Eurotopics.net

In 2019 people protested all over the world against corrupt governments and oppression, and for justice and climate protection. Will their protests bear fruit in the coming year?

Young women such as Greta Thunberg and Sanna Marin made a name for themselves in 2019. But established politicians like Jacinda Ardern and Ursula von der Leyen also figured prominently in the headlines. Is this the dawn of the age of women?

With Brexit, the UK will become the first country to leave the EU next year. Many see this as the climax of a long-standing process of alienation within the European community of states. The press discusses the cracks that divide the continent today, and how they could be filled.

As 2019 draws to an end, the uncertainty over a key European issue has also dissipated for the time being: on Friday the newly constituted British parliament voted by a clear majority in favour of the UK leaving the EU on 31 January 2020. Will things be easier now that this hurdle has been removed?

In Croatia, the Social Democratic former prime minister Zoran Milanović has won the first round of the presidential election. He secured roughly 30 percent of the vote, giving him a lead against the incumbent conservative president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. A second round of voting will now decide who wins. While the Croatian press is at odds over the candidates, commentators in neighbouring countries examine the long-term consequences.