Eurotopics.net

In Estonia the Centre Party led by Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, the nationalist Ekre party and the conservative Isamaa party have signed a coalition agreement. Ratas rejected a grand coalition with the Reform Party, which won the election. Some commentators are upset that he is teaming up with the far right. Others point to the contradictions in this coalition.

For the first time a group of researchers has succeeded in producing a photo of a black hole. The image was obtained using data from the global network of radio telescopes Event Horizon. Black holes are extremely massive and exert colossal gravitational force. What does the photo mean for science and humanity?

The EU has presented ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence. Businesses, research institutes and authorities will now test the guidelines in a pilot phase after which legislation is to be drawn up. Politics and society are still far too passive when it comes to shaping the future, commentators complain.

The EU-27 have agreed to postpone Brexit, not by the three months Theresa May had requested but by just two weeks. Next week the British parliament is to vote a third time on the Brexit agreement. If it approves the deal the EU will grant a postponement until the European elections. The comments in the press are clear: it's all or nothing now.

The French government is cracking down after yellow vest protests turned violent last Saturday. It has announced partial bans on demonstrations and is not excluding the possibility of making preventive arrests again. Counter-terrorist army units are also to be deployed to protect certain locations. Journalists ask what effect this hard line will have and what image France is projecting.

The right-wing populist Forum voor Democratie (FVD), established in 2016, has unexpectedly emerged as the strongest party in regional elections in the Netherlands. The centre-right coalition has lost its majority in the Dutch Senate as a result of the vote. Commentators voice concern over the success of the new party and the xenophobic rhetoric of its leader Thierry Baudet.