Eurotopics.net

With less than three months to go before Britain is due to leave the EU, hopes of averting a no-deal Brexit are dwindling. Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists that the backstop must be removed from the Brexit deal, but the Commission is digging in its heels. Commentators speculate about whether one side or the other will back down in the end.

The imminent currency war between the US and China, tensions in the Gulf, the risk of a no-deal Brexit - all these factors are fuelling fears that the global economy could end up in big trouble. The economist and former US finance minister Larry Summers has even warned that the world may be at its 'most dangerous financial moment' since 2008. How dramatic is the situation?

After the Chinese yuan plummeted on Monday vis-à-vis the US dollar the Chinese economy has recovered somewhat. The devaluation makes Chinese exports cheaper in the dollar area. Politicians in the US are now considering weakening the dollar through targeted sales. Commentators warn against using the exchange rate as a weapon.

Agricultural experts from SPD, the Greens and the German animal protection association Deutsche Tierschutzbund, are calling for an increase in VAT on meat products, which in Germany currently stands at seven percent. Among those to reject the motion are the party leaders and the minister for agriculture. But the debate has long since exploded in the European media.

The coalition of the Centre Party, the nationalist Ekre and the conservative Isamaa has been in power for 100 days. Estonian commentators are far from satisfied with their performance so far.