Eurotopics.net

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has assumed responsibility for the CDU's disappointing performance in the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state elections. "Of course it is partly the result of the refugee policy," she said. Commentators discuss how Merkel will react and believe she may be able to make history even against the will of her own party.

The negotiations aimed at reunifying Cyprus are entering a crucial phase. The leaders of the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots hope to resolve their disputes in the areas of trade and EU relations by mid-September. Commentators on both sides take a sceptical view of the talks.

In the final declaration of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou the heads of the world's leading industrial nations promise an action plan for boosting the global economy. Some commentators are disappointed with the results of the summit. For others it marks the beginning of the end for the austerity policy mainly applied in the EU.

The Paralympic Games open in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. More than 4,000 athletes with disabilities will take part. Commentators see the games as proof that inclusion works in sports if not elsewhere, and call for the disabled to be treated like everyone else in sports and daily life alike.

Exactly one year ago German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the decision to allow the refugees stuck at Budapest's Keleti train station to travel on to Germany. Following this move, refugee numbers rose substantially. Merkel underpinned her policy with the phrase "We can do it". Europe's press is still deeply divided about the repercussions.

At almost 24 percent Greece's unemployment rate remains the highest in the EU, the European statistics agency Eurostat reported on Thursday. According to a new IMF study there is little hope of these figures improving substantially in the decades to come. While some Greek commentators see the situation as hopeless others call on those seeking jobs to adjust to market requirements.

Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi is facing a crisis of government: close confidants in the city council as well as the managers of the rapid transit and waste disposal systems resigned on Thursday. The new mayor, who was swept into office last June with the electoral breakthrough of the Movimento Cinque Stelle, has been overwhelmed by the demands put on her by the former protest movement, commentators believe, noting that the party has now lost its allure.