Eurotopics.net

More than 60 years after the death of Pius XII, the Vatican has opened its archives from the era of this controversial pope. Several hundred researchers now plan to investigate the role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and clarify what the then pope knew about the persecution of Jews and why he did not speak out against it. Will they succeed?

In a last-minute move, Italy stopped taking in refugees from Niger at the end of February out of fear of coronavirus. German Interior Minister Seehofer, in turn, has said that every month about 10,000 people who have come via "problematic" countries like Iran enter Germany. Commentators warn that the two issues of coronavirus and migrants are being mixed with each other with negative consequences.

Rail Baltica is one of Europe's largest infrastructure projects. The plan is that by 2026 trains will be able to travel all the way from Warsaw to Helsinki via Kaunas, Riga and Tallinn. The project is mainly financed with EU funds. But commentators from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are not convinced of its merits.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is visiting the Greek-Turkish border today, Tuesday, where together with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis she hopes to get a better picture of the situation there. Tensions in the area have intensified since Erdoğan announced the opening of the Turkish border last Friday. Thousands of migrants are now waiting on the Turkish side. How should the EU respond?

Erdoğan is to meet with Putin in Moscow on Thursday in the hopes of agreeing on a ceasefire for Idlib. Turkey and Russia are closer than ever to direct confrontation in the embattled Syrian province and more than a million people are fleeing the strategically important region. What are Erdoğan's chances of achieving his goal?