Eurotopics.net

As the US and Nato troops withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban are expanding their influence in the country. They recently seized ten districts in the south and have surrounded almost all the major cities in the country. On Sunday night 1,037 Afghan soldiers crossed into Tajikistan after fighting on the border. Commentators are reminded of earlier interventions and the mood is pessimistic.

After 27 years at the helm of Amazon, the founder of the e-commerce giant Jeff Bezos handed over the reins to its new CEO Andy Jassy this week. Bezos will continue to hold considerable sway as the company's executive chairman but wants to devote more time to his various foundations and will be flying into space on 20 July. Europe's press looks back on a success story marked by innovative zeal and ruthlessness.

Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Janša has presented the agenda for his country's EU presidency to the EU Parliament. The battle against Covid and cyber attacks are top of the list along with advancing digitalisation and climate protection. Janša's speech was awaited with some trepidation due to his questionable views on democracy and climate change and his closeness to Viktor Orbán, but he avoided making any barbed comments. So is everyone friends again?

Countries in Europe now have some of the highest vaccination rates in the world. But the pace is slowing down in many areas, with people not turning up for their vaccination appointments. The summer weather and low infection rates are making people hesitate even if they are not anti-vaxxers. Commentators appeal to citizens' sense of responsibility and discuss the limits of freedom.