Eurotopics.net

Germany recorded a budget surplus for the second year in a row in 2016 - this time amounting to 6.2 billion euros. Among other factors this is a result of unexpected growth: its GDP rose by 1.9 percent in 2016. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble wants to use the money to settle debts but the CSU and SPD have other plans. Commentators are likewise at odds over how Germany should spend its extra cash.

Members of the Polish opposition have put a provisional end to their month-long blockade of the plenary hall of the Sejm after the government lifted its restrictions on journalists' access to parliament. But Polish commentators predict that the country's state crisis is far from over.

The Republika Srpska, the Serb-dominated part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, celebrated its Republic Day on January 9 with more pomp and circumstance than ever before. At the end of September its citizens had voted in a referendum to continue marking the day of the entity's founding despite the fact that it has been ruled unconstitutional by the state Constitutional Court. Commentators find it worrying that no one seems to be interested in these developments.

The social news portal Buzzfeed has published a file according to which Moscow is in possession of compromising information on Donald Trump. The contents are said to come from a former British secret service officer, but they have yet to be verified. The file testifies to the information war raging over Trump's presidency, commentators say, and speculate about harsh repercussions.

The negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus have been postponed until next week. The guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and the UK joined the talks for the first time on Thursday. Europe needs a reunified Cyprus, commentators stress and call for more transparency in the negotiations.

In his farewell address Barack Obama warned Americans to resist divisive trends and defend democracy. He himself failed to effectively combat inequality and racism while in office, some commentators criticise. Others praise the departing president for his integrity.