Dailies and periodicals” “” “

“The USA faced by the brain twister of post-war Iraq” is the headline of the French Catholic daily La Croix (2/7), which dedicates a dossier to the problem of the “reconstruction” of Iraq. “The Americans – says the editorial – are becoming aware that the task will be longer and more complex than expected. Two US Senators have asked the White House to appeal to the allies”. The paper also reviews the deployment of coalition military forces in post-war Iraq, where the killing of soldiers and the sabotage of oil wells or arms dumps continue. “For the time being – explains the French paper – 150,000 American soldiers are based in Iraq, of whom a third in Baghdad and in its environs, while 11,000 British troops continue to ‘maintain security’ in the south-eastern sector of Iraq. There is also a military presence of the majority of the countries that supported the Anglo-American coalition”. The relations between the USA and Europe, and more especially the “mortal danger” that many Americans see in “in a superpower Europe”, are analyzed in turn by the Herald Tribune (3/7), in an article in which William Pfaff refers to the debate now agitating American public opinion and political commentators on the matter. “A dominant issue of neoconservative writers and television debates – observes the author of the article – is that of a European Union with a Franco-German domination, reconstructed according to Giscard’s new Constitution now under discussion, which threatens to become a ‘superpower Europe’ and a mortal danger for the USA”. Meanwhile, French President Chirac has decided to “establish a commission to review the secular principle”, as announced on the front page of Le Monde of 2/7: “Concerned to put an end to the cacophony that currently reigns on the issue – in particular on the question of the veil worn by Moslem girls in state schools – both in the majority and in the opposition – informs the French daily – the President of the Republic wishes to promote a wide-ranging public debate similar to that formerly organized by the Marceau Long commission on the code of nationality”. The packed agenda of Italy’s six months’ presidency of the EU is discussed by Giorgio Ferrari ( Avvenire, 3/7). The central problem, in his view, is that of the “relations between Europe and the USA. The one cannot do without the other and vice versa. The relations impaired by the Iraqi war need to be mended, and the very conception of Europe, hitherto an economic giant but a political dwarf, needs to be corrected”. The start of the Italian presidency of the EU also excites editorial comment in the German press. Thus a front-page editorial by Heinz Joachim Fischer (1/07) “The stamp of Rome” suggests that “it is the ambition of Italy as a whole, not just of a single head of government, to give a ‘Roman’ stamp to the foundations of Europe for the second time”. The start of the process of reconciliation between Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, connected with the latter’s forthcoming entry into the EU, is also given extensive coverage in the German press over the last week. Thus we read on the front page of the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of 30/06: “ Spidla pronounces in favour of reconciliation“; the paper reports that “ prime minister Spidla read out in German the Czech-German declaration of reconciliation of 1997 to the Europe Forum in Wachau” and gave assurances that the decrees restricting the property rights of citizens of German origin in the former Czechoslovakia are now “ a closed chapter“. The Czech premier also gave his assurance that “ none of the postwar statutes [on property rights] could henceforth be the foundation for new judicial proceedings“. This is “ an important step forward” in the view of Austrian chancellor Schlussel. The same paper of 3/07 reports the interview on the matter with German foreign minister Joscka Fischer, in a front-page article headlined “Prague rejects ‘humanitarian gestures’ for the Germans of the Sudetenland“, in which it is reported that Fischer is requesting ‘a humanitarian gesture for those Germans who have suffered particularly” from the decrees. But in an article on page three of the paper “ Events and actions” Karl-Peter Schwarz writes that “ Prague is very far from condemning the expulsion of the Germans“. The Madrid daily Abc ( 29/6) reports that Miguel Ángel Moratinos, special envoy of the EU for the peace process in the Middle East, is leaving his post after seven years, saying that “the mission of reinforcing the European position in the Middle East has been performed and the balance-sheet is positive“. He expresses his conviction that “there will be peace and long before people think”. The Spanish diplomat adds that “the Road Map would not have progressed without Europe and without our determination: they are perfectly aware of this at the White House”. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1209 N.ro relativo : 49 Data pubblicazione : 05/07/2003