European press review

The European Union's Copenhagen summit is on every front page, although Switzerland and Austria celebrate winning their bid to host the Euro 2008 football championships.

Turkey dominates

The announcement that Turkey will have to wait until December 2004 at the earliest before it is invited to start talks on joining the Union came too late for most early editions.

The fact that Turkey has become so dominant an issue at the beginning of the summit is due in no small measure to America's desire to see it join

Der Standard

There is still plenty of discussion in the papers, however.

"Turkey dominates the summit" is the front-page headline in Denmark's Berlingske Tidende.

Austria's Der Standard knows why.

"The fact that Turkey has become so dominant an issue at the beginning of the summit", the paper believes "is due in no small measure to America's desire to see it join" the EU.

The paper does not sound enthusiastic about Turkey's membership bid, suggesting that enlargement should proceed one step at a time.

The Union "will need years to digest" the arrival of the present group, it says, adding that Turkey is "still far from 'European' as defined by the Union".

American fears

Berlingske Tidende explains that America fears "losing its allies to Islamism, and Turkey tops the list of the allies at risk."

"The Americans find themselves in a hole, but it is a hole that can be filled in by the European Union," the paper says.

The Europe now taking shape cannot realistically be expected to be a Christians-only club

Die Welt

The Spanish La Vanguardia suspects Washington's support is all about global hegemony.

"It has not gone unnoticed by a United States keen on consolidating its world domination that Turkey holds the key to the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia", it says.

In Germany, Die Welt ponders the religious angle of admitting Turkey.

"The Europe now taking shape," it says, "cannot realistically be expected to be a Christians-only club."

It should be possible for the EU's values to be "embraced by the religious and the layman alike, by Christians, Jews, Muslims and others".

As long as "the Christian legacy and the idea of Christian humanism are rooted in the Union," it adds.

Appointment with history...

On accepting 10 new mainly Eastern European members - the summit's other major issue - the French Le Monde says "Europe is keeping its appointment with History".

The Tribune de Geneve sees enlargement as an "inevitable step" the rejection of which would amount to the "betrayal" of its "underlying values".

The slightest polemic affecting members' pocket-books takes up more time and energy than the grandest strategic decisions

ABC

But Spain's ABC thinks the historic moment has been somewhat soiled by the - now traditional - last-minute haggling over money.

"It has become a ritual for members to celebrate the Union's greatest events by haggling over a handful of euros until the early hours of the morning," it laments.

In Bulgaria, where newspapers expect 2007 to be fixed as the country's accession date, they are gearing up for their turn at the negotiating table.

"What matters is how Sofia defends its interests from now on," the popular Trud daily writes.

It says Bulgaria should not be ashamed to seek "adequate support for its efforts".

According to 24 Chassa, the real drama is not about the date but the money.

"If the 15 decide that enlargement will become too expensive, they may not commit themselves to inviting us seriously," an analyst warns.

Just a beginning

Le Monde reminds "the countries left for 40 years on the other side of the Iron Curtain" that joining the Union is just the start of it.

It warns that the sacrifices they have made to gain admission are "not the end of their labours".

Now they must "face the merciless competition of the single market" and "accept that major decisions are taken jointly in Brussels".

Indeed, on closer inspection membership may not appeal to the people of Eastern Europe.

The paper thinks it improbable that "countries who rid themselves of Moscow's rule not all that long ago... will be in a hurry to delegate their sovereignty to a supranational entity."

Alpine sports

One area where an organisation has run Europe - including Turkey - for decades is on the football pitch.

Leading the newspapers in Austria and Switzerland is the news that Uefa, European football's governing body, has awarded the 2008 European Championships to the Alpine countries.

"Switzerland is welcome in Europe" trumpets Tages-Anzeiger.

Like Neue Zuercher Zeitung, it reminds readers that Switzerland has a history of hosting major tournaments - the previous being the 1954 World Cup.

Austrian papers are also excited, with Der Standard reporting that hosting the tournament will earn the country 200m euros through increased tourism.

That contrasts with bitter disappointment in Scotland, whose joint bid with Ireland was rated as the second favourite but finished fourth.

The Scotsman admits on its front page that its bid "was not even in contention".

The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.