Ursula von der Leyen will lead the EU Commission for another five years after an absolute majority of 401 MEPs in the European Parliament voted in her favour on Thursday. In her campaign speech, the German CDU politician said that the ban on combustion cars should be softened through the introduction of exceptions for e-fuels and that the bloc's external borders are to be better protected. Europe's press takes stock.
At the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump has been officially nominated as the party's candidate for the presidential election in November, with J. D. Vance as his vice-presidential running mate. Vance currently represents Ohio in the Senate and is known to many as the author of the bestselling autobiography Hillbilly Elegy. Europe's press comments.
Keir Starmer, the new British Prime Minister, has spoken out in favour of closer ties with the EU at the European Political Community (EPC) summit at Blenheim Palace. He declared his commitment to renewing the bonds of trust and friendship that hold together the fabric of European life. Some commentators approve while others react with frustration.
Aemet, the Spanish state meteorological agency, has forecast the first heatwave of the year for the end of this week. Highs of up to 44 degrees are expected in Andalusia. The entire Iberian peninsula is affected, with the exception of the north and north-west. The Spanish press voices concern about the impact and demands action.
The European Parliament will vote on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's bid for a second term this Thursday. To secure re-election she needs an absolute majority of votes from the 720 MEPs. As the Parliament gets ready to vote, eurotopics takes a look at a selection of commentaries in the European press.
The EU Commission and several northern European countries are reacting to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's unilateral moves in the area of foreign with boycotts. Orbán visited Putin, Xi and Trump at the beginning of his country's EU Council Presidency. EU commissioners and representatives of several EU states have now said they won't attend ministerial meetings in Budapest. Europe's press debates whether this is the right approach.
The German Ministry of the Interior has banned the right-wing extremist magazine Compact. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser justified the ban saying it was a central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist milieu that incites hatred against Jews, people with a migration background and parliamentary democracy in an unspeakable manner. Commentators are not unanimously in favour of the decision.
On 15 July 1974, Cypriot officers, supported by the Greek military junta, staged a coup against the democratically elected government in Nicosia with the aim of making Cyprus part of Greece. Turkey then occupied the northern part of the island, invoking its right to intervene as the protecting power of the Turkish Cypriots. That the occupation of the north continues to this day, long after those who staged the coup were overthrown, is as much of a violation of international law as the coup itself.
Donald Trump has picked J. D. Vance as his running mate and candidate for vice-president for the November election at the Republican National Convention this week. The 39-year-old senator from Ohio was once a fierce critic of Trump. Commentators examine what the Yale graduate and financial manager from a humble background stands for.
Founded in 1893, the print version of the conservative newspaper Lidové noviny will be discontinued at the end of August, with publisher Mafra citing the need to cut costs as the reason for its decision. The paper's opinion section, which is particularly popular with readers, is to be expanded in the online version. However, according to other media outlets this is no substitute for the intellectual icon of the Czech press landscape, which was banned under communism.
While the background to the attempt on Donald Trump's life remains unclear, all kinds of conspiracy theories are circulating online. Some say Trump staged the attack himself to aid his presidential bid. Others claim the Democrats planned it to avoid losing the White House. Europe's commentaries, on the other hand, examine the social and cultural roots of violence in politics.
