European press review

European press review

Two French papers assess the situation of the far right in France, while Russian, Ukrainian and Czech papers examine the future of the European Union. And a Belgian paper is reassuring about the impact of an outbreak of bird flu a few weeks ahead of general elections.

Le Pen one year on

Under the front-page headline "Jean-Marie Le Pen one year on...", France's Le Figaro previews this weekend's National Front party conference, one year after the far-right leader came second behind Jacques Chirac in the first round of French presidential elections.

The paper says the purpose of the party conference is to renew Jean-Marie Le Pen's mandate as party leader.

The Right is reassured by the government's law and order policies, and the National Front quietly displays its confidence

Le Monde

"He is the only candidate for the post, as has always been the case for the last 30 years," the paper points out.

It observes that the far-right leader, who is 75 years old, has already decided to stand again in the next presidential elections in 2007, but it adds that he has hinted that he may step down from the party leadership during the next party conference in 2006.

Under the headline "Far right battling on in Carpentras", France's Le Monde reports on different assessments of the political situation in a town in which Jean-Marie Le Pen scored more than 30% in last year's presidential elections.

"While the local Left, marked by the defeat of 21 April 2002, does not believe that Le Pen's ideas are becoming less influential and while the Right is reassured by the government's law and order policies, the National Front quietly displays its confidence," it says.

The paper itself believes that the National Front in Carpentras still represents a "major political force" which, as the paper puts it, "is capable of being a spoilsport in the next regional elections".

Athens meeting

The Russian newspaper Trud casts doubt on the vaunted pro-US majority that has appeared within the European Union with the scheduled entry of central and east European states at the EU summit meeting in Athens.

The EU could become the undertaker of the US political and economic monopoly

Trud

"The economic factor of a common currency will make the EU not an American outpost, but an independent geopolitical player," it writes.

Trud sees benefits for Russia in the emergence of this independent economic force.

"The European Union could become first a counterweight to and in time the undertaker of the unipolar world and the US political and economic monopoly.

"Because of this, the symbolic ceremony in front of the Acropolis is good news for us," it concludes.

Ukraine's Den in contrast sees the Athens summit meeting as a step towards compromise between the supporters of a "Transatlantic bloc" - Britain, Italy, Spain, Denmark and the new members - on one hand and that Franco-German axis on the other.

"Athough the formal aim of the meeting was enlargement of the European Union to the east, the real goal was to lick its wounds," Den writes.

The paper also sees hope for Ukraine's eventual admission to the EU, with expressions of support for associate membership from France and Poland.

Czech doubts

Czech papers are unsure that the country will make a positive impression within the European Union.

If the referendum really fails, it will be the government's fault

Mlada Fronta Dnes

The financial Hospodarske Noviny is worried that President Vaclav Klaus's eurosceptic statements have undermined the political capital left by his predecessor Vaclav Havel.

"The reputation of the first Czech president abroad had the positive impact that only foreign experts knew about the disunity of Czech positions... while foreign journalists used Klaus's statements to illustrate the ordeal the EU will face with its newcomers," it says.

Ahead of a referendum on EU membership, Mlada Fronta Dnes reports that support for the EU in Czech society remains lukewarm, while its opponents are zealous.

It complains that President Klaus's statement that Czech membership is "the only alternative" is hardly a ringing endorsement, and calls on the government to give voters more positive information and fewer empty slogans.

"If the referendum really fails, it will be the government's fault. Verbally it has been absolutely European, but has done virtually nothing to prove this," it says.

Bird flu fallout

Belgium's De Standaard doubts that the outbreak of bird flu in Belgium will have serious consequences on the outcome of general elections due to be held on 18 May.

The paper points out that bird flu is a known poultry disease which does not represent a threat to public health.

It adds that the outbreak originated in the Netherlands. "That takes away the feeling that something like this can happen 'only here'," it says.

Finally, it argues that, other than during a dioxin scare four years ago, citizens are not under the impression that the authorities are withholding information.

"It is more than probable that the elections won't be bird flu elections," the paper concludes.

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