Eurotopics.net

The Hungarian government has presented a proposal to place a large cross at the base of the Liberty Statue on top of Gellért Hill in Budapest. The statue is visible from almost every location in the city and one of its most prominent landmarks. Commentators' views on the proposal diverge.

Kamala Harris presented her economic policy programme on Friday. In addition to supporting families and tax incentives for housing construction, she is focusing her campaign on combating inflation. She intends to legislate against excessive price increases for food and medicines. According to opinion polls, such interventions are popular with voters, but European media regard them as controversial.

As the budget belt is cinched in Germany, a debate has flared up in the country over military aid to Ukraine. According to a newspaper report, only previously approved aid for Kyiv will be made available and no new funding will be authorised. Funds from frozen Russian assets will be used instead. Commentators are sceptical.

In Serbia, there are once again demonstrations against the resumption of a major lithium extraction project in the Jadar Valley. In July, the Vučić government and the EU signed an agreement aimed at making Europe less dependent on Chinese battery production. However, there are fears of severe environmental damage in the region.