Eurotopics.net

The British government has announced plans to tighten its asylum policy and adopt a Danish style migration model. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood wants to introduce new rules that would halve the current five years refugees are allowed to remain in the country to two and a half years and oblige them to return to their countries of origin as soon as these are deemed safe. Benefits are also to be restricted. What are the motives behind the Labour Party's reform?

Unidentified perpetrators have carried out a bombing attack on a railway line in Poland that leads to Ukraine, leaving tracks in the village of Mika badly damaged. During a visit to the site, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that attack was likely aimed at blowing up a train travelling from Warsaw to Dęblin. The intelligence services are investigating.

The presidents of France and Ukraine, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky, have signed a memorandum of understanding on the purchase of aircraft, air defence systems and drones. Under the deal, France is to supply Ukraine with around 100 Rafale fighter jets worth more than ten billion euros. Who will pay for them remains unclear.

Jeannette Jara of the Communist Party has won the first round of the Chilean presidential election. However, because together the four right-wing candidates secured more than two-thirds of the votes, observers say her right-wing populist opponent José Antonio Kast has a good chance of winning the run-off vote. The son of a German Wehrmacht officer, Kast has close ties to the Spanish right-wing populist party Vox.

Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died on 20 November 1975. The death of the "Caudillo" marked the end of his nearly 40-year fascist regime and Spain embarked on the path to democracy as a constitutional monarchy. Commentators examine how the country has changed since then and what remains of the Franco-era legacy today.