European Union

France plans to intensify efforts to find a solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said.

In Italy the process of government building has failed at the last minute over a prospective minister. Cinque Stelle and Lega Nord wanted to appoint Paolo Savona, considered a eurosceptic and critic of Germany, as finance minister, but President Sergio Mattarella vetoed the move. A look at the commentaries shows that the crisis in Italy could widen the rifts in Europe.

A landslide and unexpected victory for the Yes camp: two-thirds of voters in once strictly Catholic Ireland cast their ballots for the liberalisation of the country's abortion laws. At 64 percent, voter turnout was higher than for the referendum on gay marriage. Journalists take differing views of the result and examine the repercussions it may have elsewhere.

Spain's Socialists want to topple the head of government Mariano Rajoy with a no-confidence motion. His conservative People's Party (PP) was ordered to pay a fine of 245,000 euros last week as a result of a ruling in the Gürtel corruption scandal. Will Spain's prime minister survive this latest challenge?

After strikes that have gone on for two months, France's government has pledged to absorb 35 billion euros of the state rail company SNCF's debt and raise annual investment by 200 million euros. In return, the company must agree to reforms. Commentators are not convinced the deal will work.