According to a newspaper report, the European Central Bank (ECB) has refused to back plans to help Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. The bank reportedly declined to guarantee the reparations loan for Ukraine, citing possible violations of EU treaties. Belgium also continues to express doubts about the legal certainty of accessing the assets. Commentators examine the reasons behind this and look at alternatives.
US emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner spent five hours on Monday trying to negotiate a peace deal with Vladimir Putin on Ukraine. But according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, there was agreement only on 'some points' and 'a lot of work lies ahead' for Washington and Moscow. US President Donald Trump said his delegation had been left with the impression that Putin was interested in peace. Commentators examine what this might mean for Europe?
The EU is set to ease its labelling requirements for genetically modified foods. Negotiators from the European Parliament and member states have agreed that products where existing genes have been "modified" but no foreign genes have been inserted will no longer require mandatory labelling. What are the ramifications?
The path is now clear for Andrej Babiš to become the Czech Republic's new head of government. President Petr Pavel has agreed to appoint him prime minister on Tuesday, after the multi-billionaire announced that he is transferring his company Agrofert to an independent trust to resolve the existing conflict of interest. Pavel had made this a precondition for the appointment. The Czech press takes stock.
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.
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.