Eurotopics.net

After proposing a new candidate for the post of economy and finance minister, the protest Five Star Movement and the right-wing Lega Nord have paved the way for a joint government under law professor Giuseppe Conte. Commentators doubt whether the new government can work.

After a man on leave from prison shot two policewomen and a man in downtown Liège, Belgium is discussing whether the prison leave system should be abolished. The presumed attacker is thought to have been radicalised by Islamists in prison. Commentators call for more resocialisation measures - including prison leave.

A solution is emerging in the 27-year-old dispute between Athens and Skopje over the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). According to media reports the country could soon bear the name "Republic of North Macedonia" if its population agrees to this in a referendum slated for the autumn. Within the country opinions on the proposed compromise differ widely, however.

In a spectacular operation the Ukrainian Security Service SBU has by its own account thwarted a murder attempt against Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko. Ukrainian authorities reported on Tuesday that Babchenko had been killed, then on Wednesday it emerged that the Ukraine-based Putin critic was alive. Europe's commentators ask whether anyone can be trusted anymore after this hoax.

The triumph of Eurosceptic parties, a controversial decision by the president, nervous financial markets, and all this against the backdrop of the Greek crisis. The political crisis in Rome prompts commentators to ask to what extent the problems are a result of EU and European strutures.