Champion of European Companies?
"Czech Republic, the new haven for murky businesses", headlines Lidové noviny for its front-page story on a flourishing new form of commercial activity: the creation of European Companies (designated by the Latin term, "Societas Europaea" or SE). Recently introduced to the Czech Republic, this new legislative framework allows a company to legally operate throughout all 27 EU member states, while at the same time guaranteeing the complete anonymity of its shareholders. It is now child's play "to buy a European company, ready to go", Lidové noviny confirms, explaining that nearly half of the 605 SE's created in the European Union are based in the Czech Republic. One of the reasons for this success stems from the fact that Prague is campaigning to abolish national anonymous company (SA) structures, considered lacking in transparency and triggering conflicts of interest in the public market sector.
As Greece pimps its ancient monuments to bring in the tourists, lovers of cultural heritage are up in arms. But the country is only doing openly what the whole of Europe is: looting historic sites to drum up more ready cash. 
Asserting national values is central to the political project of the Hungarian PM. Since the start of the year, fifteen paintings, specially commissioned for an exhibition in the Castle of Buda, have been putting this ambition on show. 
The game has gone on for nearly two years: Athens pretends to comply with the demands of its creditors and partners, and they pretend to believe in Greece’s commitments. As the spectre of default comes nearer, however, the Greek bluff cannot go on much longer, writes an El Mundo editorialist.