Eurotopics.net

Sweden's conservative opposition Moderate Party has spoken out in favour of allowing altruistic surrogate motherhood, for which the woman who gives birth to a child receives no money. Commentators engage in an ethical debate - and reach very different conclusions.

Matti Maasikas, a leading Estonian diplomat and the country's new ambassador to Ukraine, questioned the foreign policy stance of the new government in Tallinn on Twitter last week and pointed out that Estonian diplomats were having difficulties explaining the policies of the conservative-far-right coalition government. His comments have elicited vicious attacks from the far right but Estonian media come to his defence.

Egan Bernal has won the Tour de France. The 22-year-old is the first Colombian overall winner of the race. But that's not the only reason why commentators are so enthusiastic about this year's Tour.

In Spain the formation of a left-wing government under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has once again failed after the Socialists and Podemos were unable to agree on the distribution of ministerial posts. In the end Sánchez failed to secure the votes he needed because Podemos abstained. Commentators explain why the coalition talks failed - and what the options are now.

In view of the bleak economic outlook and weak inflation, the ECB has decided to maintain the benchmark interest rate at the record low of zero percent at least until mid-2020. It also said it would consider buying bonds again if the inflation prospects worsen. Is this the right monetary policy for the times?