The four-party coalition government in The Hague has collapsed. Geert Wilders' right-wing populist PVV had presented plans for a significant tightening of the asylum laws last week and made the party's continued participation conditional on their acceptance, but the three other coalition partners rejected the ultimatum. After a crisis meeting on Tuesday, the PVV recalled its ministers and Prime Minister Dick Schoof resigned. Europe's press takes stock and looks ahead.
The Greek government has announced plans to tighten the immigration laws. Illegal residence in the country is to be punishable with up to five years in prison and the maximum period of detention pending deportation will increase from 18 to 24 months. In addition, previous provisions which gave irregular immigrants the chance to obtain a residence permit after seven years in the country, is to be abolished.
Following Karol Nawrocki's victory in Poland's presidential runoff, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced a confidence vote for 11 June. Nawrocki, who was backed by the right-wing conservative PiS party, only narrowly defeated Rafał Trzaskowski, the candidate of the liberal-conservative government camp, securing 50.9 percent against Trzaskowski's 49.1 percent. Commentators stress the European dimension of the result.
In its 'Operation Spider's Web', Ukraine attacked five military airfields in Russia with drones launched from trucks on Sunday. According to its own reports a total of 41 aircraft were destroyed. Video footage has so far shown twelve long-range bombers in the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions that had either been completely destroyed or damaged. The media discuss the impact of the attack.
According to European Commission statistics, tobacco and nicotine consumption is the biggest preventable health risk and the leading cause of premature deaths. Member states are being called upon to expand smoke-free zones and ban new products that appeal to young consumers. Europe's media take a closer look at national strategies.
The Romanian Constitutional Court has ordered a relaxation of regulations on financial transparency for public officials. Politicians and civil servants are currently required to publish details of their assets - both their own and those of direct relatives. Under the new ruling the legal provisions must be amended to stipulate that the data must be submitted to the ANI inspection body, but not made public, and information about relatives' assets will no longer required.
Scandal-plagued tech multibillionaire Elon Musk is leaving politics. His role as head of the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, which was tasked with streamlining the state apparatus and cutting government costs, was limited by law to 130 days. Prior to his exit his initially close relationship with Trump had already visibly cooled in recent weeks and his electric car company Tesla had also run into difficulties due to a slump in sales.
After millions of tonnes of rocks and rubble broke off from the unstable Kleines Nesthorn mountain above, large parts of the Birch glacier in the Swiss canton of Valais collapsed and almost completely wiped out the village of Blatten in the valley below. Thanks to early warnings by experts, the village's 300 inhabitants and their livestock had been evacuated a few days before.
The Russian government has proposed resuming negotiations on a ceasefire in Istanbul on Monday and said it will set out its terms in a memorandum. Meanwhile, at a meeting in Berlin on Wednesday German Chancellor Friedrich Merz assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Germany would provide five billion euros in military aid.
Since he was first sworn in, US President Donald Trump has caused a stir on an almost daily basis with new announcements of extreme measures in politics and the economy. Many of them - including major tariff hikes - have been cancelled or postponed a few days after being announced. Others, such as mass redundancies or deportations, have been put on hold by the courts. Europe's press takes stock of this erratic style of government.
Romania's new president, Nicușor Dan, has held initial consultations with the parties represented in parliament, with particular focus on the country's large budget deficit and the formation of a new government. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party resigned after his coalition's presidential candidate, Crin Antonescu, came third in the first round of the elections.