Eurotopics.net

The US and the radical Islamist Taliban have agreed on a framework for a peace accord for Afghanistan. According to Washington the deal includes a promise by the Taliban not to allow international terrorists to hide in the country as well as plans for a speedy US troop withdrawal. Commentators turn their attention to the latter aspect in particular.

Investor George Soros has warned of the impact advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence could have in the hands of authoritarian states. He stressed that China's leader Xi Jinping could become the most dangerous threat to democracy - particularly as he is expanding his influence through global investments. Not all commentators agree.

This Tuesday evening the British parliament will vote on amendments to the Brexit deal negotiated by May and the EU which it rejected around two weeks ago. The main points are the removal of the "backstop" and a postponement of the EU exit date to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Journalists show little understanding for the impasse.

The parliament in Athens has approved the accord for the renaming of Macedonia by 153 votes to 146. The country which up to now has gone by the name the "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" at the international level up to now will now be called the "Republic of Northern Macedonia". The resolution of the name dispute is a milestone achievement in the eyes of Europe's press - and not just because it went on for almost three decades.

Thirty intellectuals and writers from all over Europe have published an appeal to Europeans urging them to resist the populists who want to destroy the EU. The European elections could be calamitous if a majority fails to fight back against the populists, they warn. We present an excerpt from the manifesto and the debate it has triggered.