Eurotopics.net

The EU Commission plans to tackle the plastic waste problem. Disposable products like plastic tableware, straws and cotton buds for which alternatives out of other materials exist are to be banned. Manufacturers of plastic products are also to be made to pay for their disposal and new subsidies will be introduced for recycling. This is a good initiative but it doesn't go far enough, according to press commentaries.

In the wake of the Irish Yes to liberalising the country's strict abortion laws, calls have been heard in Northern Ireland and Malta for abortion bans to be lifted there as well. Discussion on the emotionally charged issue continues in these countries and beyond.

It started as an environmental initiative - but at the end of May 2013 it turned into a nationwide wave of protests against Erdoğan's government. Less than a month before the snap elections in Turkey some observers say the spirit of those times is making a comeback. How do Turkish media see the situation?

A young man from Mali saved a child from falling from the fourth floor of a Paris building with a spectacular climb. President Macron now wants to reward the undocumented immigrant for his brave act by granting him French citizenship. Commentators question whether this gesture would be fair.

In the Czech Republic the grades of this year's school leavers are worse than ever before. In Czech and maths in particular, many failed the exam altogether. Commentators express concern for the state of the education system as a whole, noting that a negative trend has been noticeable for years.

In Italy the process of government building has failed at the last minute over a prospective minister. Cinque Stelle and Lega Nord wanted to appoint Paolo Savona, considered a eurosceptic and critic of Germany, as finance minister, but President Sergio Mattarella vetoed the move. A look at the commentaries shows that the crisis in Italy could widen the rifts in Europe.