"Only 66% of Spanish people believe the economic crisis has contributed to poverty in their country, compared to an average of 73% elsewhere in the EU," reports the daily ABC. According to the results of a Eurobarometer survey, Europeans usually rank unemployment, growing older and a lack of academic qualifications as the main causes of poverty. However Spaniards, who have a high unemployment rate, are optimistic about these. The daily also highlights the differences in relations between banks and consumers in countries across the EU: almost 90% of Spanish people claim they have difficulty obtaining access to credit, an experience shared by only 20% of Finns. In conclusion, the Madrid daily notes that 16% of Europe's population are currently living below the poverty line.
The leader of Greece’s leftist alliance SYRIZA is the new bright hope of Greek politics. Steering a course between pragmatism and the rhetoric of class warfare, he has unsettled Berlin, and not just those who back Angela Merkel's austerity policies. 
Europe’s economic woes have forced us to try to understand the secret Olympian world of global finance. But now that we pay more attention to bond yields and stability mechanisms, isn’t it clear that the experts up on their lofty peaks don’t know what’s going on either? 
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest is hosted by Azerbaijan, a country that is far from being a model democracy. An Estonian journalist takes a critical look at the deferential treatment enjoyed by the regime in Baku.