The pair, who are suspected of siphoning off 3.4 billion litai (close to a billion euros) from the bank and 100 million lats (close to 144 million euros) from its subsidiary Latvijas Krajbanka, Latvia’s sixth largest bank, could face ten years in prison. Snoras, which was nationalised – a first in the history of post-Soviet Lithuania, points out Vieidas – on 16 November following the discovery of huge discrepancies in its books, has now filed for bankruptcy.

The magazine reports that the procedure is contested by representatives of customers of the bank, who claim that it is “neither transparent, or fair, or rational.” Latvia has also opened an inquiry into Krajbanka and suspended its license to operate in the run-up to a probable liquidation. Both announcements prompted panic among Snoras and Krajbanka customers who have rushed to branches to withdraw their savings.

In northern Europe, Eesti Pävaleht insists that the project is a “clear green light” for the new “Rail Balitca” axis that will link Estonia to the Polish-Lithuanian border via Latvia. Plans for the route, which have been put forward by Estonia and Lithuania “appear tailor-made for the conditions required by Brussels,” writes the Estonian daily, which notes that this is the first time that “the EU has agreed to spend such significant sums on transport projects which are not designed to solely serve the needs of individual member states.” For the newspaper, the implementation of the Rail Baltica project will also put an end to the proposal for a high speed link between Riga and Moscow, which was put forward by former Latvian president Valdis Zatlers but later contested by Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis – in a move which highlights Latvia’s desire to stand back from its relationship with Russia.

In 2007, Latvia was the only country in the EU 27 with a worse showing, while Romania and Bulgaria were on a par with Portugal. At the other extreme, the Nordic countries, Slovenia and Slovakia proved the most egalitarian.

These contradictory responses outline the portrait of a Europe that has much in common with the protagonist of a Bildungsroman: a heroine full of ambitions and contradictions, who battles with the trails and tribulations of a capricious destiny. In this roman-fleuve, those who look back with contentment on their recent history joyfully adhere to the values of the "extended family." That is the case of the 57% of those questioned who affirm that they have benefited from their country's accession to the EU: the most satisfied being the Spanish, the French, and notwithstanding the current economic crisis – or perhaps because of it – the Irish. However, for other members of the clan (31%) the question of Europe is more likely to prompt a strained smile or even a hostile look, particularly among the Latvians and the British.

The question of who is to blame for these mixed feelings ought to remain a subplot, while the main theme should be the ongoing effort to reinforce the unity of the family. In its failure to respond in a truly collective manner to the 12 January earthquake in Haiti, the EU has missed a major opportunity to address the expectations and doubts of its citizens. But that is not to say that we should abandon all hope in common initiatives. At a time when fears for the future of the European car manufacturing business have highlighted the impact of the economic crisis, there are few doubts about where these are needed: 69% of Europeans believe that the restoration of economic prosperity should be "the main priority for the European Union in the years to come."

Iulia Badéa-Guéritée

The economy weekly quotes a report by the Deloitte consulting firm, who claim that European investors are ready to reinvest in emerging countries but are going to put Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia first: the three first countries have boosted investor confidence, the latter has benefited from converting to the euro. It is a "surprising conclusion" since Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic states had long since been the favourites amongst investors. That is the reason why "Romania shall not see the return of investment in the east before 2010" concludes Capital.