European press review

The Balkan press focus on copycat referendums and the possible restoration of the Serbian monarchy following Montenegro's recent independence vote.

The Spanish government's effort to combat organised crime leave the papers cold, while a French daily examines the fallout from Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's recent employment law debacle.

Balkan divorce

Reacting to the Montenegrin referendum result, Serbia's Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic has called for the restoration of the monarchy.

According to the Belgrade daily Blic, the crown prince, who is related to the British royal family, has said he is "proud of Serbia and wants to be a servant of the country".

Civic organisations in the Trans-Dniester region have asked Russia to play the role of guarantor of a referendum on independence Gardianul

The paper quotes the crown prince as saying that although his country sees Montenegrins as brothers and sisters "regardless of whether we live in one state or not", it is time for Serbs to completely devote themselves to Serbia.

"The crown is good for our democracy, the crown respects and protects everyone," the prince said. "The crown reconciles."

Ripple effect

Romanian paper Gardianul says Moldova's breakaway region of Trans-Dniester, encouraged by the success of Montenegro's independence vote, now wants to legitimise its sovereignty in a copycat referendum.

Already, "civic organisations in the Trans-Dniester region have asked Russia to play the role of guarantor of a referendum on independence for this region," the paper says.

Security is not a question of statistics but of personal experience ABC

"The council of these organisations in Tiraspol said in a letter addressed to President Putin and the parliament in Moscow yesterday that a referendum similar to the one in Montenegro should be organized in the Trans-Dniester region - under the auspices of Moscow," the daily writes.

Organised crime

Spanish papers cast a critical eye over Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's announcement that the government is setting up a new group to tackle organised crime.

The prime minister said organised crime demanded "a tough response" and that the Intelligence Centre against Organised Crime would pool information for police forces all over the country.

Spanish daily La Razon is unconvinced of the need for the new body, calling the measure a "smokescreen against insecurity".

De Villepin is trying is to reclaim the social sphere Le Monde

The daily also questions the government's motives, calling the move "an opportunist decision to calm the public", who are increasingly worried by a wave of violent burglaries in Madrid and Barcelona.

ABC is also unimpressed, saying that to Spain's citizens, "security is not a question of statistics but of personal experience".

It means little if the total number of crimes goes down, says the daily, if at the same time there is an increase in "the most horrible crimes that bring violence into the heart of our homes."

Villepin's "outrageous nerve"

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin is once again under scrutiny in the French daily Le Monde.

The speed with which the prime minister took the initiative to prevent the closure of aircraft maintenance company Sogerma is evidence of "undeniable skill", an editorial says. Villepin spoke to workers, insisted it would be unacceptable to close the plant and urged its chairmen to do more to preserve jobs.

Not only is this behaviour out of character, for Le Monde it demonstrates an "outrageous nerve" in a politician who served as long ago as 2002 in a government that couldn't wait to be rid of legislation protecting redundant employees.

According to Le Monde, Villepin has two goals. First, he "is trying to reclaim the social sphere where, a few weeks ago, he suffered his worst political defeat over the First Employment Contract". Secondly, Sogerma is a useful diversion from the Clearstream corruption scandal which has dominated the media of late.

And since the state is both a Sogerma shareholder and a client, Villepin has effectively committed his government to placing more orders with the firm. "The credibility of Villepin's word is once again at stake," the paper concludes.

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