Eurotopics.net

Poland's Supreme Court has ruled that the newly created Disciplinary Chamber, which is tasked with evaluating judges and prosecutors and if necessary dismissing them, is unlawful. Its members are appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary, which is in turn elected by Parliament. As a result, the body is not sufficiently independent from the government, according to the ruling. What are the consequences?

The Czech Republic's Chief Prosecutor Pavel Zeman has reopened the investigation fraud investigation against Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš which was closed in September. But the country's president has offered Babiš a pardon, and the prime minister also has good connections in the judiciary. Commentators discuss whether Pavel Zeman's initiative is doomed to fail.

After his election victory on 10 November, Spain's caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was able to quickly agree on a coalition with the left-wing party Unidas Podemos (UP). But for the formation of a stable government, the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) party must abstain from voting at the very least. Spanish media discuss the left-wing coalition's chances of success.

The US at loggerheads with Europe, diagnoses of brain death and an unruly Turkey - there was little expectation that this week's Nato summit would be a success. Now that the meeting is over the key problem is no longer internal discord, commentators note.

Germany has expelled two Russian embassy employees suspected of working for Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU. The German chief prosecutor suspects that Russian state agencies were involved in the murder of an ethnic Chechen Georgian national who was shot dead in broad daylight in a Berlin park last August. What will the fallout be?