Eurotopics.net

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that he is stepping down as leader of his Liberal Party. He will also resign as prime minister as soon as a successor is found, Trudeau said on Monday. Once hailed by many Canadians as a beacon of hope, Trudeau, who has been in office since 2015, has increasingly come under fire recently, in particular over his economic policy.

The coalition talks in Austria between the ÖVP, SPÖ and Neos have collapsed. Chancellor Karl Nehammer has announced his resignation and Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen plans to meet Herbert Kickl, leader of the right-wing populist FPÖ, to discuss the new situation. Commentators examine the reasons for the change of direction and what comes next.

Four weeks after the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot have travelled to Damascus to strengthen relations between the EU and the transitional government. The new ruler, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said that the country will need four years to create the conditions for free elections.

The transit of Russian gas through Ukrainian pipelines to Europe came to an end at the start of the new year after Kyiv refused to negotiate an extension of contracts with Moscow. The network of pipelines running between EU members is making up for the loss of Russian gas supplies in these states, but Transnistria, which has broken away from Moldova, is experiencing major problems, with thousands of households and industrial facilities left without gas and also electricity at times.