Nearly 100,000 march in Athens to protest the government’s austerity policies, and Kosovo elects a new government.

HEADLINES:

Greek police clash with anti-austerity protesters (Reuters)

Greek police clashed with protesters on Wednesday as around 100,000 workers, pensioners and students marched to parliament in protest at austerity policies aimed at helping Greece cope with a huge debt crisis.

Italy Most Exposed to Libya as Top Trading Partner: Chart of Day (Bloomberg)

Italy’s trading ties with Libya make it the most exposed European Union country to any collapse in Muammar Qaddafi’s regime.

As Europe watches Arab unrest, fears over oil, migration shade its response (Christian Science Monitor)

Some have criticized Europe for responding slowly to the upheavals in Tunisia and Egypt, though the EU was quick to condemn Libya’s violence.

Kosovo gets new government, president (B92)

The Kosovo assembly has elected the new Kosovo government which will be led by Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) leader Hashim Thaci.

‘New dawn’ for GMOs after EU vote, green groups warn (EUobserver)

EU member state experts have voted to allow tiny quantities of unapproved genetically modified crops into the Union in the form of animal feed, prompting fierce condemnation from environmental groups, who say the decision sets a dangerous new precedent.

Europe’s Next Top Banker May Be Italian (Der Spiegel)

Axel Weber has taken himself out of the running, and the candidate from Finland has also withdrawn: That leaves an Italian, Mario Draghi, in line to succeed Jean-Claude Trichet as head of the European Central Bank. A man from a deeply indebted EU nation may now be tasked with saving the euro.

NATO to boost cooperation with Ukraine – Rasmussen (RIA Novosti)

NATO plans to step up its cooperation with Ukraine in order to tackle common problems, alliance’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in an interview with the Ukrainian magazine Profil.

EDITORIALS AND COLUMNS:

A call to arms over waste at the MoD (The Telegraph)

Telegraph View: Dr Liam Fox’s shake-up of the MoD is a long overdue one but a more radical approach may be needed.

A Regime We Can Trust (Foreign Policy)

How did the West get Qaddafi so wrong?

Image: transatlantic.jpg