Eurotopics.net

The city of Vilnius will launch a new PR campaign in Berlin and London on Wednesday in a bid to raise the city's profile and attract tourists. The Lithuanian capital is presented as Europe's G-spot with the advertising slogan: "Nobody knows where it is, but when you find it it's amazing". The Lithuanian government had requested in vain that the launch of the campaign be postponed until after the Pope's visit at the end of September. Rightly so?

Members of the Christian Democratic Union in Germany have reignited the debate about reintroducing compulsory military or community service for men and women. In France, a month of national service will be compulsory as of this autumn. Commentators believe the move could be beneficial for society.

Three Czech Nato soldiers have been killed in an attack in Afghanistan. President Zeman offered his condolences to the victims' families and called for renewed vigour in the fight against international terrorism. The Czech Republic has 250 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan as part of the international military presence in the country. Czech media lambaste commentaries that deny that the soldiers are heroes.

After its unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the US will once again impose sanctions on American companies doing business with Iran starting today, Monday. In addition, secondary sanctions will be imposed on companies outside the US. Can Trump bring the regime in Tehran to its knees with these measures?

The dismissed judges of Poland's Supreme Court have taken their case to the European Court of Justice. They refuse to go into retirement, as the controversial judicial reform of the national conservative PiS government stipulates. Commentators highlight the risks of this conflict.

In Hungary the pro-government business tycoon Zsolt Nyerges has taken over the opposition news broadcaster Hír TV. No sooner was the change of owners completed than several journalists were fired. Since the parliamentary elections in April the two newspapers Magyar Nemzet and Heti Válasz as well as the radio broadcaster Lánchíd have been shut down. Is the free market at play here or could it all be part of a government crackdown against media it doesn't like?