Eurotopics.net

In the run-up to the Nato summit on July 11 and 12 in Vilnius, the big question is how the alliance can and should strengthen its security guarantees vis-à-vis Kyiv. Ukraine is demanding that Nato commit to making it a member once the war ends. Commentators also look at the issue of Sweden's Nato accession in view of Ankara's ongoing blockade.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki have demonstrated unity at a meeting of the European Conservatives and Reformers Group (ECR) in Warsaw. Observers see a connection with the attempt to form an alliance with the European People's Party (EPP) ahead of the 2024 European elections. Many commentators voice doubts about whether Meloni and Morawiecki really have so much in common.

On his current European tour Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday briefly visited Bulgaria, where he met his counterpart Rumen Radev, who is reputedly pro-Russian, as well as Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov of the new pro-Western government. The visit was exemplary of Bulgaria's ambiguous stance on the Ukraine war, commentators write.

For a long time, Britain's tax-funded, free-to-use healthcare service, the NHS, has been seen as underfunded and in need of reform. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic there were long waiting lists for operations and emergency rooms were critically understaffed, and the situation has not improved in the meantime. As the NHS celebrates the 75th anniversary of its founding, commentators are not in a party mood.

In the run-up to the Nato summit taking place on July 11 and 12 in Vilnius, the focus is on the question of how the Alliance can and should strengthen its security guarantees vis-à-vis Kyiv. Supported by a number of states, Ukraine is demanding that the alliance commit to making it a member once the war ends. Europe's press also calls for swift action, but not all commentators advocate an accelerated accession process.