European press review

European papers weigh up the outcome of the informal EU summit in the UK and what it says about the current state of the Union.

Drifting apart?

Italy's La Repubblica says British Prime Minister Tony Blair failed to "unblock" a European Union paralysed by differences over the budget, the constitution, and economic reforms.

"Greatly embarrassed by the lack of success of Britain's EU presidency, [Blair] was hoping for a general discussion, without concrete decisions, that would nonetheless give the impression of a new-found harmony among the 25."

Opinions about what Europe is, how it can be held together and which economic and social system it should adopt are drifting apart more and more Die Welt

"The aim was not achieved. If the tone of the meeting was calm and relaxed... the substance of the positions did not alter by one jot," the paper says.

Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung says the leaders failed to agree on "central questions of economic policy" such as the budget, liberalisation of the services sector and the current world trade talks.

It adds that outgoing German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder used his farewell speech on European policy to launch an "undisguised attack" on Mr Blair.

"While the British prime minister called for new reforms in the fields of energy, research and services, Schroeder warned against social inequities," the paper notes.

"If Tony Blair had hoped to see a kindly disposed pensioner from Berlin, he will have been disappointed," comments the Berliner Zeitung.

It is no sign of health that the leaders avoided a fiasco by deciding in advance not to discuss the EU's major problems Politiken

Die Welt says Mr Blair and French President Jacques Chirac were almost the only leaders to back an EU Commission proposal for a solidarity fund to help workers face up to global competition.

"Opinions about what Europe is, how it can be held together and which economic and social system it should adopt are drifting apart more and more," the paper concludes.

"Non-committal chat"

Denmark's Politiken says the summit "consisted of EU leaders having a non-committal chat - and that was also really the plan".

"But", the daily continues, "it is no sign of health that the leaders avoided a fiasco by deciding in advance not to discuss the EU's major problems and instead philosophise about how the problems the nation states are struggling with individually should be solved".

Sweden's Expressen says "the British presidency has not amounted to much" since Mr Blair made "a speech vibrating with Churchillian passion and vision" when the UK assumed the Union's leadership in the summer.

The constitution has "capsized" and talks on the budget have stalled, "like a symptom of the basic conflicts in the Union", with great disagreement on agricultural subsidies.

French veto threat

"WTO: Chirac brandishes the threat of a veto," reads Le Figaro's front page headline.

The French right-leaning daily says that during the summit President Chirac questioned the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and threatened to veto a new initiative from Brussels on agriculture, "which does not suit Paris".

But it thinks the Commission has played down Mr Chirac's threat.

"The strength of this warning from the Elysee was however minimised by the European Commission," by explaining that France is simply concerned by the content of any offer, rather than the offer itself, the paper says.

Blair's bubble bursts

Hungary's Nepszabadsag sums up the event by saying that: "Nothing unexpected happened at the extraordinary EU summit, or more precisely, nothing happened at all."

Despite the summit's focus on globalisation, the paper is sceptical that EU leaders will be able to bite the bullet.

"In the global race for development, productivity and efficiency, the EU can only glimpse the back of the USA with binoculars, while its own back is being burnt by the hot breath of China and India," it says.

"Despite Blair's prestige as the advocate of the third way between the social market model and capitalist globalisation, and despite many rational arguments, his bubble - the idea of an EU globalisation reserve fund - burst in minutes", the paper says.

Romania's Curentul writes that, while the budget remains the "bone of contention" in the EU, "Tony Blair announced that the delicate topic would not be approached this time either and the debates would be on another topic which some considered to be too abstract: the impact of globalisation on the EU".

Still in Romania, Evenimentul Zilei says the summit, which took place "amid a full budgetary and constitutional crisis", "was labelled by some of the press as a desperate attempt by British Prime Minister Tony Blair... to save the image of the British EU presidency, which ends at the end of the year".

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