Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte and several European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday evening. According to Rutte, the meeting focused on how to put Kyiv 'in a position of strength'. Commentators question how this can be achieved.
The Assad regime is history, but the HTS militia that overthrew it is an Islamist group that, although it promises to uphold the rule of law, is classified as a terrorist organisation by many Western states. This week the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, met with the new rulers in Damascus and called for the lifting of sanctions against Syria and the HTS. Europe's press is divided.
The Polish government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk has added the country's two largest private media companies, Polsat and TVN, to the list of strategic companies, which enjoy special protection. The move is intended to protect these companies from takeovers that contravene the rule of law. Commentators point out that threats to press freedom don't only come from the private sector.
Every year on St Lucia's Day, celebrated on 13 December, a young woman chosen by public vote carries a wreath of candles on her head at a ceremony in Helsinki Cathedral and performs charitable tasks during the Christmas season. In 2024 Daniela Owusu was chosen as the first Black Lucia - and was promptly targeted by racists, especially on the social media.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed on Tuesday in an explosion outside his residence in Moscow. The day before, the Ukrainian secret service SBU had charged Kirrilov, who is responsible for Russia's radiation, biological and chemical defence forces, with war crimes and formally opened an investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Europe's press assesses the situation.
On Monday the majority of the members of the German parliament withdrew its confidence in Chancellor Olaf Scholz, officially clearing the way for new elections on 23 February. Scholz will be running again as the top candidate of the SPD, but the leader of the opposition Friedrich Merz (CDU) is ahead in the polls. Europe's press takes stock.
After the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the gates of Syria's prisons and torture chambers have been opened and mass graves all over Syria discovered. At Saydnaya Prison, where tens of thousands of people have disappeared or been tortured and killed, the vicious cruelty of the regime has been revealed. Commentators discuss the next steps after these discoveries.
Cyclone Chido has wreaked havoc in the French overseas department of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. The cyclone swept across the archipelago bringing gusts of up to 240 kilometres per hour. A large proportion of the island's population live in huts with corrugated iron roofs, a factor which it is feared will push up the death toll. Things cannot go on like this, commentators agree.
Romania's Constitutional Court annulled the first round of the country's presidential election which the far-right candidate Călin Georgescu had won on the grounds that it was manipulated. The rerun will take place in the new year. Nicușor Dan, mayor of Bucharest, has announced his candidacy. The national press discusses Dan's chances as an independent and the way he is exploiting this status.
Former professional footballer and far-right politician Mikheil Kavelashvili has been appointed as Georgia's new president thanks to the parliamentary majority of the ruling Georgian Dream party. The main opposition parties boycotted the vote on the basis that the parliamentary elections in October were rigged and are refusing to recognise the result. Europe's press comments.
Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has urged member states to drastically increase their defence spending to guarantee Europe's security. Two percent of GDP will not be enough to function as a deterrent in the long term, the head of the military alliance admonished in his inaugural speech in Brussels. Commentators analyse his statements.
If Vienna fails to get its finances under control, it could face penalties from Brussels. With its deficit at 3.9 percent of GDP and set to rise to 4.1 percent next year, it is in breach of the Maastricht criteria which stipulate an upper limit of 3 percent. In addition, Austria's debt ratio could rise to over 80 percent, although according to the rules it should not exceed 60 percent. The national press is divided on how to avert a crisis.