“A new blow to Spain in the midst of the euro crisis: the IMF puts on the pressure,” leads the El Periódico newspaper following the IMF's publication of the preliminary findings from its assessment mission in Spain. The institution “is demanding from the Spanish government an additional adjustment of 20 billion euros in three years.” While it “praised” the reforms brought in by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, it nevertheless considered that the recent reform of the labour market has been “limited” and that the risks to the Spanish economy remain “considerable”. The IMF recommends tackling further reforms with “courage”, as the recovery is seen as “gradual but incomplete.” For the IMF, the regions and municipalities are the “main sources of uncertainty” in meeting the objectives of controlling the deficit, El Periódico concludes.
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.