Eurotopics.net

The EU member states are convening for a special summit on Thursday to hammer out an agreement on the EU budget for the period from 2021-2027. In the wake of tough discussions EU Council President Charles Michel has proposed a compromise: member States should pay 1.074 percent of their gross national income into the EU's coffers. European media see the budget as an investment in Europe's future.

Benjamin Griveaux, Macron's candidate for the Paris mayoral election, withdrew his candidacy on Friday after a lewd video which Griveaux had purportedly sent to his mistress was circulated online. Griveaux has filed a complaint against the Russian protest artist Piotr Pavlensky, who posted the video. The press asks just what the scandal is about.

Spain's left-wing coalition government consisting of the two parties PSOE and Unidas Podemos wants to ban by law statements that glorify the Franco dictatorship. The country's media is divided over whether this will have the desired effect.

In his annual state of the nation address, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised the success of his policies. He also attacked US billionaire George Soros and the "tired Brussels elites." Hungarian media take a critical view of the leader's statements and call attention to the issues he failed to mention.