On 22 April, the Belgian parliament is expected to approve a law that will prohibit the public wearing of attire that prevents the wearer from being fully identified at all times except during carnival. As Le Soir reported earlier this month, Belgium will become "the first European country to ban the public wearing of the burqa." And it may soon be followed by France, where on 21 April the government announced a bill to outlaw the wearing of full body veils, which will be presented to parliament in May. Libération launches an ironic attack on the "admirable sense of priorities," which has led the Sarkozy government to make the burqa a political issue. "France is struggling to cope with a painful social crisis… And what does the government put forward as a key measure on its programme? A law on the burqa: a piece of cloth worn by few hundred women – 2,000 according to the highest estimates." The left-wing daily notes that "outside of fundamentalist circles no one supports the wearing of full veils, which is contrary to the principles of secularity and the emancipation of women," but insists that "a total ban with police issuing fines in the streets is indicative of a dangerous level of cultural intolerance, and populist electioneering."
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.