Thirty members of the Kurdish PKK burnt their weapons in northern Iraq on Friday in a symbolic step towards ending their insurgency against the Turkish state, which began in 1984. One of the group's leaders said that they would now try to achieve their goals by political means. The press examines the prospects for the peace process.
The Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has launched proceedings against Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre and one of the country's best-known civil society activists. Because he also serves as a volunteer in the army, he is now accused of evading military service and using an army vehicle for private purposes. The media sound the alarm.
The motion of no-confidence against EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tabled by members of far-right parties, has failed. Only 175 MEPs voted in favour of the initiative – while more than twice that number voted against. Two-thirds of those present would have had to support the motion for it to pass. Europe's media draw varying conclusions.
Shortly after Ukraine was hit by the heaviest airstrikes since the start of Russia's large-scale invasion in 2022, the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference is taking place in Rome on 10 and 11 July. The EU has advocated a reconstruction fund for critical sectors, to be supplemented by private investment, while President Zelensky has called for assistance with drone production, energy supplies and air defence, as well as the release of frozen Russian funds for reconstruction.
On a state visit to Britain, France's President Macron has agreed to launch a pilot project for returning migrants across the Channel. Some of the refugees who have reached the UK by boat are to be sent back to France in return for accepting other migrants with a strong case for asylum. The two nuclear powers also want to expand their military cooperation.
Bodyguards working for the Swedish Security Service Säpo have shared the jogging routes of Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and King Carl XVI Gustaf and other prominent figures on the fitness app Strava. Such data could be used to draw conclusions about private addresses and travel activities. The country's press is up in arms.
EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, accompanied by the responsible ministers from Italy, Greece and Malta, travelled to Libya, which is currently de facto divided into eastern and western Libya, on Tuesday to discuss the refugee situation. The delegation was successful in Tripoli in western Libya, but the regime in eastern Libya, which the EU has not recognised as legitimate, denied it entry at Benghazi airport. What geopolitical forces are behind the incident and what impact will it have on the migration issue?
According to defence minister Israel Katz, Israel wants to construct a massive camp for 600,000 Palestinians in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. The aim is to physically separate Hamas fighters from the civilian population, he told journalists. A few days ago he had said that it would not be possible for them to return to northern Gaza. Commentators fear this amounts to an expulsion in violation of international law.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presented 15 anti-corruption measures on Wednesday, after several leading members of his PSOE party have been placed under investigation in recent weeks. The measures include the establishment of a new supervisory authority and the use of advanced data analyses to detect fraud. Commentators question the effectiveness of the proposed action plan.
Bulgaria has the final green light to introduce the euro on 1 January 2026 after the EU finance ministers passed the necessary legislation on Tuesday. The European Commission and the leaders of the EU member states had already given their approval in June. Commentators in the national press encourage euro advocates and critics alike to make the best of the conversion.
Last week the Pentagon pulled the plug on sending weapons to Ukraine. Now Donald Trump has overturned the decision – and is reportedly looking into whether the US can deliver an additional Patriot missile defence system. He also condemned Vladimir Putin for throwing "a lot of bullshit" while "killing a lot of people". Europe's press anaylses the latest mood swing in the White House.
Ursula von der Leyen must face a vote of no confidence in the European Parliament on Thursday. She is being accused by Romanian MEP Gheorghe Piperea of the right-wing ECR faction and 76 co-signatories of a lack of transparency and of mismanagement in her handling of Covid policy. They cite in particular her failure to comply with a court ruling that she release a chain of text messages with the boss of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer ahead of a multi-billion-euro vaccine deal.