Monitor: European press comment on the resignation of the European Commission

All the News of the World

THE EUROPEAN Commission has responded collectively to harsh accusations in the report of independent experts who investigated suspected cases of lack of control, favouritism and fraud. It has created an unprecedented crisis in the EU. The drama could not have come at a worse moment, and it's now up to the governments of member states, and partly the European Parliament - who clamoured for this resignation - to resolve it, if only by appointing an acting commission until a new president for the next five years is appointed in June. This commission has been impotent for months, and with the publication of the report, it has lost the little moral authority it had left.

El Pais, Spain

THIS IS a rude shock for Europe and the shockwave is difficult to fully evaluate. Santer and his colleagues, whose mandate runs out at the end of this year, are going to continue to deal with current business. But without a Brussels commission in full sway, the EU has been somewhat hobbled.

Le Figaro, France

THE EUROPEAN Commission has fallen into the worst crisis of its existence after the presentation of the independent report accusing the organisation led by Jacques Santer of having "lost control" of its administrative apparatus.

It is obvious that the EU government has plumbed the depths of its reputation and credibility. It is the last thing the European Union needed: to the general perception of a remote, leaden, arrogant, inefficient and bureaucratic ("eurocratic") structure is added the accusation that it is corrupt, or that it tolerates corruption. It is time for thorough-going reforms, to prevent Europe from running off the rails.

El Mundo, Spain

THE RESIGNATION of the entire European Commission and Jacques Santer along with it is the last possible service it can render to Europe's future: with this act the commission recognises the importance of strict ethics and the necessity for there to be a democratic control on its actions.

Liberation, France