Eurotopics.net

EU Council President Donald Tusk has described the new US administration as a factor of uncertainty, citing it alongside Russia, the Middle East and China. Europe can no longer count on good relations with the US, commentators concur, calling on the EU to close ranks and defend the values of the West.

Despite several days of protests on the streets and the opposition of President Iohannis Romania's government has pushed through the controversial decrees which are seen as a bitter setback in the fight against corruption. Abuses of office concerning less than 50,000 euros will go unpunished, with several members of the government standing to benefit from the new legislation. Romania's press is incensed but sees the demonstrations by Romanian citizens as a small consolation.

The rapid ascent of the French conservative presidential candidate François Fillon has come to an abrupt end following reports that he got his wife Penelope Fillon a fake job as a parliament aide for which she received almost a million euros in total. Fillon, who was the favourite to win the election before the scandal broke, has seen his approval ratings plummet. Observers fear that Marine Le Pen will benefit most from the affair.

A number of US technology companies are backing the lawsuit opposing Trump's travel ban. The US president signed a decree last Saturday banning citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days. Why these states in particular? the press asks.

The municipality of Karlshamn in southern Sweden has given permission for a Russian gas firm to use a section of its harbour during the construction of the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Russian gas will be transported to Germany through the pipeline from the end of 2019. The Swedish government has warned of risks to national security, but for Karlshamn the prospect of millions in revenues and the creation of new jobs weighs more heavily. Should the government have prevented Karlshamn from approving the plans?

New evidence has emerged that Lech Wałęsa worked as a spy for the Polish communist secret police in the 1970s. According to a report by the Institute for National Remembrance (IPN) his handwriting is clearly identifiable on secret police documents. Wałęsa claims the papers are not genuine. How tarnished is the former Solidarność leader's reputation?