Eurotopics.net

The Taliban have issued an ultimatum to the Nato states that their troops must leave the country and all evacuations be completed by August 31, calling the date "a red line". Joe Biden hopes to end the mission by the deadline but is no longer ruling out an extension. Will the red line be crossed?

The row over which countries should take in refugees from Afghanistan is growing. So far the EU states have been unable to agree on a joint approach. Turkey's President Erdoğan has announced that he does not want to take in any more people. He and Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis have spoken out in favour of the refugees being taken in by Afghanistan's neighbouring countries.

Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has announced that he will resign as party leader at the Social Democrats' party conference in November and relinquish his post as head of government. Commentators take stock of events and look to the future.

With five weeks to go before Germany's parliamentary elections, the CDU/CSU and the SPD are neck and neck in the polls for the first time since 2017. According to a survey, 34 percent of Germans would vote for Olaf Scholz, the SPD candidate for chancellor, if there were a direct election. Europe's press says the election could go either way - but that isn't making the campaign any more exciting.

Many Afghans are fleeing Taliban rule and the threat of civil war. To make matters worse, the country is suffering from a severe drought and famine. While Western countries are flying out as many of their compatriots and Afghans who worked for them as possible, the urgent questions now are how to help the people in the country and whether it should continue to receive development aid.