Eurotopics.net

He was a composer, conductor, songwriter, politician and activist. He achieved world fame with the film music for Zorba the Greek and was revered as a folk hero in his homeland. Now Mikis Theodorakis has died in Athens aged 96. The government ordered three days of national mourning, and his coffin has been laid out in Athens Cathedral so people can pay their last respects.

At a special meeting on Tuesday the EU interior ministers failed to reach an agreement on binding conditions for taking in Afghan asylum seekers. Despite the strong desire to reach a consensus, the EU Commission failed due to opposition from Austria, Hungary, Denmark and Slovenia, among others. Instead, Afghanistan's neighbouring countries are now to receive money for taking in refugees. Europe's press is for the most part incensed.

Nato began its mission in Afghanistan 20 years ago. Today, most experts consider the strategy of building a democratic state on the basis of military support to have failed. More than 3,500 troops belonging to Nato and its allies lost their lives in Afghanistan. While some commentators point to lessons to be learned from the fiasco, others say the self-criticism has gone too far.