In response to US President Donald Trump's comment that it was time for elections in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the country is ready to hold elections if the United States and Europe can guarantee its security. Commentators examine the prospects for a fair vote – and see the ball in Trump's court now.
Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have escalated again after the US military seized the fully loaded oil tanker Skipper off the coast of the South American country on Wednesday. Washington said the Venezuelan tanker was being used illegally to transport "sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran". The regime of Nicolás Maduro has accused the US of committing an act of "international piracy".
Greece's finance minister, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, has been elected as the new head of the Eurogroup for the next two and a half years. This informal council of economic and finance ministers from the 20 countries of the Eurozone meets once a month to coordinate economic and financial policy. The Greek press sees the nomination as a major success.
In Lithuania, proposed amendments to the laws governing public broadcaster LRT have sparked major concerns about press freedom. Introduced in parliament by the right-wing populist ruling party Nemuno Aušra, the amendments aim, among other things, to ease the dismissal of LRT's Director General. Critics warn that this could weaken the broadcaster's editorial independence and facilitate political interference.
Donald Trump has reiterated the criticism of Europe recently expressed in the US National Security Strategy. In an interview with Politico, he said that Europe's top politicians were too "weak" and too "politically correct", and that their efforts to control migration and end the war in Ukraine had failed. European commentators make suggestions as to how the bloc should position itself.
In the battle over the 2026 budget, the French government under Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has taken a major step forward: thanks to a compromise with the Socialists and despite abstentions within its own camp, the National Assembly has passed the 'social security budget', which makes up the bulk of the overall budget, by a narrow majority. Europe's press nonetheless warns that not all hurdles have been cleared yet.
At an informal meeting of Council of Europe ministers, steps were taken that could lead to changes in the migration provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, which was adopted in 1950. Initially proposed by Denmark and Italy, the "recalibration" aims to give states more leeway on border controls, deportations and measures against human smuggling.
So far, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands have announced that they are boycotting the 70th European Song Contest in Vienna. The cause of contention for the broadcasters is Israel's participation, as the country faces criticism for its actions in the Gaza war. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided last week that all member broadcasters wishing to do so may take part in the competition.
At a meeting in London on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed how to proceed on the war in Ukraine. The 28-point peace plan presented by the US was shortened to exclude positions that were 'anti-Ukrainian' (Zelensky) and now comprises 20 points. Once the details have been ironed out, the plan will be sent to Washington.
On Friday, it seemed to be a done deal: Netflix and Warner Bros. jointly announced that the streaming giant would be taking over the media and film company for around 71.3 billion euros. But in addition to the competition watchdogs, whose approval is still pending, US President Donald Trump also voiced criticism of the takeover. Shortly afterwards, film production company Paramount submitted an offer of around 93 billion euros.