Eurotopics.net

London's Brexit plans have met with criticism from the EU. Barely any progress had been made on the key topics of the single market and the free movement of persons, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said in the first official response to May's white paper on the Brexit. But for all its doubts the EU cannot just London to its fate, commentators stress.

In the trade dispute between the US and the EU, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström will travel to Washington on Wednesday in a bid to engage US President Trump in discussions about an alternative to the new higher tariffs. Commentators explain how difficult it is for Europe to close ranks in the trade dispute.

At the conference of the conservative People's Party (PP) Pablo Casado, a representative of the party's conservative wing, has been elected as its new leader. The 37-year-old takes over from Mariano Rajoy, who was ousted by a vote of no confidence at the beginning of June. Does he have the right recipe for Spain's biggest opposition party?

Radio Free Europe is to resume broadcasting in Romania and Bulgaria. Financed by the US Congress, the broadcaster ceased its operations in Bulgaria in 2004 and in Romania in 2008. Now it has announced that it wants to help counter fake news and promote quality journalism in the two countries again. How honourable are its intentions?

After the success of the Croatian team at the Fifa World Cup, a debate has flared up in the country over the construction of a national football stadium. It remains unclear what the project will entail and where the money will come from. But Croatian journalists are already speculating about the motives of those pushing for the new stadium.

The Knesset passed a national self-determination bill on Thursday that stresses Israel's Jewish character and strips Arabic of its official language status. The law also foresees the creation of municipalities that can deny Arabs the right of residence. For some the new law is deeply undemocratic, for others it is a legitimate means to defend the Israeli state.