European Press Review: It’s All Greek To Me
European newspaper editors led on Friday with editorials on the EU’s Thessaloniki summit and the growing problems American and British forces are having maintaining order in Iraq.
With the leaders of the European Union meeting at a major summit, newspapers in European capitals on Friday commented on the major political issues being discussed at in Thessaloniki, Greece, as well as the hangover facing U.S. and British troops in Iraq. London’s Financial Times looked at British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s proposals for EU immigration policies and noted: “Back in 1999 EU states set themselves the goal of creating a common system of asylum, now a common European approach is being attempted towards some of the roots of the refugee problem which of course lie outside the Union.” And who is leading the approach, the paper asked? “It is none other than Britain which during the 1990s in the name of national sovereignty fought German efforts to bring the EU into asylum policy.” According to the paper, the reason for the switch was obvious: “Britain has replaced Germany as the largest single EU destination for asylum seekers.” France’s Le Figaro focused on the first formal talks on a European constitution taking place at the Greek summit. “An EU constitution will make the cooperation between member states much easier in many fields,” the paper said. It also saw a further opportunity arising out of the summit, suggesting: “After the conflict about the war in Iraq not only do transatlantic relations have to be redefined, it is even more important for the EU states to formulate a common position towards Washington.” Commenting on claims that the U.S. and Britain exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein’s weapon’s arsenal before the war, the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera noted that the opponents of the war also made mistakes. “They predicted millions of refugees and hundreds of thousands of dead,” the paper wrote, “they spoke of legions of guerrilla fighters who would join Hussein’s Republican Guards and they repeatedly predicted that the ordinary people would rise up.” But none of these fears ever came true, the paper pointed out. The Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung noted that there was one aspect that might endanger the Bush administration even more than Saddam’s vanished weapons of mass destruction – and that is Iraqi resistance that is leading to the murder of American soldiers almost every day. “First, American troops are to be worn down and therefore provoked to take ill-considered actions against civilians. Secondly, back in the U.S., doubts are to be planted about why young American men and women must risk their lives for a people that seems to be so ungrateful,” the paper wrote. Finally, the paper said the Iraqi resistance was pursuing a third goal: It wants to keep alive fear of Saddam and the revenge he will take if he returns. “It is not a coincidence,” the paper concluded, “that the resistance carries the name “Al Auda” – the return.” The editors of Strasbourg’s La Derniere Nouvelles D’Alsace had an altogether different take. The resistance, they concluded, is not pursuing any precise military goals; nor is it comprised of fanatic adherents to Saddam’s Baath Party. Instead, the paper wrote, the attacks by Iraqi resistance fighters against U.S. troops is merely a result of the prevailing anarchy in the country and the hostility of the Iraqi population toward the occupying powers.
European
Greek
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European
EU
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Thessaloniki summit
American
British
Iraq
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European Union
European_Union European_Boxing_Union Member_state_of_the_European_Union European_Union_(resistance_group) Citizenship_of_the_European_Union Renewable_energy_in_the_European_Union European_Union_law Accession_of_Albania_to_the_European_Union Elections_to_the_European_Parliament Solar_energy_in_the_European_Union European_Union_Special_Representative European_Economic_Community Flag_of_Europe Pakistan–European_Union_relations LGBT_rights_in_the_European_Union History_of_the_European_Union
European
Friday
Thessaloniki
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Greece
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U.S.
