Eurotopics.net

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Macron still hope a solution can be found to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Macron, however, has shown little willingness to compromise regarding the backstop. How do things stand in the game of poker over Brexit?

In a bid to prevent the formation of a coalition between the Cinque Stelle and the Democratic party (PD) in Italy Lega leader Matteo Salvini is trying to gain the support of those within Five Star who are willing to continue cooperating with his party. But time is running out for him because President Giuseppe Mattarella expects a decision on who will govern the country by Wednesday. Commentators are appalled by the situation in Italy.

The fighting has intensified in the Syrian province of Idlib, which had been declared a de-escalation zone. Supported by Russia, Assad's army is advancing through the rebel-held territory towards the city of Khan Shaykhun, prompting a mass exodus from the area. Meanwhile tensions between Ankara and Moscow have escalated after a Turkish military convoy was hit in an airstrike.

After German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron has also voiced optimism that it should be possible to find a solution for preventing a no-deal Brexit within 30 days. However, he was less open to compromise regarding the backstop. Were British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visits to Berlin and Paris a success?

On the evening of August 23, 1989, roughly two million Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians formed a human chain more than 600 kilometres long that stretched from Tallinn across Riga to Vilnius. Fifty years after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact people in the three states stood side by side in pursuit of freedom and independence in one of the biggest non-violent protests the world has ever seen: the Baltic Way.