EU leaders convened for a special summit on Monday to discuss how to finance more spending on defence. Although no agreement was reached on joint European debt, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a generous interpretation of the debt rules. In addition to defence spending, commentators discuss the larger geopolitical issues at stake.

The partners in the four-party governing coalition have agreed on a joint candidate to run in the repeat of the Romanian presidential election in May: Crin Antonescu, a former head of the national-liberal PNL who has been absent from the political scene for the last decade. Commentators assess his chances but are already incensed by his plans to campaign against gay pride parades.

A new government has been formed in Belgium under the leadership of Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever. His N-VA party, which seeks greater autonomy for the Flanders region, has formed a coalition with the liberal MR, the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats. Commentators discuss what lies in store for the country.

Three and a half years passed between the Brexit referendum in June 2016 and its official implementation on 31 January 2020. The UK and the EU have been trying to reorganise their relationship ever since. Five years after the UK's departure, frustration prevails in the commentaries - albeit for very different reasons.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has presented a plan called the "Competitiveness Compass" which aims to boost the European economy's global competitiveness. The strategy is based on the report presented in September by former ECB chief Mario Draghi. "Europe has everything it needs to succeed in the race to the top," von der Leyen said. Not all commentators share her optimism.

A majority of the German Bundestag on Wednesday approved a non-binding motion put forward by the CDU/CSU faction to tighten the country's migration policy, which includes the introduction of permanent border controls. The vote was hotly contested as it passed with the votes of the AfD, which is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist organisation. Europe's press weighs in.