Eurotopics.net

Many European countries are currently seeking strategies for stopping the spread of coronavirus without having to resort to drastic measures again. After the number of cases had stabilised in many places, localised outbreaks are now occurring. Commentators discuss the reasons and discuss how states should deal with a potential second wave.

After the the poor performance of the ruling party LREM in the second round of the municipal elections, President Emmanuel Macron has redistributed key ministerial portfolios and in a surprise move appointed Jean Castex, the conservative mayor of the town of Prades and coordinator of the exit from the coronavirus lockdown, as the new prime minister. Commentators discuss whether this major reshuffle can improve Macron's position in any way.

In June it emerged that more than 1,500 workers at Germany's largest meat processing company Tönnies, most of them from Eastern Europe, have been infected with coronavirus. In May a slaughterhouse had already been closed down after a spike in infections among employees. Commentators examine the highly questionable working conditions of Eastern European employees at German plants and the mechanisms behind this situation.

After protracted negotiations the Estonian government decided on Monday to relax entry requirements for guest workers. The country's agricultural sector is suffering heavily from a labour shortage as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions, which had devastating consequences for the important strawberry harvest in June. Other countries face similar challenges.

Following a complaint by a local association Turkey's top administrative court has examined whether the Hagia Sophia must remain a museum. Its decision is to be announced in the next two weeks. If the court rules that it need not remain a museum, the government will decide the building's future. And its preferences have been clear ever since President Erdoğan last year referred to the conversion into a museum in 1935 as a "big mistake".