Celebrating and mourning over a drink or two

The English are happy about two things these days, apparently. The success of their football team in the World Cup and their government's decision to stay out of the eurozone. No points for guessing which is going to last longer.

The Sun runs a story trumpeting the fact that Britain has stayed out of the single currency, saying poll numbers show the British people don't want in any time soon. It also quotes a new report from Centre for Economic Policy Research showing the euro's supposed economic drag on countries that have adopted it.

"What would Britain be like today if we'd joined the euro?" the paper's editors ask in an editorial featuring lots of bold type and ALL CAPS. "One thing's for sure - we would not be enjoying our position as one of the world's strongest economies. We would not have low unemployment and a record 14 years of growth...and we couldn't have stopped faceless bankers and bureaucrats meddling in our fight against inflation."

Hey, let's get the facts straight here: those meddling bureaucrats do, actually, have faces.

France's Le Monde wrings its figurative hands over the buyout of Arcelor by Mittal Steel, which outbid Russian rival Severstal. "The steel battle ended in a crushing victory for the markets and in a humiliating defeat for the politicians," says the paper.

Still, it recognises that Arcelor's shareholders "logically turned a deaf ear to the French prime minister's avowed belief in 'economic patriotism'" - especially when they saw their stock values going up.

The Parisian daily also looks at the new push by the EU to find agreement on a Doha trade deal. "For Europeans, all will depend on the American position," it writes. "At last week's summit with the EU in Vienna, George W. Bush pronounced himself ready to take 'difficult' decisions before the expiration, in mid-2007, of his authority to negotiate trade deals on behalf of the Congress."

Spain's El Mundo rails against what it calls an "abuse of power" - the US government surveillance of global bank transactions and the White House's attempts to stifle coverage of it.

"The European Central Bank, the world's largest financial entities and probably some European governments collaborated with the CIA, aware that they were providing access to data protected by law," the paper writes. "The laws must be respected: that is what they are there for. No political authority can be beyond the control of the people's representatives or of judges."

The International Herald Tribune looks at a report commissioned by the European Union on Europe's alcohol problems. The study found that "much of the EU has a serious drinking problem - with Denmark being something of a standout. The report urged the European Commission and member states to do more to regulate drinking, from advertising restrictions to warning labels and higher alcohol taxes."

The study found that, notwithstanding Ireland's image as a country of heavy drinkers, "Denmark, home of Hans Christian Andersen and the Little Mermaid, tops the list for problem drinking in many categories, especially for youth."

Perhaps the Danes are either drowning their sorrows over not being in the World Cup final - or celebrating not being in the eurozone.

• Craig Winneker is editor of TCSDaily.com

The English are happy about two things these days, apparently. The success of their football team in the World Cup and their government's decision to stay out of the eurozone. No points for guessing which is going to last longer.