Eurotopics.net

Navalny has given the news magazine Der Spiegel his first extensive interview after being poisoned. He accuses Putin of being personally responsible for the attack and announced that he would return to Russia and continue his political struggle. Putin's press officer Dmitry Peskov reacted with the counteraccusation that Navalny was receiving instructions from the CIA.

Twenty-six years after the sinking of the MS Estonia, new footage is fuelling speculation about the cause of the disaster. It shows a four-metre hole in the starboard side of the ship's hull which, according to the chairman of the Estonian investigative committee, points to a collision with a submarine. The ferry sank in 1994 on its way from Tallinn to Stockholm, killing 852 people.

The EU published its first report on the situation of the rule of law in its member states on Wednesday. The Commission sees shortcomings in areas such as press freedom, the separation of powers and the fight against corruption, not only in Poland and Hungary, but also in countries like Bulgaria, Spain or Malta. However, commentators do not believe that this will have serious consequences for the states concerned.

Facebook has indicated that it will withdraw from the EU if the bloc's data protection rules impede its business. The background to this is an investigation by the Irish Data Protection Commission against the company. The EU's General Data Protection Regulations prohibit the transfer of personal data to non-EU countries. Commentators don't believe Facebook's threat should be taken too seriously.