Ursula von der Leyen must face a vote of no confidence in the European Parliament on Thursday. She is being accused by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea of the right-wing ECR faction and 76 co-signatories of a lack of transparency and of mismanagement in her handling of Covid policy. They cite in particular her failure to comply with a court ruling that she release a chain of text messages with the boss of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer ahead of a multi-billion-euro vaccine deal.

More than a year after the attempted assassination of Prime Minister Robert Fico, the trial began on Tuesday of his alleged attacker. After a government meeting in May 2024, Fico was shot and badly injured by a 72-year-old pensioner. The defendant admitted firing the shots, but denied intent to kill. Commentators shed light on the political context.

Numerous countries in Europe have sinking birthrates. In Sweden, for example, where the average was 1.43 children per woman in 2024, it is lower than ever. The government has set up a public inquiry to look into the causes. Commentators also are debating the reasons and fundamental questions about the demographic situation.

In the trade dispute between the US and the EU, President Donald Trump has delayed the introduction of higher tariffs from 9 July to 1 August. A spokesperson for EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that negotiations on a tariff deal were "entering the final phase". Numerous other countries have already received letters from Trump announcing tariffs of 25 to 40 percent on their export goods as of August.

Russia's Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was fired from his post on Monday without explanation. A few hours later he was found shot dead in his car. Investigations into his death are still underway but the authorities are treating it as suicide. Commentators link the incident with the incursion of Ukrainian troops into Russia's Kursk region in 2024, where Starovoit had been governor since 2019.

Poland introduced random checks at its borders with Germany and Lithuania on Monday, in a bid to curb irregular migration. Vehicles with several occupants will be the main target. However, Polish Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak has declared his willingness to waive the checks if Germany lifts its new border controls. Commentators debate the motives and consequences.