Eurotopics.net

Firefighters and inhabitants in Greece, Turkey and Italy continue to battle countless wildfires. Numerous towns and villages have had to be evacuated, and some of the most valuable forests and agricultural land in the Mediterranean region have been destroyed. And there is no sign of the situation improving because the next heat wave with temperatures above 40 degrees is imminent.

In its dispute with the EU, the Polish government has announced plans to reform the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. According to PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, initial proposals for changes to the country's controversial judicial reform are to be presented in September. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in July that Poland is violating European law with its system for disciplining judges.

The Beneš Decrees with which the then Czechoslovakia expropriated and expelled Hungarians and others from its territory after the Second World War have led to another diplomatic crisis between Budapest and Bratislava. At a memorial for displaced persons in the Slovakian town of Šamorín, the Hungarian parliamentary speaker László Kövér demanded an apology from Slovakia. Slovakian Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok has rejected any foreign interference.

On 9 August 2020, Belarus's long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenka had himself proclaimed the winner of the presidential election, even though according to the opposition and international observers his challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had won. Protests of an unprecedented scale followed, but Lukashenka brutally crushed them. One year on Europe's press discusses whether there is any hope of change, and if so, how.

On 9 August 2020, the long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenka had himself proclaimed the winner of the presidential election in Belarus - even though according to the opposition as well as international observers his challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had won. Protests of an unprecedented scale followed, but Lukashenka brutally crushed them. Europe's press takes stock one year on.