A bill to liberalise Poland's abortion law - one of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's key election promises - has failed in parliament: 215 deputies voted in favour and 218 against, with two abstentions and 23 absences. The governing coalition of liberals, moderates, conservatives and leftists is split over the legislation. Tuesday saw angry protests by the Women's Strike movement in front of the Sejm.
The German Ministry of the Interior has banned the Islamic Centre Hamburg (IZH) mosque association on the grounds the organisation pursues anti-constitutional goals and spreads aggressive antisemitism and the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Tehran summoned the German ambassador to Iran over the issue. Is the ban long overdue?
Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to be officially nominated as the Democratic candidate after Joe Biden's withdrawal from the US presidential campaign, but for many prominent party colleagues and Democratic voters, as well as Europe's press, this is a mere formality. Her chances against Trump and above all her record as former attorney general of California are now the subject of heated debate.
After the boycott of the Hungarian Council Presidency announced by the EU Commission and several northern European countries, EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell has also stripped Hungary of its role as host of an EU foreign ministers meeting planned for August in Budapest and invited the ministers to Brussels instead. The controversy triggered by the decision - which was opposed by several countries including Germany, Spain and Luxembourg - is reflected in Europe's press.
Following its election victory, the left-wing alliance New Popular Front (NFP) has agreed on Lucie Castets as its candidate for the office of prime minister. Castets (37) is a civil servant and economist. President Emmanuel Macron has said that he will not make a decision on the appointment of the prime minister until after the Summer Olympics. The response in the national press is ambivalent.
A new chapter has begun in the long-running debate about language classes in Czech schools. Education Minister Mikuláš Bek wants to make English a compulsory subject from year one and a second foreign language from year six onwards. Up to now English lessons haven't begun until year three, partly due to a lack of teachers.
Europe's most popular holiday destinations are increasingly plagued by hypertourism: between January and April 2024 the number of international flights to Greece increased by 12.3 percent, while the Balearic Islands saw a 9.1 percent increase in tourists in 2023 compared to the previous year. Mass protests have been staged in Tenerife and Mallorca this year over high rents, and Venice is now charging an entry fee. What can be done?
Five members of the Just Stop Oil group have received four- and five-year prison sentences from a London court for their involvement in organising protests which blocked the M25 motorway in 2022. The judge justified this unusually harsh punishment saying that although their cause was just the activists had "crossed the line from concerned campaigner to fanatic". The UN and Greenpeace have criticised the sentences.
A faulty update for the security software CrowdStrike Falcon led to an immense and ongoing international IT outage last Friday. According to initial estimates from Microsoft, around 8.5 million computers crashed worldwide. Thousands of flights were cancelled, banking operations were blocked and hospitals had to postpone surgical interventions. The exact cause is still under investigation but commentators call for consequences.
US President Joe Biden has withdrawn as a candidate in the US presidential election in November: "While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down," the 81-year-old explained. Over the past few weeks the doubts about his candidacy had grown ever louder, even within his own ranks. Europe's press looks at who will take up the baton.
The European Union is set to participate in the mining of lithium in Serbia's Jadar Valley. A corresponding agreement was signed on Friday in the presence of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and EU Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič. The highly coveted light metal is a particularly critical component in electric car batteries. Environmentalists and voices in the press criticise the deal.
An article written by former British prime minister Boris Johnson has sparked debate in Ukraine. In the British tabloid the Daily Mail, Johnson outlined his vision for how Donald Trump could end the Russian war of aggression if he wins the election. According to the plan, Ukraine would be provided with sufficient military resources to restore the 2022 borders - but would have to give up the remaining territories. It would then be allowed to join Nato and the EU.