Eurotopics.net

Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke have received the Nobel Prize in Literature. The awarding of the 2018 prize to the Pole Olga Tokarczuk and of the 2019 prize to the Austrian Peter Handke was announced simultaneously, since last year's award was postponed due to a scandal. Both prize-winners are controversial choices, as the press commentaries show.

The European Parliament has rejected the designated French EU commissioner Sylvie Goulard after a second hearing, citing doubts about Goulard's integrity. In France Goulard has been the target of criticism for some time because of a scandal involving feigned employment and on account of her activities as a consultant for a private investor for several years. European commentators suspect, however, that there were other motives behind the vote.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă's social democratic cabinet was toppled by a no-confidence vote on Thursday. The government had lost its majority after the withdrawal of its coalition partner Alde. Dăncilă, who had been in office since January, was often criticised not just for her policies, but for her frequent grammatical errors. Romania's press is at odds over what comes next.

After US troops began their withdrawal, the Turkish army launched a new offensive against Kurdish militias in northern Syria on Wednesday. Thousands of civilians are now fleeing southwards. Commentators from the region doubt that Erdoğan is doing Turkey any favours with this campaign.

After US troops began their withdrawal, the Turkish army on Wednesday launched a new offensive against Kurdish militias in northern Syria. Following airstrikes that went on for several hours, ground troops marched into the country in the evening. Thousands of civilians fled southward. The repercussions of this new escalation in Syria will also be felt in Europe and the US, commentators predict.