Brussels restructures banks
"ING sells Nationale Nederlanden (its insurance division)" reads the lead of the NRC Handelsblad, which goes on to explain that the Dutch bank is undertaking an "in-depth reorganization, partly prompted by pressure from the European Commission." ING, which has been striving to divide its activities at its own initiative since the end of 2008, is now selling a third of them: its insurance and asset management divisions, as well as its US internet banking arm ING Direct USA – whose bad investments pushed ING to ask the Dutch government for a bail-out deal at the end of 2008. The suspension of ING Direct USA "was explicitly requested by Brussels" says the daily. ING whose business model – as both bank and insurer – was pioneering, will reimburse half of the 10 million euros in aid before the end of this year. According to French daily Les Echos, the restructuring is evidence of Brussels' determination to substantially overhaul banks which have received public bail-outs. "The message is crystal clear: there will be no return to 'business as usual' for operators put on life-support during the peak of the crisis," says the economic newspaper.
In a time of crisis with high unemployment, young Lithuanians are following in the footsteps of their emigrant ancestors. Tens of thousands have left the country in search of a better life, mainly in the British Isles and Scandinavia. The weekly Veidas reports: 
The new Eurogroup meeting on February 9 is not enough to banish the spectre of a Greek bankruptcy. While Athens may largely be responsible for the crisis, the EU and its partners are not blameless themselves. La Stampa argues that their confused messages and the absence of any strategy have transformed a resolvable problem into an explosive chaos. 
Two camps, two theories, and two visions of France: 18 years after the massacre of 800,000 Tutsis, the precise role played by Paris is still the subject of heated debate, fueled by the findings of successive criminal investigations.