The paper clip, 1 December

The Lisbon treaty comes into force today, a moment marked by a number of papers. La Libre Belgique has an interview with Marianne Dony, a professor at Brussels Free University, who says that “the treaty is not going to bring big changes for citizens”. Le Soir also has a report. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung traces the evolution of what eventually became the Lisbon treaty from the convention in 2001 to the first draft of the treaty for a constitution for Europe in 2003. The newspaper describes the history of the Lisbon treaty as a “tale of woes”. Die Welt carries a piece saying that the Lisbon treaty will not make the EU any more effective, democratic, transparent or decisive. Lidové noviny writes that a range of uncertainties remain, including the exact job profiles of the new European Council president and the post of high representative for security and foreign policy. Gazeta Wyborcza has a more detailed rundown of the changes that the treaty brings. A commentator in the Guardian looks back at the travails of the ratification process and the rumpus over the selection of the Council president and high rep and argues that the EU needs the type of debate about its future that the US held in 1788.

Le Monde reports that Jacques Delors, the former president of the European Commission, has welcomed Herman Van Rompuy as a “good choice” for Europe. Van Rompuy officially became president of the European Council today, a post that is created by the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. He will, however, in practice take up his functions on 1 January. Delors said that “what people expect from his - and he will do it very well - is that he will reconcile different points of view and facilitate the taking of decisions”.

The Financial Times carries an interview with Javier Solana, in which the EU's outgoing foreign policy chief says that member states must be ready to pool their financial and diplomatic resources.

The European commissioner-designate for the internal market and financial services, Michel Barnier, has told the City of London that fears of a new era of tough regulation are ‘exaggerated' and that he intends to strengthen all of Europe's financial centres, the Financial Times writes.

The Times of Malta says that commissioner-designate John Dalli will have extra responsibility now that pharmaceutical regulation is to be shifted to his health portfolio. In the same article, the paper gives a breakdown of a commissioner's financial package.

In an interview with El Mundo, Fransisco Fonseca, the director of the European Commission's representation in Spain, defends the new Commission of José Manuel Barroso, saying that it is not dominated by the EU's big member states but is a college “of equals”. Fonseca, a former director of the Commission's justice, freedom and security department, also said that the appointment of Joaquín Almunia as European commissioner for competition “and as a strongman in Barroso II” showed the seriousness and important responsibilities that Spain had taken on since joining the EU in 1986.

Le Monde reports that EU interior ministers agreed yesterday on an agreement with the US to share bank data collected by Swift, a not-for-profit association that connects 8,000 financial institutions.  The agreement will update current arrangements with the US for the sharing of Swift data. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also reports on the deal. Handelsblatt also reports on the deal, saying that Guido Westerwelle, the foreign minister from the liberal Free Democratic Party, failed in his attempt to block the agreement on data privacy grounds. FT Deutschland says that German businesses are concerned that the data could be used for industrial espionage.

Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza and Italy's La Repubblica report on Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's visit to Belarus – the first made to the country by the head of a Western government in 15 years.

The Czech energy giant CEZ knew five days in advance that the European Commission's antitrust authorities were intending to raid the company, Lidové noviny writes. The Commission intends to investigate how the information was leaked.

The Times of Malta reports that the country has won the right to host the headquarters of the European Asylum Support Office. The island beat competition from Cyprus and Bulgaria to host the agency, which will have a budget of almost €50 million and employ 100 officials.

The Times of London reports that US President Barack Obama will today announce the deployment of an extra 34,000 American troops to Afghanistan. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has confirmed that Britain will send an extra 500 troops to Afghanistan this month, taking Britain's total military effort in Afghanistan will increase to more than 10,000 service personnel, the Daily Telegraph writes. The prime minister's office denied that the US and the UK were acting alone, reports the Times, pointing to 250 extra troops that Slovakia will send and suggesting Australia and New Zealand will also send more. The Guardian also has a report. Le Monde reports that Obama wants France to send an extra 1,500 troops to Afghanistan. Obama made the request yesterday, in a telephone conversation with Nicolas Sarkozy, France's president. Sarkozy is considering the request. Die Welt reports that Germany is also being asked to commit extra forces.

The UK papers all have stories on the five British sailors being held captive in Iran. The crew of the Kingdom of Bahrain, a racing yacht, were on their way to Dubai for an international race, when they were apprehended by the Iranian navy. The Daily Telegraph says that they strayed just 500 yards into Iranian waters. The Times and the Guardian also have the story.

