Eurotopics.net

France handed over the rotating EU Council Presidency to the Czech Republic on Thursday. Under France's leadership, the focus was on issues such as the energy transition, the regulation of digital services and border protection, and Paris also called for a united stance on Russia's war against Ukraine. For Europe's press the results are mixed.

A clear verdict has been reached by the parliamentary commission: the Covid-19 mass mink cull in Denmark lacked a legal basis. Senior officials and members of government now stand accused of serious omissions, and one of the parties that support Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's social democratic minority government is now calling for new elections this autumn at the latest.

Ukraine's ambassador to Berlin Andrij Melnyk has provoked angry reactions after denying in an interview that the nationalist Ukrainian partisan leader Stepan Bandera was involved in massacres of Jews and Poles during the Second World War. The Kyiv Foreign Ministry clearly distanced itself from the remarks, saying that Melnyk had expressed his personal opinion. Nevertheless, there is widespread indignation, especially in Warsaw.

A former White House aide under Donald Trump has heavily incriminated the ex-president. Testifying before the US Select Committee on the January 6 attack on the Capitol, she said that Trump did everything in his power to get to the protesters and knew that they were in possession of weapons. Media voice concern about the state of democracy.

The war in Ukraine has injected new life into Nato, as this week's summit in Madrid has clearly shown. Northern expansion, billions for rearmament and the strengthening of the eastern flank are the main measures taken in reaction to the common threat from Russia, which no longer enjoys partner status. Europe's press does not see these developments as entirely positive.