European press review

There is anxiety in today's press over EU enlargement following the European Commission's warnings to candidate countries.

Some papers warn of difficulties to come, while one objects to the tone adopted by Brussels.

And questions arise again over the Russian oil giant Yukos as the Russia-EU summit kicks off in Rome.

Germany's Die Welt says the European Commission's reports are "not worth the paper they are written on", as the 10 countries due to join the EU next May have already been given the green light.

Nevertheless, the paper goes on to warn that candidate countries' failure to address outstanding problems could cause a "near-paralysis" of day-to-day work in the EU.

And it says it will take years for the EU to "digest" the enlargement.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also warns of possible "conflicts to come".

It's all very well for EU officials to reprimand the newcomers for their faults... but the EU behaves the same way Lidove noviny

The paper criticises Poland, in particular, for "behaving in a particularly brash manner", even though the EU reports note it is the country with "the most catching up to do".

Germany's Der Tagesspiegel, meanwhile, expresses shock at the reports, but warns against exaggerating Poland's difficulties.

The paper argues that the kind of fundamental reforms needed for joining the EU "confront big states with bigger problems" than those faced by smaller ones.

Czech again

A commentary in the Czech Republic's Lidove Noviny takes exception to what it calls Brussels' "paternalistic approach".

"It's all very well for EU officials to reprimand the newcomers for their faults, such as inappropriate subsidies to steel mills, but the EU behaves the same way in granting advantages to its farmers," the paper complains.

Prague's Mlada Fronta Dnes warns the country against complacency, saying the criticism could "unpleasantly affect" the Czech Republic's chance of doing business in the EU - "something we have been looking forward to so much".

Turkish candidacy

Turkey, as an aspiring EU candidate, also received a progress report, prompting a strong response from Austria's Die Presse.

The absence of a Cyprus reunification settlement could become a serious obstacle International Herald Tribune

Turkey's pursuit of EU membership "deserves a clear answer - no!" the paper says.

It argues that continuing to negotiate with Ankara may destabilise both Turkey and the European Union. "So the answer is 'no'," it repeats.

The Paris-based International Herald Tribune is less absolute in its response, seeing the EU's report on Turkey as a "carrot-and-stick message".

The carrot, the paper says, is praise for the country's "great determination" in meeting membership criteria - the stick, the warning that "the absence of a Cyprus reunification settlement could become a serious obstacle".

EU leaders will decide whether to begin membership negotiations with Turkey, but the Commission's opinion will be an "important factor" in shaping that decision, the paper adds.

Russia-EU summit

Despite the Yukos affair, the two sides are expected to reiterate their wish to advance on the path of closer economic ties Le Figaro

Moscow's Novyye Izvestiya is expecting the Russia-EU summit in Rome to provide European leaders with an opportunity to put greater pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to clarify the Yukos affair.

"European leaders", the paper believes, "cannot but be worried by the fate of Yukos".

Even so, in the French paper Liberation's view, although Brussels has announced it will be seeking "clarification" over Yukos, the EU "is likely to be content with vague assurances that the reforms will continue".

Le Figaro does not think Yukos will be any bar to talks, saying that, "despite the Yukos affair, the two sides are expected to reiterate their wish to advance on the path of closer economic ties".

It adds that the summit is particularly important to Russia because it is the last one before the arrival of the new member states - eight of which are from the former Soviet bloc.

The Russian Defence Ministry newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda calls for clarity in the whole process, saying that "Russia particularly needs to be clear which areas of cooperation will fall within the EU's domain, and which will be the responsibility of individual states".

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.