Federica Mogherini, former EU foreign affairs representative and current head of the College of Europe in Bruges, has been been formally accused of corruption. The European Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating Mogherini, her deputy and EU official Stefano Sannino over alleged secret agreements relating to an EU-funded degree programme at the elite university. Commentators inquire into the causes and consequences.
US emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner spent five hours on Monday trying to negotiate a peace deal with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, agreement was reached only 'on a few points', and Washington and Moscow 'still have a lot of work to do'. Both sides agreed to keep quiet about the results of the negotiations. Europe's media see this as treading water.
The presidents of the four Visegrad states – Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland – met in Esztergom, Hungary, on Wednesday. But Poland's right-wing conservative head of state Karol Nawrocki cancelled a planned meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after Orbán visited Putin in Moscow last week.
France's President Emmanuel Macron has launched a campaign against fake news. He plans to build on the idea of Reporters Without Borders and label media as reliable or unreliable in order to stem the spread of disinformation. His critics accuse him of wanting to control the media and of curbing the freedom of the press. Macron insists that independent experts would award the certificate, not the state.
The EU Commission looks likely to backtrack on its plans to ban the combustion engine in 2035: in an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper, Sustainable Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas has declared himself "open to all technologies". Previously German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote a letter to Brussels asking it to continue to allow "highly efficient" combustion vehicles in addition to hybrid cars.
A breakthrough in the negotiations on the war in Ukraine seems a long way off. In the Black Sea, for the first time, Ukraine attacked oil tankers heading for Russia. Military and security issues are high on the agenda in every country – and Putin is making insinuations about a war with Europe. Is the continent on the verge of an even bigger conflict? The media assess the situation.
A key position has become vacant in Ukraine following Andriy Yermak's resignation. Zelensky's chief of staff stepped down after six years in office in connection with the corruption scandal in the Ukrainian energy sector. His home was searched, but no charges have been brought against him so far. The media assess what the development means for the country and the negotiation process.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sent a letter via his lawyer to President Isaac Herzog asking for a pardon. In 2019 Netanyahu was charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust - and of having received luxury gifts to the value of 174,000 euros, including jewellery, cigars and champagne. He recently claimed that pardoning him would promote the "reconciliation our country so desperately needs".
The shuttle diplomacy aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine is gathering pace: representatives from the US and Ukraine met in Florida over the weekend to discuss changes to President Donald Trump's peace plan. Meanwhile, US negotiator Steve Witkoff is set to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today, Tuesday. Commentators ask where things will go from here.
The 17th German-Polish intergovernmental consultations took place in Berlin on Monday. Key agenda points were military collaboration, cross-border transport infrastructure and the politics of memory. Germany also returned cultural assets to Poland that were stolen during World War II. The media in both countries are trying to fathom why the relationship has still not really warmed.
Last week and again on Monday, tens of thousands took the streets in Bulgaria. The demonstrations, the largest in years, are in protest at the government's draft budget for 2026, which proposes a hike in taxes and social security contributions. Corruption allegations are also in the air. Riots have broken out in Sofia, and demonstrators have clashed with the police.
As part of his first foreign tour since his election as Pope, Leo XIV paid a three-day visit to Turkey. His visit coincides with the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, at which the foundations for the ecumenical creed were laid. Leo XIV also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom he praised for his peace efforts in the Middle East and Ukraine.