The new right-wing four-party coalition in the Netherlands has announced plans to introduce "the strictest asylum law ever". For farmers, however, there will be fewer environmental regulations under the new government programme. The coalition agreement is proof that many things will change, the leader of the right-wing populist PVV, Geert Wilders, stressed. Commentators discuss the wider implications.
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and seriously injured on Wednesday, remains in a critical condition. Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj has appealed to politicians, the media and the public to stop "to stop piling attacks, expressions of hate, on social networks, in the media, which are aimed at this or that political camp,". The pro-European outgoing president Zuzana Čaputová and her successor Peter Pellegrini, who is close to Fico, made a show of unity in a joint appearance on television. Commentators see the polarised situation in the country as a breeding ground for such crimes.
The race for Lithuania's presidency will be decided in a run-off election between incumbent Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė. In the first round on Sunday the two candidates prevailed against the pro-Russian candidate Eduard Vaitkus, Remigijus Žemaitaitis - who has attracted attention with anti-Semitic remarks - and the right-wing populist Ignas Vėgėlė, among others. What are the implications for this EU member state with a population of just under three million?
Despite ongoing mass protests, the Georgian parliament has passed a bill on "foreign influence" in its third and final reading. Under the new legislation media outlets and NGOs that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad will be deemed to be "pursuing the interests of foreign powers" and subject to close monitoring by state agencies. The media see Georgia caught in the web of tensions between Russia and Europe.
Protests have escalated in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia and there have now been deaths, fires and looting. The protests erupted over plans for constitutional changes under which Paris would grant thousands of French residents who moved to the islands and have lived there for at least ten years the right to vote in regional elections. The indigenous Kanak people see this as a threat to their political influence.
Following the victory of the right-wing conservative VMRO-DPMNE in the parliamentary and presidential elections in North Macedonia, the country's new president Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova has reignited the old name dispute. When taking the oath of office she used the old name Macedonia rather than North Macedonia, which has been the country's official name since the signing of an agreement with Greece. Commentators call for a cool-headed approach.
According to a report by the Swedish television channel TV4, the Sweden Democrats (SD) are using anonymous social media accounts to stir up anger against the government and political opponents. In a pact known as the Tidö Agreement, the SD had pledged to cooperate with the governing parties. The SD is not part of the minority government but tolerates it.
The Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia has confirmed the ruling of a lower court and maintained the categorisation of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as a suspected right-wing extremist organisation. This status allows the Office for the Protection of the Constitution to continue to use intelligence resources to monitor the AfD across Germany. Although the judgment is not yet legally binding it has reignited the debate on banning the party.
At this year's Eurovision Song Contest the musical contributions attracted less attention that the protests against Israel's participation, on stage, among the audience and outside the Malmö Arena where the event took place. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) had emphasised once again that political content is prohibited at the event.
The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC) has won the regional elections in Catalonia, ending the absolute majority of separatist parties in the region: the previous ruling party ERC has slipped to third place, behind Carles Puigdemont's Junts per Catalunya. Commentators look at the reasons and discuss whether PSC leader Salvador Illa - like Pedro Sánchez in Madrid - should cooperate with the separatists to form a government.
As his fifth term as head of state begins, President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who had been in the post since 2012, and appointed First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov in his place. The press sheds light on why the Kremlin is entrusting its army to a civilian business professional in the middle of the Ukraine war.
