European press review

Monday's European press focuses on reaction to the Czech Republic's strong vote in favour of European Union entry, and the draft EU constitution.

French papers look at the implications of the dispute about the government's pensions reform plan.

'Magnificent result'

The Czech Republic has returned to Europe, writes the Prague daily Lidove Noviny.

While the words "return to Europe" may be problematic in geographical, cultural and historical terms, the newspaper says, they are an accurate description of the country's post-1989 journey of which EU membership is certainly a part.

Brother Czech, it's high time for us to talk

Die Presse

Hospodarske Noviny describes the emphatic "yes" as "a magnificent result", but cautions against over-excitement.

"This referendum has not turned us into Europeans overnight," a commentary argues. "The only question is: what sort of Europeans we will be, and in what sort of Europe?"

Whether the European community turns into a strong centralised superstate or a looser federation of countries will continue to be debated for a long time to come, the paper says.

"Now it is up to us whether or not we assimilate all that is best in Europe and give to Europe all that is best in us."

Mlada Fronta Dnes agrees: "We Czechs will now have to show that we can live up to the promises made to Brussels."

Foreign domination

Another Czech daily, Pravo, sees the EU vote as the best safeguard against what it calls "the old Czech problem" of domination by a foreign power.

While it would be rash to think that EU entry will solve this problem once and for all, the truth is that nobody has yet invented anything safer than an integrating Europe.

Neighbouring Austria's Die Presse also picks up the same theme.

"Brother Czech, it's high time for us to talk", reads the headline of a commentary.

The paper believes that, contrary to what politicians want to make people believe, relations between Czechs and Austrians are bad.

The Czech Republic only half belongs to what the Americans regard as the "new Europe"

Der Tagesspiegel

The prospect of Czech EU membership means that the two countries need to confront their shared past, in particular the Nazi period and the subsequent expulsion of Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia, it argues.

Austria's Der Standard notes that next year Czech voters may be asked to vote in another referendum, on the EU constitution.

The paper points out that the proposal for a president of the European Council is particularly controversial in a number of relatively small states.

It argues that concerns about the amount of power which would be concentrated in such a post should not be brushed aside.

"If the newcomers, who have enjoyed their independence for only a relatively short time after half a century of Soviet guardianship, fail to find themselves in this new EU construction, then they will be unlikely to participate in further integration," the paper warns.

In Germany too, Der Tagesspiegel wonders whether the Czech Republic will play a role similar to that of Britain, which the paper describes as "that of a reserved partner putting a brake on integration".

"The Czech Republic only half belongs to what the Americans regard as the 'new Europe'," it says, "but it doesn't want to be part of the 'old' either."

French malaise

As the debate over pension reform continues in parliament, the Paris daily Le Figaro detects a general drift towards political and social chaos.

The Convention has missed an opportunity to give the EU a spirit, a mission

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"Instead of the expected national debate," the paper complains, "it seems as if the whole of society - including political leaders, the media and public opinion - is turning into a machine for creating disorder."

Another Paris daily, La Croix, says the conflict has accentuated social divisions and shattered any hope of consensus on major social issues.

It foresees problems with the government's next plan for urgent reforms - this time to the health insurance system.

"Consultations to resolve the gaping deficits in social security will be a very difficult art," the paper warns.

Missed opportunity

Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung says the draft constitution proposed by the Convention on the Future of Europe leaves major questions unanswered.

The paper suggests that it is wrong to focus on the new posts of "EU president" and "EU foreign minister".

"This is the smallest of changes, after all, and the least noticeable for Europe's citizens," it says, adding that the issue of a European identity is more important but has not been resolved by the Convention.

"The Convention has thus missed an opportunity to give the Union a spirit, a mission," it says, "and thus to prepare the ground for a gradual absorption of nation states."

Hungary's Nepszabadsag says the constitution will leave Europe "richer by a few institutions, simpler on paper and more complicated in practice".

It predicts that the new president of the European Council will be "weak on paper but probably strong in reality", which it says is "not necessarily good for small states".

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