"Europe already under pressure from its creditors;" headlines Les Echos. In the wake of an all too brief respite for the festive season, Portugal – which has yet to demand international assistance even though it is struggling to contend with serious budgetary difficulties – has been forced to raise the interest rate on its six-month bills by 80% over the rate offered on a previous issue in September 2010. Other European states are beginning the year with bond issues. As a result, Les Echos notes that "Europe’s political agenda will come under pressure from the markets." In response to the situation, French Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde will meet with her German counterpart Wolfgang Schäuble in Strasbourg to discuss measures for the macro-economic governance of Eurozone countries in the run-up to the Eurogroup and Ecofin meetings on 17 and 18 January.
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.