Mladá fronta Dnes writes that in recent years that have on three occasions been real terrorist threats in the Czech Republic, including one on Jews celebrating their New Year. Die Presse focuses on another target: Saddam Hussein, Iraq's late dictator, reportedly planned an attack on the headquarters of the US Congress-funded Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty in Prague, Die Presse writes. It cites the Czech intelligence service BIS.

Le Monde reports that Saber Lahmar, an Algerian imprisoned in Guantánamo Bay, has been freed and flown to France. Lahmar was kidnapped in Bosnia by US forces in 2001. A US court last year cleared him of any involvement in terrorism.

Berlingske Tidende writes that US President Barack Obama's visit to Copenhagen to participate in the UN talks on climate change on 9 December will cost Dkr 50 million (€6.7m). Though most costs are related to security around the president, such as police over-time, money will also be spent to increase the preparedness on government departments working on chemical and nuclear attacks.

Extra Bladet writes that Denmark has become a centre for illegal trade in carbon dioxide quotas on the EU's carbon market. According to the paper, fraudsters are taking advantage of the country's easy registration system to set up empty-shell companies in a bid to circumvent VAT and hoax trade in CO2. The paper's investigation also revealed that behind several of the registered companies are previously convicted fraudsters.

Dagens Nyheter writes that Russia has revoked the export licences for eight Swedish meat suppliers. Though the companies were found not to fulfil Russian criteria for their meat, all have been approved by Swedish authorities. A spokesperson for the Swedish food authorities said that it was up to the companies involved to comply with Russian demands if they wanted to export meat to the country.

Citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia will no longer require a visa for trips to most EU member states, writes Danas. The new rules, signed off by EU justice ministers yesterday, take effect on 19 December. Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina failed to qualify for the lifting of visa requirements but hope to benefit from the new rules in the second half of next year.

Swiss politicians have a tough task ahead in implementing a ban on the construction of new minarets approved by voters on Sunday, writes the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. While the ban will automatically become part of the constitution, limiting the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of worship, it almost certainly violates various international instruments and is unlikely to survive a challenge before the European Court of Human Rights. Parliamentarians could therefore be tempted to weaken the ban in drafting the implementing legislation. One way or another, years of legal battles lie ahead. Le Figaro reports that the United Nations has criticised Switzerland for voting to ban the building of minarets. Asma Jahangir, who speaks for the UN on issues concerning freedom of religion, said she was “profoundly worried” by the outcome of the vote. Die Welt says that the vote had a lot of support in other European countries.

Der Standard writes that two Austrian regions, Vorarlberg and Carinthia, have de facto bans on minarets whose constitutionality has not been tested. The bans are laid out in building codes and refer in vague language to ‘unusual constructions' and similar.

Le Monde's website reports that markets in the United Arab Emirates this morning continued their sharp downturn. Last week the Dubai government announced that it would seek a deferment of six months on debts owned by Dubai World, a large business conglomerate. The announcement sent markets tumbling. The Dubai market opened this morning down 6.2%. The Abu Dhabi market opened down 5.9%.

Greece's financial woes are the subject of an article in the Guardian, under the headline “the new Iceland? Greece fights to rein in debt”.

The website of the Irish Times says that talks between senior government officials and trade union leaders on plans to reduce the public-sector paybill went on through the night. The major sticking point is reforms in the health sector.

Gazeta Wyborcza writes that Poland's Institute of National Memory may today publish details of the role played in the communist regime by Aleksander Kwasniewski, Poland's president from 1995 to 2005.

Slovakia's Pravda writes that Slovak President Robert Fico intends to take action to reduce the influence of wealthy businessmen within his left-of-centre party Smer. Sme writes that associates of Fico helped associates of the country's former long-time, semi-authoritarian leader Vladimír Meciar acquire land cheaply in the Tatra mountains.

Britain's embattled Labour government could yet deprive the opposition party of an overall majority, according to a poll in this morning's Independent. The poll suggests that the UK is heading for a hung parliament at the next general election, which must be held by June at the latest.

The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of complicity in the murder of 27,900 Jews at the Sobibor extermination camp during the Second World War, has begun in Munich, writes Die Presse. Demjanjuk, an ethnic Ukrainian, denies ever having been to Sobibor.