European press review

French newspapers consider the future of Europe while a German daily laments the state of the country's economy.

Elsewhere, a joint European initiative to fight illegal immigration is welcomed in Madrid.

And Russian and Ukrainian papers comment on President Putin's visit to Kiev.

'Trojan horses' of EU enlargement

France's Nouvel Observateur sees the central and east European newcomers to the European Union as what it calls America's "Trojan Horses", part of a "new Europe" said to be favoured by Washington as opposed to the "old" one represented by Germany and France.

All the more reason, the paper says, for the EU to pin its hopes on the revived French-German partnership,

How can one imagine an independent foreign policy when Britain's is a dependent one?

Nouvel Observateur

which it urges "to pursue common economic, foreign and defence policies".

"Naturally", it adds, "others willing to accept the conditions might join this strengthened European sub-system."

"We would like to mention the UK in this connection," the paper points out, "but how can one imagine an independent foreign policy when Britain's is a dependent one?"

Le Monde, however, believes that if the newcomers came out "spectacularly" - as the paper puts it - against the French-German proposal for two presidents of Europe, this was not because they see themselves as a "bloc" against the old members.

Britain has been so enamoured of its illusions of an Anglo-American special relationship that it has steadily given priority to the US over Europe

International Herald Tribune

It was rather because they "feel" that the new president of the Council of Ministers "would weaken the Commission and put too much power into the hands of the larger EU states to the detriment of the smaller ones".

The Paris-based International Herald Tribune sees the French-German proposal as meaning that "France has decisively taken the lead in Europe", with Britain "elbowed off the top table".

The paper sees two reasons behind sidelining Britain. One, it says, is that London has never "wanted nothing more in Europe than a loose commercial arrangement", the other being that "Britain has been so enamoured of its illusions of an Anglo-American special relationship that it has steadily given priority to the United States over Europe".

German economic paralysis

Germany's Berliner Zeitung says the government's annual economic report, due to be published on Wednesday, will confirm that the situation is, as the paper puts it, "as bad as the mood".

"For months any talk of economic dynamism in this country would have been misplaced," the paper laments.

"Nothing suggests that this state of paralysis", it adds, "will be overcome in the course of the next few months."

It notes that the only glimmer of hope lies in the fact that the gloomy picture might spur politicians into action to implement what the paper calls "overdue reforms".

"The government has not been elected to explain the crisis but to overcome it."

"What is it waiting for?", the paper wonders.

Putin in Ukraine

Ukraine's daily Segodnya believes the CIS summit in Kiev "has demonstrated that there are serious problems in the CIS" even before its official opening.

"The organisation may lose its raison d'etre", the paper adds, "unless some of the key principles of relations between its members are reviewed."

The leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan "are conspicuously absent from the summit", it says, suggesting that they "don't want to waste their time on trips to Kiev" when all the key issues are still decided in Moscow.

Until a successor is found for the Ukrainian president the local elite will not want to take any decisive action in expanding relations with Russia.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

"Ukraine is interested in the CIS only to the extent that it does not hamper its cooperation with Europe, with the West and the rest of the world," concludes Segodnya.

Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta attributes "the benign atmosphere" at the summit to "the unresolved issue of whom Russia will support in the next presidential elections in Ukraine".

"Until a successor is found for the Ukrainian president", it adds, "the local elite will not want to take any decisive action in expanding relations with Russia."

The Russian popular tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda states that Moscow "is interested in seeing that Kuchma's successor is a figure who is loyal to our country."

World Economic Forum draws to a close

Assessing the just-ended World Economic Forum in Davos, Russia's Novyye Izvestiya believes there are not many who have "something to boast about."

"In principle, no critically important measures designed to restore the health of the global economy and regain trust in it were taken."

And there were no "sensations" for Russia, which took part in the forum.

The leading daily Izvestiya agrees: "'Building Trust', the appeal made by the organisers, was something that didn't happen."

Maritime look-out

Spain's El Pais welcomes Operation Ulysses, the first joint European initiative to fight illegal immigration in which boats from the UK, Spain, France, Portugal and Italy will conduct coordinated surveillance operations in order to exert greater control over maritime borders.

"Joint control of the outer European borders is essential," the daily says, "if we are to prevent the uncontrolled flow of immigrants from further swelling the pockets of illegals across the EU, now calculated at more than three million people."

The first stage of the operation is taking place in the western Mediterranean, with phase two set to focus on the Canary Islands.

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