Another step towards EU membership
The European Commission on 24 February 2010 gave the green light for fast-track negotiations with Reykjavik to admit Iceland into the European Union."The ball is now in court of the government of the 27 EU-member states," which must unanimously approve opening the talks, writes Le Soir. A member of the European Economic Area, Iceland is seeking to join the EU in 2012, when Croatia is also expected to become a member. "However," the Belgian Daily continues, "The same financial sector collapse that abruptly triggered Iceland's move towards Europe could also complicate that effort."
Icelanders will go to the polls on 6 March 2010 to vote on a referendum concerning the repayment of €3.8 billion owed to the UK and the Netherlands in the wake of Iceland's financial meltdown. Le Soir says the referendum is "likely to be rejected, given the hostility shown by the country's 320,000 inhabitants for a related law that barely passed Iceland's parliament in January. "There is no doubt that London and The Hague will be in no hurry to start membership talks if the referendum is voted down," says Le Soir.
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.