Eurotopics.net

France's president has caused a stir with an interview published by The Economist on Thursday in which he said that the world is witnessing Nato's "brain death". He said that the Alliance lacked a consensus on strategic decisions and described Nato member Turkey as "uncoordinated and aggressive". Commentators doubt the usefulness of such statements and other recent initiatives led by Macron.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Budapest to protest the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and show solidarity with the Kurds in northern Syria. Erdoğan met Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for talks. The large-scale security measures adopted to protect the guest of state caused traffic chaos in the city. Commentators discuss whether the whole thing was necessary.

Turkey's military offensive in northern Syria raises the question of what should be done with the many IS fighters imprisoned in the area. Many could now escape because of lacking surveillance at temporary prisons. Because many of the jihadists are Europeans, Turkish media say Europe should deal with the problem. In the IS terrorists' countries of origin some take a different view.

As an Auschwitz survivor Liliana Segre, an Italian senator for life, is an important witness of those times. After being the target of hundreds of threats and anti-Semitic insults on social media she has been assigned police guards for protection. Italy's media see this as an indictment of Italian society and draw parallels with the past.

France's government plans to realign its migration policy. The envisaged measures include immigration quotas for skilled workers and tougher policies for asylum seekers regarding deportation and access to health care. Most commentators take a dim view of the measures, although some praise it.