Attention, a new Balkan conflict is looming!
The
Balkans
issue
does not bring a quota, but I will start with it because it is important: Even if the war seems a long time ago and the region has always seemed a bit unstable from the outside - what is happening there can have dramatic consequences for Europe to have. No new war is just around the corner, but
the events are threatening
: In Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Serb leader Milorad Dodik
wants to
break
the
Dayton post-war order
that has been in place for three decades
and de facto split off the Serbian part of the country;
There are also
considerable tensions
between
Serbia and Kosovo
.
The drama: the
EU
is
virtually absent from
the region
, it does nothing, it has no plan, no policy. That will take revenge. First of all, EU foreign policy is completely untrustworthy for all time if it cannot even achieve something in the Balkans - and instead lets Russia or China act there. The fact that the EU does not offer these countries any prospects is contributing to the ignition of these days. And secondly, the consequences for the rest of Europe are inconceivable if armed clashes actually did occur there again. That is by no means excluded.
I recommend our report on the meeting for the Vienna correspondent Walter Mayr in Banja Luka with the Serb leader
Milorad Dodik
- the man who is fiery (but not the only one).
Our reporter Lina Verschwele was in Sarajevo and my colleague Alexander Sarovic worked from Berlin.
When they wanted to visit the new High Representative of the international community in Sarajevo, the German
Wolfgang Schmidt
, they found that he is currently not even in the country - which only underscores the absence of European foreign policy in the region.
"I drive, therefore I am": The Germans' irrational aversion to speed limits
Does Matteo Salvini have to be arrested?
Lega boss
Matteo Salvin
i has to appear in
court
in
Palermo
today
, he faces up to 15 years imprisonment. The accusation against the
former interior minister
from the
right-wing populist Lega: deprivation of liberty in 147 cases
- it is about Salvini's ban on berthing for sea rescuers in 2019 and rescued migrants who were not allowed on land at the time.
The procedure is - so writes Italy correspondent Frank Hornig - interesting for three reasons: First, it is about the
legal processing of a conflict
that made international headlines in 2019: NGOs rescued those seeking protection in the Mediterranean from Libya. The EU watched largely inactive. And Matteo Salvini forbade the NGOs to dock in Italy. Was he allowed to make such decisions to defend the interests of his state and prevent illegal immigration, as he argues?
Second, Palermo is also about
international politics
.
Because the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean has not yet been resolved.
As a rule, rescue ships can more easily head for Italian ports.
But the Europe-wide distribution of the refugees remains unclear.
And there is still no humane answer to the dangerous sea route and the conditions in Libyan camps.
Third,
Salvini's future is
at stake.
If he were convicted, his political career would be over for the time being.
An acquittal would again give him a new opportunity to stage himself once again as the supposed savior of his fatherland.
Read the full story here:
Deprivation of liberty in 147 cases - or was Salvini defending the interests of the state?
What is compensated on Germany's autobahn
Today I would also like to recommend a text by my colleague Ullrich Fichtner from the new SPIEGEL, who has dealt with the question of
why Germany is the only rich country in the world to have no speed limit
- although it is clear that all rational arguments for a limit speak.
And yes, it really is incomprehensible - as a Swiss who has lived in Germany with interruptions since 2004, I still cannot understand the aggressive turf on German autobahns to this day.
It is actually clear that this country is compensating something on its highways, the only question is what exactly.
For his text, Fichtner met
supporters of this German peculiarity
- including those who believe they see something with freedom in it.
All I can think of is that in my home country Switzerland the very first right-wing populist party was called the »Auto Party«, was against foreigners, demanded free travel for free citizens, and then later renamed itself the »Freedom Party«.
The immense limitation, yes, ridiculousness of a concept of freedom that only disguises one's own egoism on the accelerator should actually be obvious.
But it is not, because the FDP has already achieved this symbolic victory in the exploratory talks.
But why actually?
A young liberal recently tweeted seriously: "Speed limit or freedom".
In Germany, the liberal revolution was suppressed in 1848, as is well known, since then liberalism has had a hard time - that it is now campaigning for crazy lawns in Germany must be some aberration in history.
The German
aversion to the speed limit
is nothing more than the
local equivalent of the Americans' addiction to arms
.
I therefore recommend all the more to read Ullrich Fichtner's text, who dealt with the speed limit issue in great depth.
"I drive, therefore I am": The Germans' irrational aversion to speed limits
Our title: The Springer Affair
The events at the
large German media group Springer
even preoccupied the New York Times. The revelations of the Ippen investigative team, the publication of which was
banned
by publisher
Dirk Ippen
but appeared in SPIEGEL earlier this week, have
cost
"Bild" editor-in-chief
Julian Reichelt
his job: the panorama of abuse of power against young women, forged divorce papers and intrusive text messages that was overwhelming.
But by the end of the week, the Reichelt affair had also turned into a Springer affair - not only because of the text messages from publisher
Mathias Döpfner
, in which he described Germany as the "new GDR authoritarian state", but also because he did not initially contact those affected Employees apologized, but instead insinuated dark conspiracies.
He didn't catch up until the end of the week.
What this means for the company that is currently expanding into the USA is what my colleagues describe in the new issue.
SPIEGEL cover story: The Springer Affair
Loser of the day ...
... is
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki
, who appeared at the
EU summit in Brussels
with the message that Warsaw only has a slightly different understanding of Europe. That is already very questionable, because the abolition of the rule of law - which his
PiS party has
operated and does - must never be normalized in Europe. But now Morawiecki clearly showed how one should understand his words: He met the
French right-wing populist Marine Le Pen
on Friday
, and pictures were taken of shaking hands and smiling with satisfaction.
Actually, Le Pen is
not a natural ally of
Morawiecki, even if both are nationalists: Le Pen heads a party that likes to praise Vladimir Putin and approve of the annexation of Crimea, even allowing itself to be financed by Russia.
The national Catholic PiS, on the other hand, is critical of Russia.
The image of the two nationalists, on the other hand, speaks a clear language: If these are the allies that Morawiecki is looking for in Europe, then he is showing what astray he is currently on with Poland.
You can also read the analysis by my colleague Jan Puhl: 90 percent of Poles are for the European Union, there are no serious exit supporters.
But still the national-conservative government could thread a creeping exit.
Poland versus the EU: creeping exit
The latest news from the night
Austrian government threatens unvaccinated people with lockdown:
The corona numbers in Austria are rising, the incidence is just under 230. After a crisis meeting, Chancellor Schallenberg announced that unvaccinated people could face massive restrictions
Giuliani confidante convicted of illegal campaign donations:
Rudy Giuliani's ex-business partner Lev Parnas has been found guilty of violating the campaign finance law.
In the Ukraine affair, he had incriminated Trump
Apparently another murder charge against US millionaire Robert Durst:
He has already been proven to have murdered a friend.
Now, according to media reports, another murder charge against Durst should have been filed.
The accusation: he also killed his wife
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
Climate researcher Edenhofer: "Emissions have to go down, and fast"
After the Reichelt scandal: How the »Bild« affair endangers Springer's USA plans
Afghanistan before the economic collapse: The Taliban cannot even pay their electricity bills
"I drive, therefore I am": The Germans' irrational aversion to speed limits
Art forger wife Helene Beltracchi: The eroticism of deception
I wish you a good start to the weekend.
Your Mathieu von Rohr