Eurotopics.net

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is slated to leave his post at the end of September. A successor is expected to be chosen at a Nato summit in July and many member states would like to see a woman in the post this time. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been invited to meet US President Joe Biden today, Monday. Commentators put two and two together.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has begun his third term as President of Turkey after winning the run-off vote on 28 May with 52.2 percent against opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (47.8 percent). After the inauguration ceremony in parliament he presented his new cabinet. Europe's press examines the ramifications of this outcome - in particular for Nato.

France's military budget will rise by 40 percent, Denmark increased its defence budget this week, and the EU Parliament plans to invest 500 million euros to boost munitions production. Back in March 2022 Germany announced an additional 100 billion euros for the Bundeswehr in response to Russia's war against Ukraine. Europe's press takes stock of the rearmament trend.

Amid rising tensions in Kosovo, Nato is boosting its KFOR peacekeeping force which has been stationed there since 1999. Violence flared in the country after local elections held a month ago which were boycotted by a majority of the ethnic Serbs in the north, resulting in Kosovo Albanians being elected as mayors on very few votes. Without external help the tensions in the region will never calm down, commentators fear.