European press review

In France's newspapers, the decision of former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe's decision to stay in politics is in the dock .

The Austrian and Swiss press looks at the European Commission ruling that Ryanair received illegal subsidies to use a Belgian airport.

Juppe to stay on

"Juppe: I'm staying on" is the headline of the lead story in Paris's Le Figaro. Mr Juppe announced on Tuesday evening that he would retain his posts pending an appeal against his conviction.

Mr Raffarin set the tone by speaking of his 'surprise' and describing the court's judgment as 'provisional' Le Monde

He is leader of President Chirac's UMP party, mayor of Bordeaux and parliamentary deputy.

Mr Juppe, the paper recalls, was last Friday given a suspended 18-month jail sentence and barred from running for political office for 10 years for diverting Paris City Council funds to pay party activists.

Le Monde takes exception to what it calls "the unbelievable reaction" of leading figures in the UMP to Mr Juppe's conviction.

"Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin," the paper says, "set the tone by speaking of his 'surprise' and describing the court's judgment as 'provisional'."

And President Jacques Chirac, it notes, "not only failed to urge everyone to respect the judgment, but had no hesitation in publicly praising 'the exceptional qualities' of Alain Juppe".

'Berlusconisation'

Likening the French president to another controversial European leader, the paper coins a new word when it says that "this Berlusconisation of Chirac, in which", it believes, "Juppe is just a pretext", "risks benefiting the far-right more than it does the law-based state".

The "incredible praise" for Mr Juppe by "the president's clan", says the Nouvel Observateur, "is aimed first and foremost at obscuring the fact" that "the unlawful financing system used by the RPR during Jacques Chirac's terms as mayor of Paris was exposed and solemnly condemned" at the Juppe trial.

In Norway, Aftenposten says that "if this is unpleasant for Juppe then it is almost as troublesome for Chirac".

EU Ryanair ruling

Austria's Der Standard sees good arguments on both sides of the debate about regional airport subsidies after the European Commission ordered Ryanair to repay some state aid.

The paper points out that such subsidies have to be paid for by the taxpayer.

"A paradoxical situation only arises," it adds, "when the state puts billions into rail transport, which is more environmentally friendly, but then cheap tickets tempt passengers to take planes."

The Swiss Le Temps suggests that matters could have been worse and that the airline "comes out quite well" in the ruling that it must pay back some 30% of the subsidies it received from Belgium's Charleroi Airport.

Iraq inquiries

Germany's Der Tagesspiegel welcomes the British prime minister's decision to call an inquiry into intelligence assessments before the war in Iraq.

It argues that the failure to find weapons of mass destruction is "an embarrassment, evidence of shortcomings and a political disaster", both for the intelligence services and those who trusted them.

Russia's Novyye Izvestiya thinks that "unlike the American president, who has cleverly used the investigation as an election campaign move, Blair may have to face serious difficulties"

Spain's ABC believes the probes "should confirm the health of the political fabric of the free world".

Its compatriot El Pais takes a different view.

"There are a lot of signs indicating that the invasion of Iraq was contemplated in the first days of the Bush administration and that this accelerated after 11 September 2001."

"The war of lies and deceptions will keep going round and around."

German rail charter

Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung dismisses a new passengers' charter under which the national rail company will have to pay customers compensation if their journeys are delayed as insufficient.

The paper says the Deutsche Bahn company has lost a lot of trust as a result of trains being late, repeated reforms of the pricing system and what the paper calls the "incorrigible bureaucratic mentality of its employees".

"Anybody who has ever asked stressed-out ticket inspectors for vouchers or the confirmation of delays will rather do without the small amount of euros than making the bureaucratic effort of actually asking the rail company for the money," the paper says.

Germany's Die Welt agrees that the charter is unsatisfactory.

Swedish premier's 'U-turn'

There is no acceptable and decent reason to introduce special rules for Poles and other new EU citizens, only shamefully narrow-minded and prejudiced ones Dagens Nyheter

Stockholm's Dagens Nyheter condemns Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson's U-turn on the freedom of movement of labour following EU enlargement later this year, describing it as "the triumph of prejudice".

"If the prime minister gets his way, Sweden will prevent citizens of the new EU members from coming here as freely as other EU citizens can."

"This is the same Goran Persson who criticised Germany and Austria when they wanted transitional arrangements for the new EU members from the east, this is the same prime minister who pushed for eastward enlargement particularly strongly."

"There is no acceptable and decent reason to introduce special rules for Poles and other new EU citizens, only shamefully narrow-minded and prejudiced ones", it concludes.

Roma 'malaise'

Meanwhile, Slovakia's Pravda ponders the options for dealing with problems arising from the expected Roma migration following the EU enlargement.

"Romanies are waiting for the union," the daily says.

"Western European countries are not too afraid of those who will arrive in pursuit of jobs, but of those who will come without any wish to work," it says.

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