Barroso tucks into hot potato
"What has got into José Manuel Barroso, who used to be a more than able tactician?" wonders Le Soir in the wake of the European Commission's decision to authorize the cultivation of Amflora, a GMO potato produced by German industrial giant BASF. On an issue which, the Brussels' daily notes, has divided public opinion, "Was it really necessary for the Commission to choose its camp – officially in the name of ‘responsible innovation’ but clearly disregarding the precautionary principle that has informed policy over the last 12 years?" Le Soir voices its outrage at a decision "that was unanimously approved at the conclusion of a written procedure, without any real debate between the members of the Commission," and its timing: "the Barroso commission had yet to take an important decision. This will count as the first!"
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.