The air conditioners sold in Europe use much more energy than machines on the market in Australia, Japan and New Zealand. In the columns of Trouw, the Natuur en Milieu (Nature and Environment, N&M) group blames European air conditioning standards, which are not as strict as those in other countries. The Dutch NGO further believes that lobbying on behalf of the Italian manufacturer De'Longhi has effectively thwarted plans to introduce more stringent legislation.
While the Union has set itself the objective of achieving a 20% cut in energy consumption by reduction by 2020, sales of air conditioners are increasing at a rate of 10% per year, notes Trouw, and there is no prospect of new measures on the horizon. N&M is openly critical of the EU's "hesitant attitude" and accuses Italy of "blocking every attempt to change [European ] energy standards for air conditioners."
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.