Eurotopics.net

A ruling by Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has left the country's government financially strapped: 60 billion euros originally earmarked for combating the Covid crisis should not have been reallocated to climate protection projects in the 2021 supplementary budget, the court has ruled. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) must now cancel the projects. The press has mixed feelings.

Sam Altman is no longer CEO of software company OpenAI, which developed the AI chatbot ChatGPT. One of the main faces of the AI boom, Altman, 38, is switching to Microsoft following his surprise dismissal. Now a large majority of the startup's staff are calling for his return and threatening to quit. Commentators see the controversy as significant from several perspectives.

Finland has responded to the rising number of migrants without visas arriving at its border with Russia by closing four of its eight border crossings and setting up additional barriers. According to the authorities, most of those seeking to cross the Russian border into Finland without valid documents are from the Middle East, Africa, Iraq and Yemen.

Turkish President Erdoğan was received by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin in a state visit on Friday. The two sides presented opposing perspectives on the war in the Middle East. Erdoğan criticised the actions of the Israeli army and called for a ceasefire, while Scholz emphasised Israel's right to exist and defend itself. Europe's press looks at what binds the two countries together.

The high number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is fighting radical Islamic Hamas, is drawing growing criticism from the international community. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority more than 13,000 people have already been killed. Israel has stressed that it wants to avoid civilian casualties, but that the tunnels where Hamas is hiding hostages as well as weapons and supplies run under civilian facilities. Europe's press reflects the widespread controversy.