Eurotopics.net

A cross adorning a monument to the late Pope John Paul II in France must be removed, the country's highest administrative court has ruled. The ruling prompted Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło to offer to move the monument of the Polish-born pontiff to her country to "save it from censorship". How should France deal with the affair?

In the UK several women have accused high-ranking politicians of sexual harassment. Prime Minister Theresa May has responded by calling for a more stringent code of conduct for MPs. Commentators warn against generalisations but see certain politicians as prone to such misconduct.

The Lithuanian writer Rūta Vanagaitė has written that the former anti-Soviet partisan Adolfas Ramanauskas, codename Vanagas, belonged to the KGB and took part in the extermination of Lithuanian Jews during World War II. Historians dispute the accusations and Vanagaitė's publisher has withdrawn her books from the market. Lithuanian commentators would like to see a more level-headed debate.

The hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution will be celebrated at the end of October. After the removal of the czars from power and a civil war that claimed many victims the Bolsheviks took over the government of the country and in 1922 founded the Soviet Union. For almost 70 years the Stalinist one-party state ruled over its allies in Central and Eastern Europe. Commentators interpret the October Revolution from today's perspective.

The central government in Madrid is moving to suspend Catalonia's autonomy to prevent an illegal secession by the independence-seeking region. This could escalate the situation, commentators fear, doubting that the protagonists have the political skill to react appropriately.