Eurotopics.net

In a ruling handed down on Tuesday, the German Constitutional Court rejected the call by the country's 16 states to have the far-right NPD party banned. The party is too weak to represent a threat to Germany's democratic order, the court found. Some journalists agree with the decision while others remain unconvinced.

The Italian conservative Antonio Tajani has become the new president of the European Parliament. Tajani, a former spokesman for Silvio Berlusconi and ex-EU commissioner, won the runoff against the Socialist Gianni Pittella after Guy Verhofstadt withdrew his candidacy and his group backed the conservatives. Commentators are dismayed by the result of the election.

A good two weeks after the attack on Istanbul's Reina nightclub the Turkish police have arrested the presumed killer. The man, believed to be an IS fighter from Uzbekistan, was arrested in the flat of a friend in Istanbul. The Turkish press is both relieved and concerned.

Europe has been left bewildered and unsettled by Donald Trump's interview with Bild and The Times. Nato is obsolete, Brexit is a good idea and Merkel's refugee policy is a catastrophic mistake, according to the US president-elect. Commentators hope that Europe won't be misled by his remarks and that it will develop a strategy of unity with fresh resolve.

The Conference for Peace in the Middle East ended in Paris on Sunday without the participation of Israel or the Palestinians. The two-state solution - up to now the international community's common denominator - was apparently called into question but in the end was reaffirmed in the final communique. The international community must support the Palestinians' bid to have their own state, commentators from the Palestinian territories demand.

Statements by US secretary of state-designate Rex Tillerson have revealed that his views on relations with Russia, Nato membership and climate policy differ from those of president-elect Donald Trump. Some commentators hope Tillerson will get his way. For others, the new administration is facing its first crisis even before Trump takes office.

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.