Jurnal de Chisinau, 30 novembre 2009
"We've moved closer to Europe," runs the headline in the Jurnal de Chisinau to announce the good news that for the first time since the end of World War Two, Moldovans will be celebrating Crăciun (Christmas) on 25th December rather than on 7th January. The Jurnal welcomes the decision by the government in Chisinau to adopt the date set by the Gregorian (Catholic) calendar instead of the one fixed by the Julian calendar (Orthodox), which has been in use ever since Moldova was annexed by the Soviet Union. “Now we can celebrate Christmas on the same day as all other European Christians,” rejoices the Moldovan daily, describing it as “another step towards the EU.”
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.