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.
The conflict that has been smouldering for decades in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo is now coming to a head: The rebel group M23, supported by neighbouring Rwanda, has captured Goma and announced that it also intends to "liberate" the capital Kinshasa. UN peacekeepers have been caught in the crossfire, aid programmes had to be halted and 400,000 people have fled. What can the international community do?
Salwan Momika, who was on trial in Sweden for burning the Quran, has been shot dead. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said that there was a risk that 'foreign powers' were behind the killing. Momika was charged with carrying out a series of public Quran burnings in 2023 that led Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei to accuse Sweden of waging a war against the Muslim world.
The Council of Europe's Venice Commission has indirectly issued a warning to Romania following the annulment of its 2024 presidential election. Although the Commission says it does not consider itself responsible for examining this specific case, it recommends that elections only be annulled on the basis of clear, transparent and publicly accessible evidence, and that affected parties be given the opportunity to present their own points of view.
The sale of the 100-hectare former Rákosrendező freight yard by the Hungarian state to the Emirati Eagle Hills Group has led to a conflict between the opposition-led capital and the national government. Also because a company belonging to the municipal authorities has a purchase option on the site - and the city council now wants to exercise it. The national press is also at odds over the megaproject.
Under pressure after months of demonstrations, Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević - considered a close confidant of strongman President Aleksandar Vučić - resigned on Tuesday. Europe's press looks back at the protests that started last November after a newly renovated concrete canopy collapsed at Novi Sad railway station, killing 15 people.
