Eurotopics.net

The two major far-right parties in Italy and France have started their joint campaign for the European elections. Salvini and Le Pen announced in Rome that they would seek to establish a "Europe of nations" after the May vote. While some commentators see the end of the EU approaching, others say the right-wing populists' promises are doomed to fail.

In Romania a referendum aimed at having marriage defined as a union exclusively between a man and a woman in the country's constitution failed on the weekend. For the vote to be valid at least 30 percent of those entitled to vote would have had to participate, but the turnout was only around 21 percent. Commentators continue their lively debate on the lessons to be learned from the vote.

In the case of the raped and murdered Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova, a suspect has apparently been detained in Germany. According to Bulgaria's chief prosecutor investigations have not revealed any connection between the crime and Marinova's work so far. Europe's commentators refuse to let the case drop.

In Lithuania a row has broken out between the political class and the media. Plans have been announced under which media would have to pay in future for access to the national register, which among other things contains all the data on companies. Until now only companies and private users had to pay. Commentators complain that the move will impede their research, and criticise the plans as an attack on press freedom.

The Irish will vote on 26 October on whether the blasphemy ban should be removed from the constitution. Under the current legislation blasphemy can by punished with fines of up to 25,000 euros. The government says it wants to improve "Ireland's international reputation" with the amendment. Irish journalists also support the move but some see other issues as far more important.