Eurotopics.net

The EU Commission has issued its first bond to finance its 750-billion-euro Covid recovery fund. Demand was huge: the bonds attracted around 142 biollion euros in orders - more than seven times the amount that could be issued (20 billion). An important milestone, commentators find.

After a weeks-long search, the heavily armed Belgian soldier Jürgen Conings has been found dead in a forest in Hoge Kempen National Park. The suspected right-wing extremist disappeared on May 17 after voicing death threats against the virologist Marc Van Ranst. The authorities had feared Conings was planning an attack on state buildings or public figures. The press doesn't believe he was a lone wolf.

Eleven days after it began on 11 June, the Uefa European Championship is in full swing now. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, only a few spectators have been allowed into most stadiums, and group watching in bars or at open-air cinemas is also very limited. But that's not stopping Europe's press from spreading football fever and glorifying the vying teams - or not, as the case may be.

According to exit polls, the conservative Les Républicains have unexpectedly emerged as the strongest party in the first round of France's regional elections, followed by Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National. Meanwhile, President Macron's La République en Marche barely managed to secure fifth place. Voter turnout was at an all-time low of 33.9 per cent, prompting observers to sound the alarm.