European press review

Europe's press continues to express concern over the situation in the Netherlands following Tuesday's cremation of film-maker Theo van Gogh.

Two German dailies debate anti-Semitism in Germany, and a Russian paper argues that Moscow's relations with the EU suffer from a lack of trust.

'Explosive cocktail'

A day after the cremation of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh, murdered last week because of his critical views on Islam, France's Le Monde describes the situation in the Netherlands as "an explosive cocktail".

It is not by moving from one extreme to the other that its leaders can show that they understand the magnitude of the task ahead Le Monde

It also expresses unease over references by leading Dutch politicians to a "war on terrorism" and EU Commissioner Frits Bolkestein's call on the king of Morocco to "ensure that his country does not export terrorists".

The paper says: "Such tactlessness is all the more unwelcome since the Netherlands, when trying cases related to Islamist terrorism, has twice handed down surprising acquittals.

"It is not by moving from one extreme to the other that its leaders can show that they understand the magnitude of the task ahead."

In Germany, the Berliner Zeitung says the killing of the Dutch filmmaker points to shortcomings in the country's integration policy.

"Perhaps this was the fallacy of Dutch tolerance that tolerating meant the same as integrating."

It believes there has been a particular failure to integrate the country's Moroccan community.

"For decades the wide cloak of consensus obscured the problems. Now they are emerging all the more clearly, and since then it has been as if the country had lost its innocence."

Quid pro quo

Denmark's Berlingske Tidende supports a proposal to cut development aid to countries which will not take back nationals whose asylum applications have been turned down.

Countries which do not fulfil their duty to take back their own citizens must not be rewarded with Danish development aid Berlingske Tidende

It says there is extreme disagreement in Denmark about asylum and integration policy but agreement that "when an asylum seeker is rejected the person concerned must leave the country".

"There is good reason for this. If Denmark cannot send people back... its whole asylum system will collapse."

It concludes: "We would see many more illegal immigrants [and] policy would be determined by people-traffickers rather than parliament and the electorate...

"Countries which do not fulfil their duty to take back their own citizens must not, of course, be rewarded with Danish development aid."

Ticking clock

Two German papers comment on a warning by the leader of the country's Jewish community that the rise of the far right should be taken more seriously.

It is indeed conceivable that far-right extremism may establish itself as a reputable force at the national level die tageszeitung

Paul Spiegel, the chairman of the Central Council of Jews, said yesterday he was concerned by the election of a militant neo-Nazi to the far-right National Democratic Party's leadership and that time was running out.

It was "five minutes to midnight", he argued.

The Berliner Zeitung disagrees, saying that as far as the far-right threat is concerned, "it is not even a quarter past eleven".

"German right-wing extremism is miles away from taking over power in the state," the paper asserts.

Die Tageszeitung is also not convinced that Mr Spiegel's clock metaphor is appropriate.

But it believes he is right to criticize "the totally inadequate reaction of the democratic public to the offensive of neo-Nazi and racist groups, particularly over the past few weeks".

It warns that an alliance of far-right groups may manage to win seats at the next general election.

"It is indeed conceivable that far-right extremism may establish itself as a reputable force at the national level."

Lack of trust

Commenting on a Russia-EU summit originally scheduled for tomorrow but postponed at the Kremlin's request, Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta discerns a lack of trust between Moscow and Brussels.

If "an area of trust" is not built, it warns, "we will not move beyond trivial buying and selling or some kind of new 'gas-pipeline' project."

It concludes: "Russia, generally speaking, has defined its priorities so the ball is in the EU's court... Therefore the last and most important question to the summit should be: how far is the EU prepared to go in developing partnership with Russia?"

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