Eurotopics.net

At the start of the week the Iraqi army and its allies launched an offensive on Mosul aimed at regaining control of the most important Iraqi city currently in IS hands. The carefully prepared offensive is being commentated across Europe - with a view to the geography of the city and comparisons between the fighting in Mosul and Aleppo.

The EU's trade ministers failed to reach an agreement on signing the Ceta trade deal on Tuesday and have therefore postponed the decision. Opposition comes above all from the French-speaking part of Belgium, without whose consent the federal government cannot approve the agreement. Are the Walloons spoiling a major opportunity for Europe or are they the voice of the people?

The US musician Bob Dylan has won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature. This is the first time the Swedish Academy has chosen an artist who isn't primarily a writer. Some commentators lament the decision to award a representative of pop culture. Others applaud the jury's understanding of what literature is.

The EU and Canada want to sign the Ceta free trade agreement at the end of October, but its ratification by the EU is uncertain as the deal has met with considerable opposition in several states. Germany's Constitutional Court has now given the green light for the agreement to go ahead, rejecting several emergency appeals against it on Thursday. The press believes this decision points the way ahead.

Much is being said about the public appearances of the two US presidential candidates, as well as their scandals in the US election campaign. Commentators on both sides of the Atlantic now take a closer look at the economic policy proposals of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

The Dutch government wants to make it possible for elderly people who are not seriously ill to end their own lives. Loneliness or the loss of independence can cause just as much suffering as illness and are therefore a legitimate reason for assisted suicide, a report put out by the country's Ministries of Health and Justice has found. Commentators ask how far self-determination should be taken.