Eurotopics.net

The Spanish parliament on Wednesday rejected Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's draft budget. The Catalonian regional parties, on whose support the Socialist minority government depends, opposed the plan. New elections are now likely. Has the Catalonian crisis made Spain ungovernable?

In the run-up to the EU elections in May many observers are painting a bleak picture of the future, predicting that populists and nationalists will make significant gains and jeopardise peace and cooperation in Europe. Commentators ask if these elections could really make or break the continent as we know it.

With her urgent appeals for climate protection Greta Thunberg has become an international figurehead. But as well as applause the 16-year-old has also been the target of hate comments and claims that she is being exploited by adults for political purposes. In a Facebook post she has rejected this criticism, but Europe's commentators are still divided about the climate activist's achievements.

The scandal surrounding Macron's former bodyguard Alexandre Benalla which hit France last summer has entered a new phase. After the magazine Mediapart published new findings on the affair, the prosecutor's office has demanded that its offices be searched. It has also emerged that Benalla continued to use his diplomatic passports for business purposes even after he was sacked.

Das spanische Parlament hat am Mittwoch den Haushaltsentwurf von Premier Pedro Sánchez abgelehnt. Die katalanischen Regionalparteien, auf deren Unterstützung die Minderheitsregierung unter Vorsitz der Sozialisten angewiesen ist, stellten sich dagegen. Nun sind Neuwahlen wahrscheinlich. Hat die Katalonien-Krise Spanien unregierbar gemacht?