  European Parliament election 2019

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini wants to forge a right-wing alliance in the EU Parliament after the European elections. At a news conference on Monday he presented the European Alliance of Peoples and Nations in Milan. At his side were the leaders of the German party AfD, the Finns Party and the Danish People's Party. Commentators explain why they doubt the plan will succeed.

The campaigns for the European Parliament elections are heating up. Parties are presenting their candidates and publishing their programmes. Forecasts see the Eurosceptics making gains and the established parties losing a substantial number of seats. Whether the British will take part is still unclear. Most commentators focus on their own countries, but some look further afield.

Signs are growing that Orbán's Fidesz party will be expelled from the EPP after he refused EPP leader Manfred Weber's demand for an apology for anti-European statements and an anti-Brussels poster campaign. The EPP is to decide Fidesz's fate on 20 March. Hungarian commentators discuss the possibility of Fidesz choosing to leave the EPP of its own accord.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a fresh start for Europe, with member states working together more closely on matters of security, trade and social policy. His guest commentary appeared in leading newspapers across all 28 EU member states. The opinion pages are reverberating - with both positive and negative responses.

In the shadow of the Brexit and with nationalist parties on the rise many observers are predicting that the European elections at the end of May will make or break the EU. Commentators point out that ethnic minorities in particular should be paying close attention to the vote and note that at least one nationalist hasn't been able to hijack the election campaign.

Thirty intellectuals and writers from all over Europe have published an appeal to Europeans urging them to resist the populists who want to destroy the EU. The European elections could be calamitous if a majority fails to fight back against the populists, they warn. We present an excerpt from the manifesto and the debate it has triggered.

Five months before the European elections observers are predicting heavy losses for the major groups in the European Parliament. They see the Liberals and Greens growing stronger but the conservatives and social democrats in trouble due to pressure from far-right parties. Commentators are at odds about the extent to which this could change Europe's politics.

The two major far-right parties in Italy and France have started their joint campaign for the European elections. Salvini and Le Pen announced in Rome that they would seek to establish a "Europe of nations" after the May vote. While some commentators see the end of the EU approaching, others say the right-wing populists' promises are doomed to fail.

Commentators have long been predicting that the European elections in May will be decisive for Europe's future - not least because the right-wing populists are forming alliances and the hard-right US strategist Steve Bannon has joined the fray with his organisation The Movement. Commentators discuss the populists' appeal and chances of success.

Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon announced at the conference of the nationalist Fratelli d'Italia in Rome that he plans to spend most of the next few months in Europe helping far-right parties with their campaign for the European elections. On Sunday he met Czech President Milos Zeman. Commentators explain why they believe his project will fail and how the EU needs to reinvent itself.

After the summer break political life has resumed in the EU and is dominated by the elections to the European Parliament next May. The haggling over the top EU posts has begun, and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is pressing ahead with plans to abolish daylight saving time. Commentators observe how two opposing camps are positioning themselves for battle.

CSU European politician Manfred Weber has announced that he will run for the post of EU Commission president after the European elections in 2019. The EPP will decide on November 8 whether it will name Weber, its current parliamentary group leader, as lead candidate. Europe's media are already weighing up the pros and cons of Weber becoming EU Commission President.

The groundwork is being laid and candidates are being selected across Europe for the European Parliament elections 2019. Not just since the announcement by US right-wing extremist Steve Bannon that he would support Europe's right-wing populists have fears been mounting that illiberal parties will make major gains. Journalists discuss what can be done to counter this trend.

Migration is to be the key topic of the European elections and the "1968 elite" must be voted out of office: these were the demands put forward by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the annual Tusványos Festival celebrated by Romania's Hungarian minority. Commentators are at odds about how seriously Orbán's words should be taken.

US President Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon wants to support European right-wing populists with his foundation "The Movement" in a bid to instigate a "right-wing populist revolt" in the run-up to the European elections, according to media reports. How dangerous are his plans for Europe?