EU & IMF's men in black arrive in Dublin
The European Commission, the IMF and ECB, are refusing to reveal the identities of the team which landed in Dublin 17 November to oversee Ireland’s austerity and budget plans, reports the EUobserver.com. EU economy spokesman Amadeu Tardio would only say, "There will be more than two but fewer than 10 people going.” He added that "These people do not do press conferences." Mr Tardio was echoed by Esther Miltenia, a spokeswoman for the European Central Bank, who said, "People do not need to know who these inspectors are.” In a further development, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister Simeon Djankov openly contradicted Irish government claims that no formal request for an EU/IMF bailout has been made. “"I expect a bailout decision to be taken within a week," he said.
Drive Greece out of the euro, and build a federal Europe behind a protective firewall? Italian columnist Barbara Spinelli warns that this idea, which appears to be gaining ground with a number of European leaders, would not only fail to resolve the crisis but would also put an end to Europe’s common culture. 
At 89 years of age, he is a fixture at anti-austerity demonstrations. A member of the Greek communist party for 70 years, he has also been a national icon since the day in 1941 when he climbed the Acropolis at night to tear down the Nazi flag. 
In a meeting that lasted into the small hours of Tuesday, February 21, the Eurogroup finally adopted a second bailout plan for Greece of €130 billion with an additional €107 billion in cancelled debt. But failing a genuine economic development plan, this sum will not be sufficient to put the country back on its feet, warns Greek daily To Ethnos.