Eurotopics.net

French President Emmanuel Macron has travelled to China together with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, where they will meet with President Xi Jinping. In a speech prior to the meeting, Macron praised the Chinese peace initiative for Ukraine and stressed that Europe must continue to promote dialogue with China because it would be a mistake to leave it to Russia. Most commentators stress that dialogue is also in Beijing's interest.

Poland has welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky with medals and honours. The official visit by the Ukrainian president was a demonstration of the close friendship between Ukraine and Poland in these difficult times. The discussions at the meeting focused on further arms deliveries - above all MiG-29 fighter jets - but also on what the neighbourly relations should look like once the war is over.

Greece wants to expand the fortifications on its border with Turkey on its own initiative. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reaffirmed the plan last week, explaining that the 37.5-kilometre-long fence on the Evros River is to be extended by another 35 kilometres. Brussels had repeatedly rejected Athens' demands to provide EU funds for this. The opposition accuses Mitsotakis of fishing for right-wing votes.

A photo showing Turkish opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu standing on what was apparently a prayer rug with his shoes on went viral on the weekend. Muslims remove their shoes when they enter a mosque or use a prayer rug. Propaganda media close to Erdoğan are now hyping the incident. A major faux pas or much ado about nothing?

Finland is now officially the 31st Nato member state. On Tuesday in Brussels, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto signed and presented the accession document to his US counterpart Antony Blinken, who will place it in safekeeping in Washington. Meanwhile Sweden's accession continues to be blocked by Turkey. Europe's commentators take different views of the enlargement.