Eurotopics.net

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and all Greece announced on Tuesday the separation of church and state in the country. Around 10,000 priests and Church employees will be taken off the state payroll. Although the agreement claims to put an end to a prolonged dispute, Greek commentators are not satisfied.

In the US midterm elections the Democrats have won a majority in the House of Representatives. The Republicans, for their part, have gained seats in the Senate. Journalists wonder how enduring this victory for the Democrats will be and whether it will give US politics a new dynamic.

The US unveiled a blueprint last week for new peace talks on the Yemeni civil war. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for all the warring parties to gather round a table by the end of the month. Observers analyse the chances of this initiative being successful and the motives behind it.

Hundreds of refugees are stuck at the EU border between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Police are preventing them from entering the EU. A debate has broken out in Croatia about how to deal with refugees, with one local politician calling for the use of barbed wire and machine guns. For commentators from Croatia the reaction is out of all proportion to the threat.

Spain's Supreme Court has ruled that the stamp tax due on mortgages must be paid by the client and not the bank, overturning its decision of just two and a half weeks ago in the clients' favour, which had caused bank shares to plunge. According to Spain's press, the court ruling has inflicted major damage.