European Union

The US and the radical Islamist Taliban have agreed on a framework for a peace accord for Afghanistan. According to Washington the deal includes a promise by the Taliban not to allow international terrorists to hide in the country as well as plans for a speedy US troop withdrawal. Commentators turn their attention to the latter aspect in particular.

Investor George Soros has warned of the impact advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence could have in the hands of authoritarian states. He stressed that China's leader Xi Jinping could become the most dangerous threat to democracy - particularly as he is expanding his influence through global investments. Not all commentators agree.

This Tuesday evening the British parliament will vote on amendments to the Brexit deal negotiated by May and the EU which it rejected around two weeks ago. The main points are the removal of the "backstop" and a postponement of the EU exit date to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Journalists show little understanding for the impasse.

An adviser to the EU's top court said on Tuesday the dispute settlement contained in the free trade deal with Canada was in line with EU law. Advocate general Yves Bot said the 2016 agreement does not "adversely affect" the autonomy of EU law or question the ECJ's exclusive right to interpret EU law. Belgium's Wallonia backed the trade deal, on condition that the European Court of Justice checked it.

The so-called Juncker Plan, the EU commission's flagship fund, has been effective in raising money for investments, but "the amounts of investment mobilised may be overstated", according to a European Court of Auditors' report. The auditors found that often the Juncker Plan just replaced other financing from the EU and the European Investment Bank. The report also states that most investments went to a few larger 'old' member states.