Eurotopics.net

Women and girls will likely be among the main victims of the failed mission in Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban. The Terre des Femmes organisation has voiced fears that they will be denied the right to education, employment and self-determination. They also face the prospect of full-body veils, forced marriages and public punishment. Notwithstanding their situation some commentators argue that pity is out of place here.

The UK is suffering from a shortage of lorry drivers, partly because about 20,000 Eastern European drivers have left the country since Brexit. The resulting empty shelves in British supermarkets have been impossible to overlook in recent weeks. Commentators take very different views as to whether Brexit was a mistake or a blessing in this respect.

On his current visit to the Czech Republic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the first German President to honour the memory of the Czechoslovakians who killed Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi architect of the Holocaust, in 1942. The two countries are ready to show mutual understanding, Czech observers conclude.

In a referendum scheduled for September 26, the Swiss will vote on "marriage for everyone". At the end of 2020 the Swiss parliament approved legislation allowing civil marriages for gay couples as well as adoption and artificial insemination through sperm donation for lesbian couples, but a cross-party committee wants to overturn the decision in the referendum. The Swiss Bishops' Conference is also a member of the committee.

Many politicians are warning that there will be more refugees from Afghanistan, but given the situation in the region and the blocked escape routes, it is not clear how many people will arrive in Europe in the short term. However the EU is also under pressure at its borders with Belarus, Morocco and Turkey. Commentators describe the options for a coherent European refugee policy.

Nato began its mission in Afghanistan 20 years ago. Today, most experts consider the strategy of building a democratic state on the basis of military support to have failed. More than 3,500 troops belonging to Nato and its allies lost their lives in Afghanistan. The press discusses whether Nato should shift its focus to new goals and how Europe should position itself in the process.