Eurotopics.net

Eight years after a boat accident involving migrants, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Greece for failing to provide assistance. In January 2014, a fishing boat carrying asylum seekers capsized near the island of Farmakonisi in the presence of the Greek coast guard. Eleven people were killed in the accident. The Greek press welcomes the ruling.

Thousands of confidential documents exposing ride-hailing company Uber's aggressive lobbying practices from 2013 to 2017 have been leaked to British newspaper The Guardian. The analysis of emails and chat messages by an international team of journalists reveals how regulators were ensnared and that data was hidden from investigators. The press asks whether Europe's democracy is sufficiently protected against such lobbying tactics.

After intensive negotiations, the EU Commission and Lithuania have not been able to agree on a new directive for the control of sanctioned goods on the transit route between Russia and the exclave of Kaliningrad. This means that the second sanction stage for goods traffic came into force on Sunday. Lithuania has restricted transit since the end of June. Commentators advise not to lose their nerve.

On 11 July, Poland commemorates the victims of the Volhynia Massacre. Ukrainian nationalists murdered tens of thousands of Polish civilians in 1943 in western Ukraine, which at the time was occupied by the German Wehrmacht. This event has put a strain on relations between Poles and Ukrainians for decades. This year, however, Polish commentators adopt a conciliatory tone in view of the Russian war against Ukraine.