Eurotopics.net

After the meeting in Luxembourg on Monday between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker there is still no sign of a Brexit breakthrough. Johnson also refused to attend a planned press conference, citing a noisy anti-Brexit demonstration nearby.

Israel will elect a new parliament today, Tuesday. The old one was dissolved in May after talks aimed at producing a new government failed over the question of whether military service should also be compulsory for ultra-orthodox Jews. For this and other reasons journalists pay special attention to the tensions inherent in Israeli politics.

Italy's former prime minister Matteo Renzi has announced he is quitting the Democratic Party (PD) to found a new movement. He said he hopes to support the young M5S-PD government with a new faction in parliament. Commentators are critical of the move.

A few days after the City Duma elections, Moscow's city council held a parade featuring 700 municipal service vehicles. This was not the first time Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin put on such a display of the vehicles' readiness for the winter, but this time the spectacle with road sweepers and snowploughs has elicited a negative response from commentators.

Donald Trump has threatened reprisals after the attacks on Saudi Arabia's biggest oil refinery. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have claimed responsibility for Saturday's attacks in which a squadron of armed drones set two major Saudi oil production facilities alight. This attack will have major consequences, commentators warn.

Thousands of demonstrators protested on Saturday against the Frankfurt Motor Show. Climate protection activists blocked several entrances to the venue on Sunday. At last the power of the car industry is being called into question, some commentators comment gleefully. Others call for a more objective approach to environmental protection.