Eurotopics.net

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been released from prison after around three weeks behind bars. A Paris court approved the 70-year-old's request for release pending appeal. Sarkozy described his time in prison as "very tough". He was convicted at the end of September in a trial over illegal campaign financing, but had lodged an appeal.

The conservative government in Lisbon wants to implement labour market reforms that would restrict workers' rights and the right to strike. For the first time since the sovereign debt crisis and the so-called "troika years" (2011-2014), the two major trade union confederations, CGTP and UGT, have now jointly called for a general strike.

Following the meeting between US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán last Friday in Washington, a White House representative announced that Hungary had been exempted from the US sanctions against Russia's energy sector for the time being. Commentators discuss the reasons for the exemption and its potential impact on next year's parliamentary elections in Hungary.

Tesla boss Elon Musk is set to receive a huge share package worth 1,000 billion dollars after shareholders in the US electric car manufacturer voted in favour of a ten-year pay package for Musk which is conditional on his achieving several ambitious goals for the company. What are the implications when the richest person in the world becomes far richer?