PARIS | By Philippe Ricard via Presseurop | In Lisbon, shock therapy has failed to bring down the government. In Vilnius, it has made for a fast-tracked entry into Europe. What lessons can we learn from these criss-crossing paths?
VILNIUS | By Valentinas Berziunas | On July 1, the Baltic state of Lithuania takes over the EU’s rotating presidency for the next six months. Its mandate is set to begin in an atmosphere of defiance towards the Union, which is unlikely to facilitate the task faced by Vilnius.
MADRID | By Antonio Sánchez-Gijón at CapitalMadrid | On May 9 the European Union will deliver Charlemagne Prize to Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite. The idea is not to reward her as a former EC Commissioner, but as the person who embodies the success of three small countries of Northern Europe out of their deep economic crisis in two years. While the populations of the Mediterranean Europe and France are raised in arms against austerity policies imposed from Brussels and Frankfurt to exit the stagnation and save the euro, two European Baltic nations are looking forward to joining the common currency.