Eurotopics.net

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?

French trade unions are launching a general strike today, Thursday, to protest plans for a pension reform. They fear the reform will translate into more old-age poverty and increase the age of retirement. Macron, who sees the reform as a centrepiece of his presidency, wants to simplify the system, abolish privileges and cut costs. He faces a huge challenge, commentators concur.