Tuesday's mixed bag of European topics and preoccupations includes an unusual number of ailing politicians, as well as a somewhat under-the-weather Italian budget.
Germany's Die Welt says the judges at the war crimes trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, having ordered a radical review of proceedings because of the defendant's ill health, are faced with a dilemma.
It argues that if they force the former president to appear and if he then suffers a heart attack, the court could be seriously discredited in moral and legal terms.
"On the other hand," it points out, "if the judges... let the trial continue as before, or if they simply adjourn for a few months, they will be at the mercy of the defendant's whims and health (fluctuations) - and in this case, too, the tribunal will become a farce."
The paper suggests that providing Mr Milosevic with a lawyer to conduct his defence would seem to offer a way out.
| In reality it is he who wants to destroy the
health of the judicial authorities Der Tagesspiegel |
The paper notes that the former president yesterday accused the court of trying to destroy his health.
"In reality," it argues, "it is he who wants to destroy the health of the judicial authorities."
Italy's budget
Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung sees as predictable Monday's decision by EU finance ministers not to censure the Berlusconi government in Rome over its excessive budget deficit.
"This is because the days when EU states squabbled over the best way to consolidate budgets are gone for ever," the paper says.
It suggests that hardly any EU member state is willing to be guided any longer by the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact, after proceedings against France and Germany for breaching its rules were suspended.
"It is... obvious," it says, "that the ministers, unlike the European Central Bank, no longer place a high value on stability in the field of economic and financial policy."
Switzerland's Le Temps attributes what it calls the "successful defence" mounted by Silvio Berlusconi when he met the EU finance ministers on Monday, to "a new trend" which shows member states keen "to stand up to the Brussels executive".
In Spain, however, Barcelona's Avui says that "for the third time the EU has temporised with a flagrant breach of the rules".
The full Monti
France's Le Monde notes that the odds-on favourite to replace Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti, who resigned two days ago, is the current EU commissioner for competition, Mario Monti.
His job it would be to get the country's budget back into line with EU rules.
The paper believes that the appointment of "Super Mario" - which, it explains is the Italians' nickname for Mr Monti - would "enhance the Italian government's image and credibility abroad".
Having accepted the post of president of the European Commission, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso yesterday presented his resignation to President Jorge Sampaio.
Neighbouring Spain's El Pais notes that these events have sparked off a political crisis in Portugal.
Even though Mr Barroso "justified his acceptance of the EU post on the grounds that the country's stability and economic growth were safeguarded", the paper says, "a period of uncertainty has opened up before a country still struggling with issues of self-esteem".
Thomas Klestil
Austria's Der Standard reviews the presidency of Thomas Klestil, who is in a critical condition after suffering a heart attack on Monday, with three days to go to the end of his term of office.
The paper says that things got off to a "dynamic" start in 1992, noting that he was the first Austrian president to admit to his country's share of responsibility for the Holocaust, a gesture which the paper describes as "long overdue".
But it adds that his last few years in office were marked by "defeats", notably his inability to prevent the forming of a coalition which included the far-right Freedom Party.
Still in Vienna, Die Presse notes that the president's condition also means that "many tricky issues of the constitution and protocol have to be resolved".
"But Austria can be confident that the constitution as well as the Republic will pass the test," it believes.
Hip op
| The prime minister has finally communicated
with the outside world Dagens Nyheter |
"The prime minister has finally communicated with the outside world", exclaims Stockholm's Dagens Nyheter .
"Order restored. No, not really," the paper says.
"The images of both Persson and the government have changed since his hip replacement in June."
It sees what happened as "a remarkable change", with Mr Persson now being described as "a problem", not only by the opposition but by members of his own Social Democrat party.
Malmoe's Sydsvenska Dagbladet notes that "Persson has finally sat in front of the microphones", but it points out his analysis of the European elections was "hardly profound".
The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/2/hi/europe/3868973.stm
Tuesday's European topics and preoccupations includes an unusual number of ailing politicians, as well as a somewhat under-the-weather Italian budget.
