European Union

Just days after the defeat of Marine Le Pen in the French presidential elections, her niece Marion Maréchal-Le Pen has announced that she is quitting politics for the time being. The 27-year-old is considered to be on the extreme wing of the far-right Front National and has regularly clashed with her aunt in the past. What does her withdrawal mean for the party?

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday gave a green light for more weapons to be delivered to the Syrian Kurdish YPG, which is widely seen as the key force in the fight for the IS stronghold Raqqa. Ankara has protested against US support for the fighters, who have close ties with the PKK. Turkey is being further sidelined in the region, some commentators believe, while pro-government Turkish media criticise the US for supporting terrorists.

A citizens' initiative calling for a ban on gay marriage is on the verge of success: on Wednesday one of the two chambers of the Romanian parliament approved by a large majority the call for a referendum on amending the constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The other chamber has yet to give its approval. The Romanian press is as divided over the issue as the people themselves.

Austria's conservative Vice Chanceller Reinhold Mitterlehner has resigned. The social democratic Chancellor Christian Kern has said he wants continue the coalition with the conservatives but a snap election has become increasingly likely. Commentators see the resignation as the result of a power struggle from which above all Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz stands to benefit. But Kurz shouldn't rejoice too soon, others warn.

Three sisters have perished in a presumed arson attack on a Roma family in Rome. They lived together with their parents and eight other siblings in a caravan parked outside a shopping centre. Italy's press is shocked and calls for urgent action in view of the moral decay in the capital and the failed integration of minorities.

An adviser at the EU’s top court had the first go at trying to define Uber and came up with a simple answer to what is a complex question: in short, Uber should be treated as a transport company.

The reasoning is clear and thoughtful. The full opinion can be read here in French. The edited highlights, in English, are below.

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