European press review

Friday's European papers offer a distinctly cool reaction as the prospect of "Turkey in Europe" appears to move one step closer.

The ordeal of the British hostage in Iraq continues to attract substantial comment, while two Russian papers ponder growing public concerns over airport security.

Turkish tactics

The Turkish prime minister's visit to Brussels on Thursday, says France's Le Figaro, "has cleared the way for Ankara's candidacy for EU membership".

But there is a caveat.

"Unlike the enthusiasm of their governments," the paper warns, "public opinion in the member countries over the prospect of Turkish membership is more lukewarm."

Turkey is not part of Europe Die Welt

In Germany, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung believes [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan used the proposed criminalisation of adultery in Turkey as a tactical manoeuvre.

Europeans, the paper says, are "rubbing their eyes in disbelief", after he announced in Brussels that the plans would be dropped.

It points out that, only a few days ago, Mr Erdogan had warned against foreign interference over the issue.

"By stoking national resentment against Europe," the paper says, "he has demonstrated what Turkey-sceptics believe they already know: that the big country on the Bosphorus is simply not ready to join the club."

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also suspects a tactical ploy.

"It is difficult not to shake off the suspicion that this whole row was not really a row but a tactical orchestration."

And now, the paper forecasts, Turkey's entry into the European Union is a virtual certainty.

"The issue has long been settled among the elite," it says. "It's all about the Eurasian markets."

But it is Die Welt which provides the clearest expression of opposition to Turkish membership.

It carries an article listing "10 arguments against Turkey's accession to the European Union", but not a single one in favour.

The paper argues that "Turkey is not part of Europe", and voices concerns over human rights, migration, costs, political integration and security.

"There are sensible alternatives" to Turkey joining the EU, it suggests.

'A difficult trial'

Commentators remain transfixed by the hostage crisis in Iraq, where kidnappers have already murdered two US construction workers and are now threatening to kill their British colleague, Kenneth Bigley.

France's Liberation suggests the British prime minister has maintained an unusually low profile during the whole affair.

"Tony Blair," it points out, "so skilful at manipulating all the modes of public expression, has vanished from the TV screens on which he is normally so fervently keen to appear."

The paper believes Mr Blair will try to avoid the issue of Iraq at the Labour Party's conference next week.

After each new picture of a severed head, people demand more protection, and express their readiness to pay any price for it Kommersant

"But the calvary of Kenneth Bigley," it says, "should prevent him from performing this sort of concealing trick."

Austria's Die Presse views the abductions as "a difficult trial for Western society", and points to "the humanitarian and political worst-case scenario" facing the British government.

The key issue, the paper says, is whether states should give in to the demands of kidnappers in order to save lives.

"The best variant of an answer," it ventures, "is probably: yes, but not at just any price."

In other words, while policies or laws must not be changed, some concessions may have to be made.

Russia's Kommersant, meanwhile, links the spate of abductions in Iraq to the growing impact of the al-Qaeda network on public opinion.

"The emergence of a world monster... in the shape of al-Qaeda, makes people feel a greater need to be protected from it."

And public resolve, the paper suggests, could weaken over time.

"After each new picture of a severed head," it says, "people demand more protection, and express their readiness to pay any price for it."

Flight safety

Other parts of the Russian press are more preoccupied with security concerns closer to home, after reports that passengers for a flight from Moscow to Egypt prevented two Arab women dressed in black from taking their seats for the journey.

In the wake of the apparent terror attacks on two Russian airliners in August, Vremya Novostey notes, Russians were asked to "show public spirit and do what they can to fight terrorism".

Russia is in the grip of mass hysteria Russky Kuryer

But what has actually happened, the paper explains, is that Russians have decided to take their own measures to protect themselves, rather than relying on the authorities.

"People have arrived at relevant conclusions, albeit not the ones they were supposed to reach," it says.

And so "spontaneous protests", such as the one in Moscow and a similar case on a Moscow-bound plane in Egypt in early September, "might not only lead to serious conflicts, but also cause chaos in the transport system".

"Russia," warns Russky Kuryer, "is in the grip of mass hysteria."

The consequence of the recent spate of terror attacks in Russia, the paper argues, is that "people have lost trust in the authorities".

The Russian authorities, it says, have failed to deliver on promises of safety and protection, and could learn a great deal from governments elsewhere.

"Can you imagine passengers carrying explosives boarding a plane in Israel?" the paper asks.

Security there is so tight, it says, that "they'll make you take apart your underwired bra, just to make sure that that is what's setting off the metal detector".

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