Eurotopics.net

The protests in Belgrade triggered by President Vučić's new lockdown announcement continue apace. After two nights of riots, thousands of people gathered for a peaceful protest outside the parliament building on Thursday. Commentators discuss the protesters' motivation and criticise the lack of a common cause.

Pashal Donohoe is to be the new president of the Eurogroup. The 45-year-old from the conservative Fine Gael party has been Ireland's finance minister since 2017. The finance ministers of the euro countries elected Donohue on Thursday in a surprise victory against Spanish Minister of Economy Nadia Calviño, who was backed by Germany, France and Italy. What kind of financial policy does the new minister stand for?

Polls predict a neck-and-neck race in the presidential election runoff vote on Sunday. Andrzej Duda, the conservative incumbent, garnered 43.5 percent of the vote in the first ballot, while his challenger, the liberal mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski, obtained 30.5 percent. Commentators are on tenterhooks in Poland and abroad.

In the debate over the reconstruction of Notre Dame, French President Macron has sided with the advisory committee, which is in favour of restoring the cathedral's spire to its nineteenth century design. Shortly after the fire in April 2019 Macron had argued in favour of replacing it with a contemporary design. But according to surveys a majority of the French want the cathedral rebuilt as it was before the fire. Opinions are still divided on the topic.

Latvia's Constitutional Court has ruled that the current minimum state social security benefit of 64 euros does not comply with the country's constitution. Now politicians have until 1 January 2021 to make the corresponding adjustments. But the press doubts that this ruling by the highest court will bring decisive changes for the poorest groups in Latvian society.