European press review
Spain's papers believe the takeover of the
British banking group Abbey National by a Spanish bank will boost the country's
image but may take a while to produce tangible results. And French surgeons plan
to head for London to highlight their own health care crisis.
Spain gets the habit
Madrid's El Pais welcomes the takeover of Abbey
National by Spain's biggest bank Santander Central Hispano (BSCH) as "the motor
of unification for the European banking market".
"The purchase of Abbey benefits the growth of
BSCH, demonstrates the viability of cross-border bank mergers and shows
companies in other markets the way to go," it says.
"And, of course, the fact that an operation of
this importance has been directed by a Spanish financial organisation benefits
Spain's image."
However, papers say the fact that Abbey is 70% of
BSCH's size may make it hard to digest, with the company's share price and
dividends likely to fall for some time.
Surgeons on warpath
"Angry surgeons" reads the headline of an
editorial in France's Le Monde newspaper.
Those able to pay receive all the care they need, while the others queue up behind the counters of an outdated public-health system
Those able to pay receive all the care they need, while the others queue up behind the counters of an outdated public-health system
Le Monde
Overworked surgeons are confronted with "the
increasing demands of patients and practitioners", the paper says, "due mostly
to the population getting older".
It says the crisis of overburdened doctors in
France is "emblematic" of health systems in other developed
countries.
French surgeons are due to spend a week in London
in August as a "symbolic" protest against their own government, the paper
reports.
Le Monde describes London as the "capital of a
country flying the ultra-liberal flag in Europe", a country with a "two-speed
health-care" system.
"Those able to pay receive all the care they
need, very expensive and with no reimbursements, while the others queue up
behind the counters of an outdated public-health system, overburdened and
inefficient."
Trading blows
Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung regrets
France's criticism of a World Trade Organization effort to revive stalled global
free trade talks.
The paper says the French always make themselves
heard "when the give and take begins" at the WTO.
When it's a question of giving developing countries better chances on the European market, French friendliness quickly comes to end
When it's a question of giving developing countries better chances on the European market, French friendliness quickly comes to end
Der Tagesspiegel
It argues that Paris is entitled to assert its
interests by asking for the protection of EU agricultural aid, but adds that the
timing of French objections is "awkward".
"Why did President Chirac not protest weeks ago,
when the European Commission offered an end to [farm] export subsidies?" it
asks.
Germany's Der Tagesspiegel says France has
damaged its claim that it supports developing countries.
"When it's a question of giving developing
countries better chances on the European market, French friendliness quickly
comes to end," the paper says.
Tongue-tied
The appointment of Stanislav Gross as the Czech
Republic's - and before it Czechoslovakia's - youngest-ever prime minister
dominates Czech newspapers.
Pravo weighs the 34-year-old former interior
minister's linguistic abilities. His predecessors entered politics each speaking
at least one global language, a skill Gross lacks, the daily says.
"This does not mean at all that Gross cannot be a
successful prime minister."
"If he does not want to be embarrassed during
informal talks with European Union colleagues or with foreign journalistic
wolves, he will have to master some language and express ideas in
interviews."
"And that is a hell of a job, even for a young
man such as Gross," Pravo adds.
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/3928593.stm
Spain's papers welcome the takeover of Abbey National and French surgeons head for Britain in protest
