Monitor

THE MAIN result of the summit is that the heads of EU states have given the German EU presidency the task of solving the problems. There should be no problem in formulating an acceptable jobs pact. No other issue has seen so many mostly woolly declarations and promises as employment.

Suddeutsche Zeitung, Germany

THE EUROPEAN Union is moving slowly. It is somewhere between a common market and a country, so taking on new members is complex. Thousands of laws must be aligned. But the delay also stems from a lack of political will. Poorer countries already in do not want to share their subsidies. Rich countries do not want to take on new burdens.

Washington Post

BLAIR VEHEMENTLY defended the rebate in Vienna but indirectly showed signs of compromise: he will give in if there is compensation for Britain in the domain of agricultural reforms. The British tactic is clear: nothing is given up lightly, and the first demand is always the highest possible.

Berliner Zeitung, Germany

THIS SUMMIT deserves criticism. The EU has not got time to throw away half a year considering its backlog of reforms. The German government exacerbated the problems by putting extra issues on the agenda, such as the jobs pact and the question of tax harmonisation.

General-Anzeiger, Germany

A PARCEL of unsolved problems will now be passed on to the Germans. And it is hardly surprising that the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroder (Klima's successor as president of the European Council), was already talking big in Vienna. Here he announced that he intends to pretty much solve all the EU's problems before the summit meeting in Cologne next year. He wants to carry through his reforms, solve employment problems, draw up a common safety policy and, on top of all that, his country has to pay less into the communal pot than it has done until now.

Die Presse, Austria