Eurotopics.net

Macedonia is in the throes of a serious political crisis in which ethnic tensions threaten to escalate. The national conservative VMRO and former prime minister Nikola Gruevski failed to gain a majority in December's elections. The Socialists and the Democratic Party of Albanians want to govern - but have not received a mandate from the president. When they named a parliamentary speaker two weeks ago their opponents stormed the parliament. How can the country avoid chaos?

The pressure on US President Donald Trump is growing. After he fired FBI director James Comey in a surprise move the allegations that the president wanted to prevent investigations into his campaign team's connections with Russia are increasing. Trump is playing with fire by dismissing Comey, Europe's commentators agree.

Just days after the defeat of Marine Le Pen in the French presidential elections, her niece Marion Maréchal-Le Pen has announced that she is quitting politics for the time being. The 27-year-old is considered to be on the extreme wing of the far-right Front National and has regularly clashed with her aunt in the past. What does her withdrawal mean for the party?

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave a green light for more weapons to be delivered to the Syrian Kurdish YPG, which is widely seen as the key force in the fight for the IS stronghold Raqqa. Ankara has protested against US support for the fighters, who have close ties with the PKK. Turkey is being further sidelined in the region, some commentators believe, while pro-government Turkish media criticise the US for supporting terrorists.

A citizens' initiative calling for a ban on gay marriage is on the verge of success: on Wednesday one of the two chambers of the Romanian parliament approved by a large majority the call for a referendum on amending the constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The other chamber has yet to give its approval. The Romanian press is as divided over the issue as the people themselves.

Austria's conservative Vice Chanceller Reinhold Mitterlehner has resigned. The social democratic Chancellor Christian Kern has said he wants continue the coalition with the conservatives but a snap election has become increasingly likely. Commentators see the resignation as the result of a power struggle from which above all Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz stands to benefit. But Kurz shouldn't rejoice too soon, others warn.