LONDON (AFP) - The European Commission spokesman might only have been joking when he hailed the collective success of the European Union at the Olympics, but for the vehemently anti-Brussels press it was no laughing matter.
Two of the most strongly anti-EU newspaper reacted with horror on Tuesday to Reijo Kemppinen's light-hearted comment that the 25-member bloc had "swept the floor" at the Athens Games with a collective tally of 82 gold medals.
They were equally aghast at a suggestion by outgoing European Commission president Romano Prodi that EU member teams could fly the European Union flag alongside their own national emblem at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
"New EU bid to hijack Olympic glory," screamed the Daily Mail in a front-page banner headline.
"Isn't this yet more evidence that the federalists do not understand the unique pride that comes from national identity -- an emotion that was so clearly on display from supporters and competitors alike throughout the Athens Games?" the paper fumed in an editorial.
"Fury at 'Euro medal total'," was the page two headline of the Sun, the country's best-selling daily paper, which closely reflects the euro-scepticism of its proprietor, Australian-born media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
"When it comes to sport -- and so many other things -- we're not all on the same side and never will be," the tabloid said in its editorial, taking a particularly personal swipe at Prodi.
"Like all those who run the EU, he is a dangerous megalomaniac whose aim is a European superstate," the paper said.
link :
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040831/323/f1l4a.html
... I'm in B.P. and should be hanging around here for some time. 
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