Eurotopics.net

At a meeting in Berlin, the presidents of Poland and Germany, Andrzej Duda and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, emphasised the common ground between their countries. Duda described the planned stationing of German Patriot missile defence systems in his country as an important gesture by an ally. Does this mean that the bilateral tensions have been overcome?

The UK is facing strikes by rail and postal workers, nurses, bus drivers and border guards before Christmas. The trade unions are demanding significant wage increases. The British government has so far refused to negotiate and plans to deploy thousands of soldiers to cover for striking workers if necessary. The media talk of an imminent "winter of discontent".

The European Parliament is facing one of the biggest corruption scandals in its history: Vice President Eva Kaili allegedly accepted large sums of money from Qatar in exchange for influencing EU decisions. The Greek Social Democrat was arrested along with five other suspects on charges of bribery and corruption and has been remanded in custody. The press is outraged.