Eurotopics.net

The pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca has suspended a clinical trial of a Covid-19 vaccine after one of the participants came down with an unexplained illness. An independent party is investigating whether the illness is related to the serum, the company reported. Europe's commentators see this cautious approach as a good sign rather than a disappointment.

The new school year in Turkey started exclusively online at the end of August. Although the plan is for all schoolchildren to return to school on September 21, it seems that for the time being only preschools and first grade classes will have in-person lessons, with all other classes continuing with online learning. Commentators are alarmed.

So far Russia has been reticent with respect to the protests in Belarus, but observers now see signs of growing support for Lukashenka in Moscow. Commentators question whether this is the right strategy given the broad-based mobilisation against the Belarusian leader and speculate on future relations in the region.

The poisoning of Alexei Navalny and Minsk's brutal treatment of members of the opposition have upped pressure for a joint reaction in Brussels. Commentators seize the occasion to reflect on how the EU positions itself in relation to autocratic rulers. Which standards apply to which countries, and might the EU not itself be promoting some unjust regimes?

In the run-up to the eighth round of negotiations on future EU-UK relations which began this week on Tuesday, the British prime minister threatened to break off talks if an agreement is not reached by October 15. London is also apparently planning laws that run counter to the 2019 agreement with Brussels. Europe's press looks for the motives behind this U-turn.