Labour leader Keir Starmer has won a landslide victory in the UK general elections with his promise of "change". Labour won a large majority in the House of Commons with 412 of the 650 seats, while the Tories suffered heavy losses and now have just 121 seats. Commentators wonder what exactly the promised change can and should entail.
Turkey is rejoicing after its national team qualified for the quarter-finals in the Euro 24 football tournament for the first time since 2008 with a 2:1 victory against Austria. However Merih Demiral, who scored the country's two goals in the game, is facing a ban for making a "wolf" salute, which is linked to the right-wing extremist Grey Wolves youth group, after he scored his second goal. Is this justified?
In the first round of the parliamentary elections in France, the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and its allies emerged as the strongest force. Ahead of the second round of voting on Sunday, the leftist alliance Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP), which came second, and the third-placed Macronist camp have withdrawn more than 200 candidates in total in order to boost each other's chances against the RN.
Hungarian Prime Minister and current EU Council President Viktor Orbán visited Ukraine for the first time in more than a decade this week. In a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky he proposed a quick ceasefire as a basis for peace negotiations, urging the Ukrainian leader to rethink his demand that Russian troops withdraw before talks can begin. Commentators see this as a calculated move.
After the electoral victory of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in the first round of the parliamentary election in France, European commentators look at the potential consequences outside France. Are fundamental EU values and strategies under threat? Are the common economic policy, Western orientation and support for Ukraine at stake?
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has received German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Warsaw. At the first German-Polish government consultations since Tusk's centre-left alliance replaced the right-wing conservative government, both sides stressed their commitment to closer cooperation, particularly on security policy. But on the contentious topic of war reparations both leaders remained vague.
In the Netherlands, the new right-wing government of the four-party coalition comprising the right-wing populist PVV, the conservative VVD, the centrist NSC and the protest party BBB was sworn in on Tuesday. It will be headed by the non-aligned former civil servant Dick Schoof, with ministerial posts going to right-wing populists for the first time. Commentators express a sense of foreboding.
Hungary took over the rotating EU Council presidency on 1 July. The Hungarian government's much-criticised stance vis-à-vis EU decision-making, particularly with regard to the war in Ukraine, has been raising doubts about the country's suitability for this role. The discussion continues in Europe's press. All commentaries were published before it emerged on Tuesday morning that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had travelled to Kyiv for a surprise visit.
The US Supreme Court has handed down its judgement on the extent to which former presidents are protected from criminal prosecution. According to this judgement immunity applies to official acts, at least. Decided by six votes to three, this was a victory for the ultra-conservative justices on the jury. Europe's press discusses the implications for the cases pending against ex-president Donald Trump.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Fidesz), FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl from Austria and former Czech head of government Andrej Babiš (ANO) met in Vienna on Sunday to adopt a "patriotic manifesto" for the future of Europe. They said they aim to lay the foundations for a new right-wing group in the European Parliament. At least 23 MEPs from no fewer than seven member states are required to form a political group.
In the first round of the presidential elections in Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, the only candidate from the more moderate camp, won 42.5 percent of the votes. Hardliner Saeed Jalili came second with around 38.7 percent. The outcome will be decided in a second round on 5 July. The former president Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May. Europe's press assesses the situation.