I Kathimerini, 7 July 2010
In its interim review of the Greek reform plan released on 7 July, the Commission has left “three land mines”, headlines Kathimerini. The Athenian daily explains that the European executive, though on the whole satisfied with spending cuts pledged, is asking the government to step up reform efforts in the areas of competition, health services and inflation.
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.