Eurotopics.net

Macron hat einen Plan zur Bekämpfung der Armut in Frankreich vorgestellt. Vorgesehen sind Ausgaben in Höhe von acht Milliarden Euro sowie ein neues Konzept, das sich stärker auf soziale Begleitung statt auf finanzielle Unterstützung fokussiert. So wird am richtigen Hebel angesetzt, loben einige Kommentatoren. Andere werfen dem französischen Präsidenten fehlende Geradlinigkeit vor.

In his last State of the Union Address, Jean-Claude Juncker has appealed to the EU's sense of self-confidence. Europe must "become a more sovereign actor on the world stage" and take its future into its own hands, the EU Commission president stressed. Hardly a stirring speech, nevertheless Juncker has kicked off the European elections in the right way, commentators believe.

The EU Parliament has voted by the necessary two-thirds majority in favour of opening a punishment procedure against Hungary for breaching the EU's core principles. The member states must now decide which sanctions should be imposed. Some commentators see the vote as a symbolic decision. Others believe that Hungary's government has only apparently suffered a defeat.

The EU Parliament has decided in favour of a new intellectual property law aimed at strengthening the rights of publishers, artists and journalists. Internet platforms must prevent content protected by copyright from being put online. The reform will be put to vote in the member states next spring. How useful are the new regulations?