Hungarian security forces stopped two Ukrainian bank vehicles transporting cash from Austria to Ukraine last week. Employees of Ukraine's state-run Oschadbank were temporarily detained and nine gold bars and banknotes worth around 69 million euros were seized. Budapest said it was acting to counter money laundering. Europe's press sees a connection with the dispute over the Druzhba Pipeline and Hungary's election campaign.
After two weeks, there is still no sign of an end to the war in Iran. The US and Israeli airstrikes continue and Tehran is responding with missile and drone attacks on targets in the Arab Gulf states and Israel. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused oil prices to soar worldwide. Commentators puzzle over the US administration's strategy and goals.
For a week now, mobile Internet and public Wi-Fi hotspots in central Moscow have been disrupted. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the outages were due to security requirements. Up to now network shutdowns in the Russian capital were temporary, implemented during major events or when Ukrainian drones were detected in the city's airspace.
Danish chef René Redzepi, co-founder and head chef of Noma in Copenhagen, often ranked as the world's best restaurant, has announced his resignation. The move comes after reports in the New York Times about his violent and demeaning behaviour towards employees over many years. Danish media shine a light on the dark corners of the culinary world.
At a nuclear energy summit near Paris attended by representatives from around 40 countries, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced new financial support for nuclear power projects on Tuesday, describing the nuclear phase-out of recent years as a "strategic mistake". The development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) was also discussed at the meeting. Europe's press is at odds.
The EU has so far failed to reach a common position on the war in Iran. Differences are evident not only between the leaders of individual countries but also among top figures in Brussels. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that the "old world order" no longer existed, only to be contradicted on Tuesday by Council President António Costa, who said that Europe must ensure that we continue to live in a rules-based world.
In response to the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the International Energy Agency (IEA) plans to release strategic oil reserves amounting to 400 million barrels of crude oil. Never before have the agency's 32 member countries taken so much oil from their emergency reserves in a joint action aimed at stabilising the energy market. For the media, the problems are far from over.
There are unclear signals as to how long this should continue: on Monday US President Donald Trump said it would end "very soon", but shortly afterwards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying that they were "not done yet". The air strikes on Iran intensified on Tuesday, and Tehran also continued its attacks on Israel and the Gulf states. Europe's press casts about for realistic exit scenarios.
"Finally, to the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand." US President Donald Trump made this promise to the people of Iran in his speech at the beginning of the Iran War. Following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the regime has appointed his son Mojtaba Khamenei as his successor. Commentators see little to indicate that the mullahs' power base has been weakened.
In Cyprus, popular discontent is growing over the British military presence on the island. Demonstrators held a rally outside the presidential palace in Nicosia on Saturday calling for UK military bases to be closed. The demand comes in the wake of a drone strike from Lebanon on the Akrotiri air base on 1 March. The UK has had two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia since 1960 which are now being used by the US military in the Iran war.
The escalating situation in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz are causing energy prices to skyrocket worldwide. Even after Donald Trump hinted on Monday that the war could end very soon and G7 countries discussed drawing on strategic oil reserves, prices remain well above their level at the end of February. The European press assesses causes, consequences and possible solutions.
Mojtaba Khamenei is to take over as Iran's supreme leader after his father Ali Khamenei was killed in an US-Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military has now threatened to target the successor. US President Donald Trump had declared beforehand that he considered Mojtaba Khamenei to be an "unacceptable" choice, and that any Iranian leader who did not meet with Washington's approval would "not be long in office".