Countries across Europe are reporting record-breaking temperatures day after day this summer. Many are experiencing extreme droughts, with water levels in rivers and lakes at record lows and wildfires causing mass evacuations. Yet a review of the opinion sections shows that not all voices are pessimistic.
In the wake of the Ceuta crisis, migration policy is once again at the top of the agenda among Europe's political leaders. The prime ministers of Italy and Denmark, Giorgia Meloni and Mette Frederiksen, have now issued a joint statement warning of the consequences of uncontrolled migration and calling for a tougher stance. At the same time, however, Europe's media point to new rifts over how to deal with migrants.
Russia's Supreme Court has barred the Yabloko party from standing in September's parliamentary elections, on the grounds of alleged breaches of electoral law. Yabloko is pushing for an immediate end to Russia's war against Ukraine. Many opposition figures recently called on the population to vote for the party, which has not had a parliamentary group in the Duma since 2003.
Amid ongoing tensions in the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a defence pact in Mecca on Friday. An armed attack on any of the member states would be regarded as an attack on all, according to statements. Following the signing of the document, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended Friday prayers together.
Spain and Italy have imposed border controls on each other's air and sea traffic. Initially, Rome had suspended free movement with Spain for one month in reaction to the influx of migrants into Ceuta – even though the African exclave is not part of the Schengen Area. Madrid then issued an ultimatum demanding that the decision be reversed, but because Italy has not backed down, Spain has now also introduced controls on its side.
The Tisza party has nominated András Baka for the post of president of Hungary after ending the term of office of Tamás Sulyok – who had close ties to Fidesz – through a constitutional amendment. Baka was formerly a judge at the European Court of Human Rights. He was elected president of the Hungarian Supreme Court in 2009, but Fidesz removed him from office in 2011 with a constitutional amendment. Baka's election in parliament is scheduled for Tuesday.
The Irish government is launching a campaign aimed at alerting young women about the harmful messaging of the conservative tradwife trend, which is spreading on social media and promotes the ideal of women taking sole responsibility for housework and childrearing. Irish media criticise that the campaign fails to tackle the real problem.
A drone carrying explosives was discovered at Leipzig airport on Tuesday. It was located near a large cargo aircraft belonging to Ukraine's Antonov Airlines, which since 2022 has been using the German airport instead of Kyiv as its hub. Europe's media discuss Russia as the main suspect and assess the seriousness of the threat.
With little movement on the front lines in Ukraine, both sides are focusing their efforts on air strikes: Ukraine has decimated capacities at oil refineries in Russia with its drone attacks, dealing a severe blow to online retail and paralysing shipping traffic along the southern coast. Meanwhile, Moscow has launched massive missile strikes in Ukrainian cities: on Wednesday 17 people were killed in attacks on logistics centres in the Kyiv area.
In the Democratic primaries in the US state of Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, a representative of the party's more progressive wing, has won against the more moderate Haley Stevens. El-Sayed will now stand as the Democratic candidate for the Senate in the mid-term elections this autumn. Europe's press identifies a trend.
In a video conference to discuss the migrant crisis in Ceuta, the EU interior ministers have made a show of support for Spain. "The EU is united and stands ready to support Spain", concluded Ireland's Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O'Callaghan, who chaired the meeting. Following last week's surge of more than 70,000 migrants into the Spanish exclave in North Africa, 22 EU member states led by Italy and Denmark had initially harshly criticised Madrid over the incident.