Eurotopics.net

According to the government of Qatar, Germany has signed a gas export deal with the state-owned enterprise Qatar Energy. Under the agreement, up to two million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year will be supplied supplied to Germany for 15 years as of 2026. Commentators criticise that the deal runs counter to the current debates about climate protection and holding the World Cup in Qatar.

Since 2019 there have been no long-distance rail connections between Spain and Portugal. The infrastructure and trains on the Portuguese side are in a state of total disrepair. Now Portugal's Prime Minister António Costa has presented the National Railway Plan, an extensive investment programme for rail transport. Commentators criticise wrong priorities and a lack of cooperation between Madrid and Lisbon and point to similar woes in France.

The six-party opposition alliance led by the Kemalist CHP presented its draft for a new Turkish constitution on Monday. The key aim of the proposed reform is a return to parliamentarianism and the renunciation of the presidential system which has been in force since 2018 and concentrates power in the hands of the incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Opposition media take stock.

The EU Commission has concluded that Hungary is not doing enough to fight corruption and therefore wants to freeze up to 7.5 billion euros in funding earmarked for Budapest. A recommendation to this effect could be put forward on Wednesday. The EU finance ministers would then have one week to reach a decision on the issue. For most commentators the step is long overdue.

The Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makei died "a sudden death" on Saturday, according to the state news agency Belta. Makei had been in office under Lukashenka since 2012. Europe's press examines the potential political fallout and, given the unclear circumstances of his death, the question of whom it might benefit.