Since the discovery of suspected cases of bird flu in Greece earlier this week, which follows the disease's arrival in Turkey and Romania, European Union statesman have been trying to coordinate a continent-wide public health response to prevent the disease's spread. Goaded by the new developments, EU foreign ministers meeting on Tuesday managed to reach a consensus on a joint policy to rein in the pest, urging the European Commission to draft stronger trade restrictions on the movement of poultry within the EU. The ministers declared bird flu "a global threat" that requires "international action." Avian flu has been a long time in coming to Europe, and German newspapers on Wednesday track the history and reactions that have emerged in the wake of its arrival.

The left-leaning Süddeutsche Zeitung begins its commentary by tracing the virus' long path to Europe's doorstep. "A few weeks ago, bird flu was a problem of the Far East … Then in April, thousands of birds suddenly died in a remote lake in northwest China ... several weeks ago, the bird flu flashed up in the Ural mountains." The editors' punchline? "Only now, when the birds die in Turkey, Romania and on EU territory, in Greece, do we hear the first calls for protective measures." The paper does soften its criticism of government officials, noting that the "responsible parties face an almost unsolvable problem." Indeed, the problem is that "the muddled facts stand in direct contradiction to the grim consequences that a new influenza outbreak -- theoretically and in the worst case -- could have."

The Financial Times Deutschland, for its part, discounts any panic. The editors compare the bird-flu to a "classic scenario from a psycho thriller: the threat is invisible and that's why it's so alarming. The fear anticipates the actual event, long before it takes place, regardless whether it takes place at all." The paper doesn't support the policy of European countries stockpiling vaccines. "That would cost enormous amounts of money, and it's doubtful that it would be money well spent." In fact, such purchases might end up hurting the people who most need help: the virus primarily infects animals, point out the editors, and the human beings who live most at risk of contracting the disease live in Southeast Asia. "Not for humanitarian reasons, but rather out of their own interests, western governments should lobby to have the vaccinations go where they're most needed."

The contribution of Franz von Wagner of the tabloid Bild proves there are two sides to every issue. Indeed, amidst all this talk of potential human casualties, who's thinking about the thousands of recently culled birds? Wagner corrects the imbalance by addressing a letter to the birds whose lives were taken in the name of precaution. "Dear Birds," he starts. "It might be the case that in 100 years there won't be any more of you because, after the bird flu appeared, we had to kill all of you." But Wagner is not offering a full-out mea culpa. "We had no choice but to kill you birds. Unfortunately, in 2005 there was no way for us to speak to you. We couldn't express ourselves to you. We couldn't simply tell you: 'Don't kiss birds who are strangers, don't nuzzle in the feathers of that goose, stop getting high on those nightingale droppings'."

The other major issue of the day was the emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers aimed at hashing out differences between member states before the next round of World Trade Organization talks in Doha, Qatar. Peter Mandelson, the European Trade Commissioner, emerged victorious from the meeting while the French government left humiliated. The meeting was triggered by French outrage over Mandelson's proposal to offer a 70 percent cut in farming subsidies -- they wanted to keep him on a tight leash at the impending WTO negotiations by creating a committee that would oversee his decisions. Mandelson argued that he had the authority to autonomously lead the negotiations and that any adjustment would be an illegitimate and unprecedented reduction of his office. Moreover, it would make negotiations impossible. Apparently, Europe's foreign ministers agreed, exposing France's proposal as a bald-faced power-play. A few papers respond to the developments.

The Handelsblatt, a business paper, was unsurprisingly pleased by the French setback: "The Doha round offers a wonderful chance to generate prosperity to the tune of several hundred million a year by means of market liberalization." But, unfortunately, France has prominently voiced its resistance to free markets, a policy that's potentially disastrous for the EU. "Europe needs nothing more urgently than more growth and competition. Honesty and courage should be the motto, not protectionism. It's absolutely justified that EU foreign ministers have stopped Paris from putting Mandelson on a short leash."