Despite protests by the ruling AKP party, Turkey's electoral authority has officially declared that Ekrem İmamoğlu of the opposition CHP is mayor of Istanbul. İmamoğlu won the mayoral election at the end of March by a razor-thin majority, ahead of AKP candidate Binali Yıldırım. Erdoğan's party has called for a rerun of the vote. Not a good idea, commentators are convinced.

Greta Thunberg presented the pope with an invitation to take part in the climate strike during his general audience on St. Peter's Square on Wednesday. Francis encouraged the activist to continue her fight against climate change. While some commentators are delighted, others make fun of the meeting.

The Ecole Nationale d'Administration (Ena) is the elite university where France's top officials are trained. President Macron now wants to close the school down, apparently in reaction to the yellow vest protests, according to a text for a televised speech Macron was to give on Monday evening that was dropped due to the Notre-Dame blaze. Commentators are dismayed.

Campaigns for the European Parliament elections at the end of May are launching across Europe. Forecasts see the Eurosceptics making gains while the established parties lose a substantial number of seats. Whether the British will take part is still unclear. Commentators express their wishes - and ideas for codes of conduct - to politicians and voters alike.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has had two paintings by the German expressionist Emil Nolde removed from her office. Labelled a "degenerate artist" by the Nazis, Nolde himself was an anti-Semite, a racist and a staunch National Socialist. Should the works of such artists be put on display?

Fuel-tanker drivers in Portugal have been on strike since Monday and shortly before Easter fuel supplies are running low, with long queues at petrol stations. The government in Lisbon has declared an energy crisis and suspended public transport in many cities. Commentators are unhappy with the authorities' reaction.

French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged in a televised speech that the sections of Notre-Dame damaged by the fire will be rebuilt within five years. Within a short time days French billionaires and others donated 700 million euros for the reconstruction. Some commentators find this sudden wave of generosity distasteful, while others praise it.

Notre-Dame de Paris, one of France's most famous pieces of architecture built more than 800 years ago, has been severely damaged in a fire that broke out on Monday evening. An accident during renovation work is thought to have caused the fire. Commentators examine the symbolism.

After the EU Parliament the European Council has also approved the copyright reform obliging online platforms to prevent the uploading of copyrighted content by a narrow margin. There were mass demonstrations against the reform in several cities, driven by fears that it will promote censorship and restrict Internet freedom. Commentators voice their dismay at the result of the vote.

Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky and incumbent Poroshenko will vie for Ukraine's presidency in the second round of voting on Sunday. Zelensky won the first round with roughly 30 percent of the vote, while Poroshenko trailed behind with around 16 percent. Does Poroshenko still have any chance of turning the tide?

Moviemaker Costa-Gavras is currently filming the book by Yanis Varoufakis in which the former Greek finance minister describes the negotiations with international financiers during the first six months after the Syriza government came to power. The fact that the Greek-born filmmaker, who has lived in France since the 1950s, is getting money from Athens for the project is highly controversial among the country's media.

Finland's Social Democrats have won the parliamentary elections, edging out the right-wing populists and the conservatives in their first election victory since 1999. Prime Minister Sipilä's Centre Party suffered significant losses. Commentators shed light on the success of the right.