Three and a half years passed between the Brexit referendum in June 2016 and its official implementation on 31 January 2020. The UK and the EU have been trying to reorganise their relationship ever since. Five years after the UK's departure, frustration prevails in the commentaries - albeit for very different reasons.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has presented a plan called the "Competitiveness Compass" which aims to boost the European economy's global competitiveness. The strategy is based on the report presented in September by former ECB chief Mario Draghi. "Europe has everything it needs to succeed in the race to the top," von der Leyen said. Not all commentators share her optimism.
A majority of the German Bundestag on Wednesday approved a non-binding motion put forward by the CDU/CSU faction to tighten the country's migration policy, which includes the introduction of permanent border controls. The vote was hotly contested as it passed with the votes of the AfD, which is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist organisation. Europe's press weighs in.
The conflict that has been smouldering for decades in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo is now coming to a head: The rebel group M23, supported by neighbouring Rwanda, has captured Goma and announced that it also intends to "liberate" the capital Kinshasa. UN peacekeepers have been caught in the crossfire, aid programmes had to be halted and 400,000 people have fled. What can the international community do?
Salwan Momika, who was on trial in Sweden for burning the Quran, has been shot dead. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said that there was a risk that 'foreign powers' were behind the killing. Momika was charged with carrying out a series of public Quran burnings in 2023 that led Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei to accuse Sweden of waging a war against the Muslim world.
The Council of Europe's Venice Commission has indirectly issued a warning to Romania following the annulment of its 2024 presidential election. Although the Commission says it does not consider itself responsible for examining this specific case, it recommends that elections only be annulled on the basis of clear, transparent and publicly accessible evidence, and that affected parties be given the opportunity to present their own points of view.
The sale of the 100-hectare former Rákosrendező freight yard by the Hungarian state to the Emirati Eagle Hills Group has led to a conflict between the opposition-led capital and the national government. Also because a company belonging to the municipal authorities has a purchase option on the site - and the city council now wants to exercise it. The national press is also at odds over the megaproject.
Under pressure after months of demonstrations, Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević - considered a close confidant of strongman President Aleksandar Vučić - resigned on Tuesday. Europe's press looks back at the protests that started last November after a newly renovated concrete canopy collapsed at Novi Sad railway station, killing 15 people.
An AI model launched by Chinese tech company DeepSeek has sent the share prices of several US tech companies into a downward spiral. The new R1 chatbot was reportedly developed at a far lower cost and requires significantly less computing power than its competitors. Europe's press asks where our continent stands in this context.
Italian prosecutors are investigating Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and other members of her cabinet in connection with the release and repatriation of a Libyan police official who is wanted for war crimes by the international criminal court (ICC). Meloni explained in a video message that she is suspected of aiding and abetting a crime, among other things, but she is not obliged to resign and will "not be blackmailed or intimidated".
Yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp. Only gradually did the world realise the true extent of the Nazis' crimes. Auschwitz, where the Nazis murdered at least 1.1 million people, has come to epitomise the Holocaust. Poland marked the anniversary with a commemorative ceremony attended by international high-ranking guests and Auschwitz survivors. Europe's press reflects.