Eurotopics.net

A debate has flared up in France over "virginity certificates" issued by doctors after Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in an interview that he plans to make the practice a punishable offence. Several doctors responded on 16 September with an appeal to the government published in the daily Libération to reconsider the plans. Other commentators welcome the initiative.

The discussion about imposing various sanctions against Russia continues: the EU Parliament has proposed in a resolution "Navalny sanctions" against Russian individuals whom Navalny accuses of corruption. For Russian observers this proposal is not necessarily good.

After the publication of undercover research carried out by the animal rights organisation Otwarte Klatki at Poland's largest fur farm, PiS boss Jarosław Kaczyński is backing a draft law aimed at banning fur farming. But because the fur industry feeds thousands of Poles, the plan has led to such a heated dispute within the ruling right-wing coalition that it's very survival is at stake.

Switzerland will hold a referendum at the end of September on the introduction of a two-week paid paternity leave. Up to now, fathers can only take one day's paid leave after the birth of a child by law, although some companies voluntarily grant more. Switzerland is among the lowest ranking countries in the OECD comparison on paternal leave systems. Commentators discuss the potential of two weeks of family time.

The Catalan Caixabank and Madrid Bankia have struck a deal to become the largest bank in the country. The Bank of Spain and the ECB have yet to approve the merger, which is effectively Caixabank taking over Bankia. The state would hold 16 percent of the shares in the newly created bank, as opposed to the more than 60 percent stake it currently has in Bankia. The Spanish press is less than enthusiastic about the move.

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.