Eurotopics.net

The World Cup in Qatar ended on Sunday with a thrilling football match from which Argentina emerged as the winner. French President Emmanuel Macron was also at the stadium near Doha for the final, cheering on his country's team, which ended up in second place. Europe's press takes stock of a World Cup which many had said should be boycotted.

Kosovo officially applied for EU membership last week. The main obstacle on its path to joining the bloc is the fact that five EU countries do not recognise it as an independent state. Neighbouring Serbia continues to assert territorial claims and recently threatened to deploy troops to Kosovo. What is the next step for the country?

A new media law was approved by a large majority in the Ukrainian parliament last week. The European Union had recommended that as an EU candidate Ukraine reform its media legislation. Among other things, the draft seeks to restrict the influence of oligarchs on Ukrainian media. Some commentators fear that the new law gives authorities too much power, also vis-à-vis editorial teams.

Almost ten months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, neither a diplomatic solution nor a clear military outcome to the conflict is in sight. Observers examine how the war is affecting the mood and attitude of people in Russia.

The US is apparently planning to deliver Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine. A decision to this effect could be made public this week, US officials have informed Reuters. So far Kyiv's allies had been reluctant to make such deliveries, and Poland's plan to pass on German Patriot systems to Ukraine had been blocked by Berlin. Europe's press discusses the potential impact of these deliveries.