Eurotopics.net

In 2019 a new European Parliament will be elected, Britain will leave the EU and the battle over climate protection will enter its next phase. Commentators see a year of transition and upheaval on several fronts ahead.

Leading politicians at home and abroad have lambasted Trump's decision to withdraw US troops from Syria. There are currently around 2,000 US soldiers stationed in the war-torn country. Many commentators fear the move will give the IS terror organisation a boost and shift the balance of power in the country.

Both the EU Commission and the British government are preparing for a scenario in which Britain leaves the bloc without an agreement. The EU's plans deal among other things with air traffic and the movement of goods and person. London is mobilising soldiers to monitor the flow of imports and exports in an emergency situation. How dangerous is a no-deal Brexit?

The prize-winning German journalist Claas Relotius has admitted that he committed systematic fraud in his reportages. Many of the scenes, persons and conversations in his pieces were simply invented, he has confessed. The news magazine Der Spiegel, where Relotius worked as an editor, has made the case public. Europe's journalists voice concern about the news industry's reputation in these times when accusations of fake news are rife.