Eurotopics.net

Just two weeks after their last summit, the 27 EU leaders will meet again today, with Brexit at the top of their agenda. There is no longer any talk of the ultimatum that Johnson had given the EU - which expires today. Instead, the British prime minister has announced that he will decide after the summit whether London will continue to negotiate a post-Brexit agreement.

The economic consequences of the pandemic are increasingly dramatic: In India and Venezuela there is widespread hunger and across the globe people are losing their livelihoods due to lockdowns and falling demand for goods and services. The World Bank's prognosis reflects the dire situation. Europe's press examines the problems and discusses solutions.

In the EU dispute over whether to impose financial sanctions for breaches of the rule of law, Poland's deputy prime minister and PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński has threatened to veto the European budget for the years 2021 to 2027 and the attached coronavirus recovery fund. Commentators voice concern for different reasons.

After massive criticism from the European Commission among others, Cyprus has announced the end of a controversial scheme in which it granted citizenship in exchange for investment. The TV news channel Al Jazeera had revealed that high-ranking Cypriot officials and politicians were actively helping dubious characters to secure "golden passports". Certain elements of the Cypriot press lament the decision.

According to official figures, the coronavirus infection rate has dropped to extremely low levels in China. During the Golden Week holiday, millions of Chinese travelled within the country for National Day and Moon Festival celebrations. Mobility and consumption are rising there once more. The press points to the strong contrast with the second wave in Europe.