A resounding 95% of Catalans – at least of those who voted – have answered "yes" to the question: "Are you in favour of a social and democratic sovereign Catalonian state within the European Union? In a non-binding referendum held on 13 December, residents of 166 Catalan towns and villages cast their votes at polling stations staffed by volunteers from a pro-independence collective, which organized the initiative in the hope that it will pave the way for a more formal ballot in the near future. The result was "an inconclusive victory for the sovereigntist front," notes the Barcelona daily El Periódico, which emphasizes "a low turnout of 27% that fell far short of the organisers' expectations." For Madrid daily El Mundo, the referendum was "a farce" but should nonetheless be taken into account – a view shared by La Vanguardia, which does not see the vote as a demonstration of popular support for independence but of increasing "concern" over the fate of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. As El País notes, the vote was influenced by fears that the Constitutional court will impose "limitations to the statute of Catalonia" in a ruling which is expected over the next few days.
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.