Eurotopics.net

A long-awaited summit, at which the further implementation of the Minsk agreements on eastern Ukraine is to be worked out, is scheduled to take place on 9 December. Kiev and Moscow have done a considerable amount of preparatory work in advance: an exchange of prisoners, troop withdrawals and the return of Ukraine's ships. A good basis for an agreement?

In the UK, the opposition Labour Party on Thursday presented its manifesto for the general election on 12 December. It plans to nationalise postal services, railway services and water and energy companies and introduce a higher minimum wage, free Internet and higher taxes for the rich. Is this the right formula for the country's future?

Romania will elect a new president in a run-off vote on Sunday. The outgoing president Klaus Iohannis, who is standing for a second term, refused to take part in a televised debate with ex-head of government Viorica Dăncilă. The two candidates held separate press conferences on Tuesday instead. This was bad for voters and an insult to the media, commentators say.

The Maltese police arrested businessman Yorgen Fenech on Wednesday in connection with the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Galizia had revealed that Fenech is the owner of the offshore company 17 Black through which bribe money was channelled. The media are divided: was it right to name the suspect? And what are the implications of the case for Europe?

In the conflict over the start of EU accession negotiations with further states Macron's vision of how the EU enlargement process should be reformed has become clear: formal talks should give way to step-by-step accession in individual areas after the candidates meet certain reform guidelines, and the process should be reversible. A necessary reform or an unfair change to the rules of the game?

In an interview with Finnish daily Iltalehti on 19 November, the Estonian Minister of the Interior Mart Helme said that his country is working together with Latvia and Lithuania on a defence "Plan B": an alternative to Nato in case the Alliance fails to intervene in the event of a Russian attack. Is this a reckless faux pas or an option for other member states, too?