Eurotopics.net

Spain's Socialists want to topple the head of government Mariano Rajoy with a no-confidence motion. His conservative People's Party (PP) was ordered to pay a fine of 245,000 euros last week as a result of a ruling in the Gürtel corruption scandal. Will Spain's prime minister survive this latest challenge?

After strikes that have gone on for two months, France's government has pledged to absorb 35 billion euros of the state rail company SNCF's debt and raise annual investment by 200 million euros. In return, the company must agree to reforms. Commentators are not convinced the deal will work.

The Irish constitution currently bans abortion. Today the Irish will vote on whether this should change. According to the polls, the advocates of liberalisation, which the government and parliament also support, have a slight lead. Commentators describe the mood before the vote and how this once deeply Catholic country is rethinking its values.

A year before the elections to the European Parliament the EU's approval ratings are at record levels: more than two-thirds of EU citizens believe their country benefits from EU membership, according to the new Eurobarometer survey. Europe's media are delighted with the results but also point out that the sun isn't shining everywhere.