There were reports that the Polish foreign minister has proposed a five-year time limit on the Irish backstop. In theory, this could boost the chances of a Brexit bill getting through Parliament, but it would certainly require more support from other EU27 countries. As far as it is known, Poland is still the only country to have openly questioned the backstop formulation in the past too.
Over the weekend, there were violent protests in Athens as thousands rallied against the proposal to rename Macedonia as the Republic of North Macedonia. For many Greeks, Macedonia is the name for the north of their country, so the name change gives implied claims to Greek land and cultural heritage. Surveys show that around 70% of Greeks are opposed to the agreement and it could yet be another crisis facing the government.
It is a fairly big day for the eurozone today, with the ZEW economic sentiment indices from Germany and the eurozone. In Germany, the reading is expected to have dipped even further, to cement what has been a worrying time for the economic data from the eurozone’s largest economy.
