Eurotopics.net

Young voters and people in southern Italy in particular voted against Renzi's constitutional reforms. Some commentators say Italy's prime minister made certain grave mistakes. Others argue that the Italians are simply too conservative to go along with reforms.

The UK's Supreme Court on Monday began hearing the appeal against the High Court ruling that parliament must have a say on the Brexit plans. The most senior judge stressed at the start of the four-day hearing that the court was dealing only with legal and not political issues. Not true, some commentators object. Others point out that parliament wouldn't block Brexit anyway.

The Eurozone finance ministers agreed on Monday to certain measures that will give Greece a little more time to repay its debts. At the same time they insisted that Athens must negotiate further austerity measures. This latest agreement is only seemingly good news for the country, commentators conclude.

The Romanians will vote for a new parliament under a revised electoral law on Sunday. Commentators hope that the people will be guided by their common sense despite a vacuous election campaign dominated by nationalist themes.

Alexander Van der Bellen has been elected as Austria's new president. The former Green Party leader won 51.7 percent of the vote, defeating Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the right-wing FPÖ. The Austrians have countered the populist trend but the right has emerged from the election stronger than ever, commentators warn.

The Syrian regime has driven back the rebels in eastern Aleppo with the help of Russian fighter jets and tens of thousands of people are fleeing the areas under attack. A victory for the government forces in the northern Syrian city could mark a turning point in the civil war. Aleppo's recapture will bolster terrorist groups, commentators predict, concluding that US President Obama is partly to blame for the course the war has taken.