Eurotopics.net

Leading nationalists and far-right politicians from EU states have met in Warsaw at the invitation of Poland's ruling PiS party. The aim: to bring the far-right factions divided between two groups in the EU Parliament together and to hammer out plans to change the "character of the EU". Commentators discuss what this could mean for Europe.

Angela Merkel officially retired from the office of chancellor on Thursday. Her departure was marked with official military ceremony. The CDU politician had governed Germany since November 2005 and shaped many important decisions at the European level. The reviews in Europe's press are mixed.

A hard landing for the former posterboy of the European conservatives: Austria's ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has announced his resignation as leader of the ÖVP and withdrawal from politics. In October he was forced to step down as chancellor due to corruption investigations. Since then the 35-year-old has come under growing pressure also from within his own party. Europe's press takes stock of an era that ended when it was still young.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine on Thursday. Talks between the leaders of the two countries are to follow soon. Putin is demanding guarantees that no further states in the east of Europe will be admitted to Nato. Commentators reject the idea.