Eurotopics.net

The European Union and Switzerland are seeking to reach a new agreement on their bilateral relations. Bern made its negotiating mandate public on Friday, while the EU Council gave the green light on Tuesday. Talks are set to begin in March. Switzerland broke off the negotiations for a framework agreement in 2021. The Swiss press is by no means in agreement on whether the new initiative is a good idea.

Pope Francis has called on Ukraine to raise the "white flag" and show willingness to negotiate with Russia to end the war. "Don't be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse," he told Swiss broadcaster RSI. What some commentators see as a long overdue vote for peace others condemn as completely misguided.

Irish voters have rejected proposed changes to references on family and women in the country's constitution. This means that, among other things, an 80-year-old formulation that refers to women's "duties in the home" and makes women solely responsible for the household and raising children will remain in place. Commentators analyse the reasons for the clear rejection of the government's proposals.

The centre-right Aliança Democrática (AD) has won a narrow victory in snap parliamentary elections in Portugal, having secured 29.5 percent of the vote against the 28.7 percent garnered by the Socialists (PS) who have been in power for eight years. The right-wing populist Chega party more than doubled its share of the vote to 18 percent. Can a viable government be formed on the basis of this outcome?

Today is a day of sad remembrance in Spain: on 11 March 2004, 191 people were killed and more than 1,800 injured in the ten explosions of a coordinated attack by Islamists on commuter trains in Madrid. Commentators in the national press reflect on the polarisation caused by the attack itself and the reactions of politicians.