Brussels is worried about the deficits of Greece’s health insurance and pensions systems as well as the general state of the economy. Eleftherotypia quotes experts as saying that reforms will have to be introduced immediately and the Greek Minister for Social Cohesion told the newspaper during his visit to Brussels that “if we don’t act promptly and efficiently, the health insurance deficit will soon reach 4 billion euros.” On 1st December, the Finance Minister will speak to the Commission and ask them to grant Greece more time to comply with the criteria of the stability pact. The deficit has grown from 6% to 12.7% of GDP in the space of a month. The situation is so serious that even the American ambassador to Athens has seen fit to pass on his advice to the Greek Prime Minister and demand that the authorities get a grip of things fast and “bring things under control”.
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.