Eurotopics.net

Like other islands on the EU's external border, the Canary Islands are now also turning into a migration hotspot. More and more people are arriving there from the coast of Africa, and the islands' authorities are having a hard time coping. Commentators call on policymakers to look beyond border security and also focus on diplomacy and integration.

The pandemic is facing politicians with some difficult decisions: how many restrictions can be imposed without destroying the economy, and how much can they be loosened without endangering too many lives? With the prospect of effective vaccines on the horizon, these questions are gaining new relevance. Commentators argue that the economy and public health are not mutually exclusive.

In response to demonstrations and protests even from their own members, France's governing parties plan to revise Article 24 of the new security law. Christophe Castaner, chairman of Macron's party La Republique en marche, announced the move on Twitter. In its current form, the article would prohibit the publication of images in which individual police officers can be clearly identified. Observers say this is by no means the end of the affair.

Ursula von der Leyen's first year in office has turned out very differently than expected. The EU is fighting the coronavirus pandemic and the worst recession in its history. Von der Leyen's prestige project, the Green Deal, seems to have been put on hold for the time being. Observers discuss whether she is up to the job.

The UN is currently looking into whether new talks on the reunification of Cyprus, which has been divided since 1974, are currently feasible. In addition a conference is in planning at which the guarantor powers Turkey, Greece and Britain will also sit at the table. Cypriot media doubt that either side is willing or able to reconcile the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.