Eurotopics.net

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave her first State of the European Union address in Brussels on Wednesday. In her speech she announced that she plans to lead reforms of the WHO and the WTO and scrap the Dublin Regulation on asylum. In addition Europe's greenhouse gas emissions are to be cut by 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. Media responses vary widely.

Alexei Navalny apparently wants to return to his homeland once he has recovered. The Russian opposition figure is currently being treated at the Charité hospital in Berlin after being targeted by what the German government has said was a poison gas attack. Is Navalny putting himself in harm's way once more? And is he willing to run this risk because he wants to increase his political clout?

Leading politicians from both parties in the US Congress warned British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab during his visit to Washington that the UK should not violate the Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU. In the event of a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the US Congress could not approve any trade agreement with Britain, they said. Commentators are hardly surprised by this firm stance.

In the aftermath of the fire in the Moria camp on Lesbos, Athens has not requested the transfer of the now homeless refugees to other EU countries - except in the case of 400 unaccompanied minors - but has instead set up a temporary tent camp for them. Germany has announced it will take in more than 1,600 refugees from Greece, while France will take several hundred. Most other countries have been hesitant in their response. Is a European solution to the crisis out of reach?