The opening of the Nato summit and the appointment of the future European Commission president dominate European papers on Monday. And two dailies ponder a crisis in the Czech Republic triggered by the prime minister's resignation.
Allies, or all lies?
Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung predicts that there will be a false show of unity at the Nato summit which opens in Istanbul on Monday.
The paper believes that, by agreeing some resolutions on Iraq, the Balkans and Afghanistan, Nato country leaders will try to give the impression that the organization is still "alive".
"But all this is a thin veneer," it argues, predicting that tensions will rise again after the US presidential election.
It points out that the details of Nato's proposed assistance in the training of Iraqi soldiers and police have yet to be agreed, and it predicts that Washington will soon demand greater support, including allied troops.
Sueddeutsche Zeitung
Berliner Zeitung wonders whether Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is wise to insist that the German army will only train Iraqi officers outside Iraq.
The paper concedes that, with the hindsight, the chancellor's early 'no' to the war in Iraq was right.
"Germany's opposition" to the war, it says, "has helped to ensure" the rise of Berlin's "influence in the Arab world and in international institutions".
But the paper warns that Chancellor Schroeder, by laying down another "red line", is depriving himself of the ability to use Germany's influence.
"To Iraq but not with us!" it exclaims. "That may be one 'not' too many," it concludes.
In France, Le Monde expects disagreements between Paris and Washington over Iraq to resurface at the summit.
President Bush, the paper believes, "would like Nato to get involved at the side of the Iraqi government, which has itself asked for help in the training of its security forces".
But last Friday, it points out, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said that raising the Nato flag in Iraq would be "counterproductive".
Lowest common denominator
The announcement that Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso is to be proposed as the new European Commission president at an EU meeting on Tuesday provokes mixed feelings.
France's Le Figaro breathes a sigh of relief.
"At last. This should mark the end of the hard-fought battle," the paper says.
Mr Barroso "is as much of a convinced European as he is staunchly committed to the transatlantic relationship", which is why he was found acceptable by everyone, the paper argues.
But the reaction in several other papers is lukewarm.
Le Monde says Mr Barosso is "the lowest common denominator" to have emerged following divisions between Germany and France on one side and Britain and Italy on another.
Austria's Die Presse describes Mr Barroso as "a Portuguese who to date has failed to stand out in any particular way".
Die Welt
Mr Barosso's "most striking characteristic" is the fact that "neither London nor Paris nor Berlin have any objections to him".
"The heads of government may yet come to regret very much having sent a second choice man to Brussels," it says.
Der Tagesspiegel says Mr Barroso "has not exactly distinguished himself as far as a vision of Europe is concerned."
"Maybe this is why he is regarded as a suitable candidate by Europe's powerful states," it points out.
Die Welt says "Berlin and Paris have chosen neither a strong or egocentric candidate nor a great visionary".
But the paper believes that although Mr Barroso "may not have the nerve to pick a fight with statesmen of Chirac's or Berlusconi's calibre," he would be "a friendly facilitator" in Brussels.
But Madrid's El Pais welcomes "a face from our friend Portugal" at the helm of Europe "in these times of change".
He may "lack the airs of a leader," the paper concedes, "but he may yet surprise everyone."
Romano Prodi had them and yet he failed" because "he was unable to put to good use a quality team of commissioners".
Czech mate
In the Czech Republic, papers are preoccupied by Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla's resignation over his party's poor showing in the recent European elections.
Hospodarske Noviny wonders if Mr Spidla made a "mistake" two years ago by forming a Left-Right coalition government and if the resignation might have vindicated those who ridiculed his cabinet as "a strange hodgepodge".
Hospodarske Noviny
The fault, the paper believes, lies in the fact that, "despite small reform steps, the coalition parties were unable to come up with a vision of... far-ranging changes around which they would be able to unite".
In Austria, Der Standard says fresh parliamentary elections may be the best solution to the crisis in Prague.
Mr Spidla, the paper says, "has become the first prominent national victim of the European elections two weeks ago"
The internal disputes among the Social Democrats, it fears, may be aggravated if the party decides to change its coalition partners.
"In view of this," the paper concludes, "fresh elections would in fact be a more satisfactory solution, not least because this would finally force the Social Democrats to show their true colours."
The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.
