The French papers look back at the 60 years of post-war partnership between France and Germany since the Elysee treaty. Le Figaro writes that the treaty did not lead to full co-operation. A former French
European-affairs minister, Bruno Le Maire, argues in an interview with
Le Figaro that the relationship needs to be developed on new
foundations. A German journalist writes in Le Figaro about the hundred
misunderstandings that persist in the relationship. In the Financial
Times, a commentator who has been involved in the Franco-German
dialogue for the past 30 years says that he is deeply struck by the
loss of intimacy.
A well-known expert on Africa writes in the Financial Times that the
West has let negligence in the Sahel turn into a nightmare. The
international community blundered badly; it is in no position to
condemn Algeria for taking tough action, he writes. What ties the EU
policy of UK Prime Minister David Cameron to his stirring words on
Algeria? Impatience, is the answer given by a commentator in the
Guardian.
Barack Obama will today be inaugurated for a second term as president
of the United States. In the New York Times, the economist Paul
Krugman writes that progressives have achieved some real victories
under Obama. He was sworn in for a second term in a subdued ceremony attended by his immediate family, writes the Washington Post.
A survey of the British banking sector suggests that the financial
sector may pull the UK into a 'triple dip' recession, the Guardian
writes.
A new bill to clamp down on corruption will today be submitted to the
Greek parliament, Kathimerini writes.
The position of Karel Schwarzenberg, the Czech foreign minister, on
the post-war Beneš decrees on the basis of which Germans and Austrians
were expelled from Czechoslovakia is becoming an issue in the Czech
presidential election, Lidové noviny writes. Schwarzenberg is vying
for the post with Miloš Zeman, a former prime minister.
Mario Monti, Italy's prime minister, is not the right man to lead
Italy, argues a commentator in the Financial Times. His narrative is
that he saved the nation - but most Italians know they owe the fall in
bond yields to Mario Draghi, the Italian president of the European
Central Bank.
South Sudan has struck a deal to supply Israel with oil, Ha'aretz reports.
La Libre Belgique looks at the latest problem to plague the new Fyra
train service between Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Moscow Times carries a chilling tale from Siberia, of a man who
fell out of a train wearing only flip-flops and a T-shirt into a
temperature of minus 40 degrees Celsius. He survived, by running seven
kilometres to catch up the train.
In a blow to Austria's centre-left defence minister, Norbert Darabos, Austrian voters in a referendum yesterday backed the continuation of conscription with 60%, writes Die Presse. The centre-right ÃVP, which leads the grand coalition with the centre-left SPÃ, had been campaigning in favour of conscription.
Greece's foreign creditors have agreed not to demand any new austerity measures for the next six months, writes Kathimerini. The moratorium is supposed to give the government some time to focus on implementing existing measures.
Wolfgang Schauble, Germany's finance minister, is seeking an EU evaluation of Cyprus's measures against money-laundering before the eurozone approves a bail-out of the island's banking sector, writes Der Spiegel, a German newsweekly.
Serbia's gendarmerie has destroyed a monument to Albanian separatist fighters in Preaevo, an Albanian-majority municipality in southern Serbia, writes Kosovo's Koha ditore.
The take-over of a publishing company in Bulgaria has raised fears of diminishing freedom of expression, writes Die Presse.
Algerian security have found more than 20 bodies at a gas plant where Islamist rebels took hundreds of workers hostage last week, the New York Times writes. So far, 23 deaths have been confirmed, with the authorities warning that the casualty count will go up. Details of the hostage-taking and of the government raid remain sketchy. Laurent Fabius, France's foreign minister, defended Algeria's authorities against accusations that they had acted too quickly and with unnecessary force.
