations join forces on defence jets. Sylvia Pfeifer and Peggy Hollinger, The FT (en)
" ... the European Defence Agency said the European Air Transport Fleet initiative, which should be operational in the next decade, would pool aircraft such as the A400m being built by EADS, the European defence group, and Lockheed Martin’s Hercules C-130 transporters ...

European Union to Resume Russian Partnership Talks. Stephen Castle, The NYT (en)
" ... Monday’s decision to resume talks was a clear acknowledgment of how much Europe and Russia need each other economically, especially as the global financial crisis reorders priorities, foreign ministers and analysts said. Among the issues expected to be discussed when talks resume are energy, trade, and cooperation on security and combating terrorism.
Russia supplies a considerable portion of Europe’s energy needs, and many Europeans fear that makes them vulnerable to Kremlin pressure. Russia, meanwhile, needs the earnings from energy exports ...
... Britain and Poland, which initially took a tough line on relations with Russia, also supported new talks. The Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, said the move put Poland in the “mainstream of the E.U.”
Nicu Popescu, a research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said it was “clear that the financial crisis is more important for everyone — the E.U. and Russia — than the crisis in Georgia.” Alexander Stubb, Finland’s foreign minister, agreed. “Realpolitik has influenced this,” he said. “It is in Europe’s interests to restart talks.” ..."

La revanche de "Super-Trichet". Frédéric Lemaître, Le Monde (fr)
" ... N'en déplaise au président français, qui se verrait bien jouer les prolongations, l'homme qui incarne l'euro à l'étranger, c'est le président de la BCE. "C'est ma signature qui figure sur les billets", aime-t-il rappeler. Il y a trois ans, un Silvio Berlusconi pouvait encore critiquer la monnaie unique et évoquer le retour de la lire italienne. Aujourd'hui, les pays périphériques de la zone euro, comme la Hongrie, le Danemark ou l'Islande, n'ont qu'un rêve : se mettre à l'abri des dévaluations en intégrant le giron de la monnaie européenne ...
... Le président de la BCE a deux types d'interlocuteurs privilégiés : les autres banquiers centraux et les dirigeants de la zone euro. Impossible d'analyser sa stratégie sans étudier leurs jeux de rôle respectifs ...
... M. Trichet tient son pouvoir, moins de son indépendance formelle que de son soutien dans l'opinion. "La confiance en la monnaie est la source véritable du pouvoir des banques centrales. C'est sur elle que les banques centrales prennent appui pour contraindre le pouvoir politique, et non sur leur indépendance statutaire", résume André Orléan (CNRS) dans l'ouvrage collectif ..."

La langue de la liberté. Editorial, Le Monde (fr)
" ... Comment résister à la tentation de parodier le discours de Barack Obama, le soir de son élection, il y a une semaine, à la présidence des Etats-Unis ? Si quelqu'un pense encore que la France est rétive à la diversité, si quelqu'un doute de la capacité de ce pays à assumer son métissage, si qui que ce soit s'interroge sur le rayonnement de la francophonie, l'élection de l'Afghan Atiq Rahimi par le jury du prix Goncourt et celle du Guinéen Tierno Monénembo par le jury du prix Renaudot viennent d'apporter une réponse éloquente ..."