In a show of national pride, Turkey is angry at its stalled EU membership bid as well as flexing its newfound regional muscles, but according to La Stampa, the real cause of this dispute is more material. The huge Leviathan gas field, recently discovered in the waters between Cyprus and Israel, which the two countries are preparing to exploit, has prompted the Turkish navy and airoforce to conduct manouevres in the area.

“Ten months are long, and Erdogan will have plenty of opportunities to change his mind” La Stampa writes. But “Europe cannot afford to lose Turkey, not right now” because its future relations with new governments emerging from the Arab Spring depend heavily on Ankara's mediation and the model of a secular, western-friendly Islamic state it represents.

On 10 August, the new government announced an austerity plan, but "failed to secure support from the opposition" explains rival daily Phileftheros, which amounted to "a double blow for the economy". Politis reports that austerity will be back on the agenda "after the 15 August bank holiday,” when the government will “get down to serious business, and the introduction of drastic cuts to reduce the deficit”. 

Supported by the communist party (AKEL), which has also provided the new Finance Minister, Kyriacos Kazamias, (a former member of the European Court of Auditors) and mainly composed of technical experts, the new government will take office amid a "difficult political climate" and at a bad moment for the country. On 11 July, the explosion of a cargo of munitions next to a power plant killed 13 people and interrupted electricity supplies. At the same time, the streets of the country have been invaded by thousands of demonstrators protesting against austerity measures. Next year Cyprus is scheduled to take over the rotating presidency of the EU in July 2012, however "the question of the division of the island, which has existed since 1974, has not yet been resolved," concludes the newspaper.

According to the Phileleftheros reporter, Nicosia is exploiting the anniversary to point the finger of blame at Turkey. The "key to resolving the Cypriot problem" would be for Turkey to put an immediate halt to its intentions to prospect for offshore Cypriot oil. President Dimitris Christofias has called on the United Nations and the European Union to intervene.

Along with three other countries situated on the southern borders of Europe – Italy, Greece and Cyprus – Malta will soon benefit from a programme for the Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows, which will shortly be launched by the European Commission. "The United States has pledged to open its doors to several hundred refugees from Malta, and the European Commissioner responsible for questions of Migration, Jacques Barrot, is hoping that EU member States will also provide assistance before the autumn," reports Le Monde. The Netherlands, Ireland, Lithuania, Germany and Portugal have already taken between 10 and 30 individuals. France will shortly admit a further 100. Under the terms of the voluntary programme, the Commission will take charge of the cost of integrating refugees for a period of one year.