Eurotopics.net

Pope Francis has spoken out in favour of legally recognised partnerships for homosexual couples: Homosexuals "have a right to a family", he said in an interview for the documentary film Francesco, which premiered on Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival. Commentators are at odds over how relevant these words are to Catholic teachings.

The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority has banned the Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE from providing equipment for the country's 5G network. It thus joins the ranks of countries like the UK and the United States which do not want to entrust China, which, experts argue, forces its companies to cooperate with its intelligence agencies, with the construction of critical infrastructure. The Swedish press welcome the decision.

The appointment of a new General Council of the Judiciary in Spain, which is responsible for guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary and filling key judicial posts, has been blocked for more than two years because the major parties could not agree on joint candidates. Now the government under Pedro Sánchez wants to change the procedure so that a simple majority instead of the previous three-fifths majority is sufficient.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier announced in a tweet on Monday that the EU was ready to intensify free trade talks with London, "on all subjects, and based on legal texts." The negotiations thus look set to continue after they had appeared to be on the verge of collapse. But will this be enough for an agreement to be signed by the end of the year?