Eurotopics.net

With her appearance in Katowice Greta Thunberg has garnered worldwide attention for her environmental commitment. The 15-year-old went on strike in the summer. Instead of attending school she has called on the parliament in Stockholm to stop climate change. Greta's activities are provoking strange reactions, Sweden's press reports.

The Central European University (CEU), established by George Soros, will move a large part of its campus from Budapest to Vienna in the coming academic year. A new law prohibits the private university from awarding US diplomas. The Orbán government has also refused to sign an agreement with the State of New York that would have made it possible for the university to continue operating in the Hungarian capital.

Andalusia was a Socialist stronghold, but Sunday's elections saw Prime Minister Sánchez's PSOE lose a considerable proportion of the vote and Vox become the first far-right party to gain seats in a Spanish parliament since the end of the France era. Commentators discuss how Vox is luring voters disappointed by the established parties.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has opened the Climate Change Conference with an urgent appeal. Climate change is 'a matter of life and death' for entire countries, he said on Monday in Katowice. Delegates from 197 countries will discuss how to implement the Paris Agreement and other issues until December 14. Europe's commentators second Guterres's appeal.

French President Macron is apparently back-pedalling in the wake of the violence during protests by the yellow vests on the weekend. Government sources indicate that the hike in the environmental tax on diesel and petrol will not come into effect. Journalists seek to explain why the people of France are so angry.