United_States Billboard_200 Billboard_Hot_100 Recording_Industry_Association_of_America United_States_dollar Nielsen_SoundScan Billboard_charts Hot_Country_Songs Unincorporated_territories_of_the_United_States Billboard_(magazine) Dance_Club_Songs Federal_government_of_the_United_States American_English RIAA_Certification .us Us_(Peter_Gabriel_album)
British
Iraq
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London
London London,_Ontario London_GAA London_Cricket_Club Greater_London London_Records London_Stadium London_(European_Parliament_constituency) County_of_London City_of_London University_of_London West_End_theatre London,_Kentucky Bishop_of_London London_(electoral_district) London,_Ohio
Financial Times
Financial_Times FT_Press Financial_Times_Deutschland
British
Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Tony_Blair Shadow_Cabinet_of_Tony_Blair Tony_Blair_(song) Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom Blair_ministry Shadow_Cabinet_of_John_Smith Premiership_of_Tony_Blair
EU
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1999
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
European
Union
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Britain
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1990
German
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Britain
United_Kingdom Great_Britain United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland Roman_Britain Kingdom_of_Great_Britain British_Empire Sub-Roman_Britain Prehistoric_Britain British_GAA Britain_in_the_Middle_Ages British_Iron_Age List_of_British_films_of_1959 Early_modern_Britain List_of_British_films_of_1958 Britain_(place_name) England
Germany
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EU
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France
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Le Figaro
Le_Figaro
European
Greek
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Iraq
Iraq Iraq_national_football_team Iraq_War Ba'athist_Iraq Kingdom_of_Iraq 2003_invasion_of_Iraq Iraq_Football_Association Mandatory_Iraq Iraq_national_under-23_football_team Iraqi_Republic_(1958–68) History_of_the_Jews_in_Iraq Anglo-Iraqi_War Flag_of_Iraq Iraq_national_under-20_football_team Australian_contribution_to_the_2003_invasion_of_Iraq Elections_in_Iraq
EU
European_Union Europe List_of_European_records_in_swimming Eu,_Seine-Maritime E.U._(TV_series) European_Hot_100_Singles .eu European_Top_100_Albums Europium International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry United_Left_(Galicia) Experience_Unlimited United_Left_of_the_Balearic_Islands Esquerra_de_Menorca United_Extremadura Citizenship_of_the_European_Union
Washington
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U.S.
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Britain
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Saddam Hussein
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Italian
daily
Corriere Della Sera
Corriere_della_Sera
Hussein
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Republican Guards
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Munich
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Süddeutsche Zeitung
Süddeutsche_Zeitung
Bush
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Saddam
Saddam_Hussein Saddam_(name) Saddam_Hussein_(South_Park)
Iraqi
American
American
U.S.
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American
Iraqi
Saddam
Saddam_Hussein Saddam_(name) Saddam_Hussein_(South_Park)
Al Auda
Strasbourg
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La Derniere Nouvelles D’Alsace
Saddam
Saddam_Hussein Saddam_(name) Saddam_Hussein_(South_Park)
Baath Party
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Iraqi
U.S.
United_States Billboard_200 Billboard_Hot_100 Recording_Industry_Association_of_America United_States_dollar Nielsen_SoundScan Billboard_charts Hot_Country_Songs Unincorporated_territories_of_the_United_States Billboard_(magazine) Dance_Club_Songs Federal_government_of_the_United_States American_English RIAA_Certification .us Us_(Peter_Gabriel_album)
Iraqi
European Union
European_Union
iptc::11000000 slot::keyword topic::politics type::entity type::igo type::organization type::so
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
slot::keyword topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe2 type::location
Iraq
Iraq
slot::keyword topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe0 type::location
Saddam Hussein
Saddam_Hussein
gender::male iptc::11000000 slot::keyword topic::politics type::entity type::head_of_state type::person type::politician
Le Figaro
Le_Figaro
slot::keyword topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
European
topic::none type::loc-x type::other
Greek
Greek_language
topic::none type::entity type::language
Thessaloniki summit
iptc::11000000 topic::politics type::entity type::event type::summit_meeting
American
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
British
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
Friday
topic::none type::time type::value
Greece
Greece
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe0 type::location
U.S.
United_States
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe0 type::location
London
London
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe2 type::location
Financial Times
Financial_Times
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
Prime Minister
topic::none type::role type::value
Tony Blair
Tony_Blair
gender::male iptc::11000000 topic::politics type::entity type::head_of_gov type::person type::politician
1999
topic::none type::time type::value
Britain
United_Kingdom
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1990
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German
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Germany
Germany
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France
France
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Greek
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Washington
Washington,_D.C.
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Italian
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daily
topic::none type::role type::value
Corriere Della Sera
Corriere_della_Sera
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Republican Guards
Republican_Guard_(Iraq)
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Munich
Munich
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe2 type::location
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Süddeutsche_Zeitung
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
Bush
George_W._Bush
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Iraqi
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Al Auda
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Strasbourg
Strasbourg
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La Derniere Nouvelles D’Alsace
Les_Dernières_Nouvelles_d%27Alsace
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
Baath Party
Ba'ath_Party
iptc::11000000 topic::politics type::entity type::organization type::party
Italy