Eurotopics.net

On Tuesday Britain's House of Commons will vote on the Brexit agreement reached between the EU and the British government. With defeat looming, Prime Minister May has warned that if the parliament doesn't pass the deal a stop to Brexit is more likely than a no-deal Brexit. Commentators ask how outsiders can come to the PM's aid.

Commentators have long been predicting that the European elections in May will be decisive for Europe's future - not least because the right-wing populists are forming alliances and the hard-right US strategist Steve Bannon has joined the fray with his organisation The Movement. The media is now reporting that other forces will try to make their mark in 2019.

The Congo is set to witness its first peaceful transfer of power in five decades. In a surprise turn of events the electoral commission has announced that opposition leader Félix Tshisekedi won the elections held at the end of December. But this announcement has raised questions because according to the Catholic Church's count the second opposition candidate Martin Fayulu had won. What will happen now?

A change in Russian export and taxation laws has led to significantly higher oil and gas prices for Belarus, which had benefited from special conditions until now. Belarusian president Lukashenko is demanding compensation for the higher costs, but according to observers he will only receive it if he consents to a closer alliance with Russia. How much resistance should Moscow expect?