“Batasuna calls on ETA for an ‘unconditional cessation’ of violence”, leads El País. Almost two months after the Basque terrorist group’s 5 September declaration, in which it ambiguously declared it had “ceased offensive operations”, its outlawed political wing is urging a ceasefire that is “unilateral, permanent and verifiable by the international community”. Batasuna is keen to present candidates for the municipal and provincial elections scheduled for May 2011. Without an unconditional ceasefire, “such an attempt would be doomed to failure because they would be blocked by the Ministry of Interior and the courts,” the Madrid daily notes. The declaration represents a major shift in Basque nationalist left thinking, with El País adding that "rejection to violence is growing among the population".
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.