Eurotopics.net

The US government has bought up nearly all stocks of the drug Remdesivir for the next three months. Remdesivir is currently considered one of the most promising treatments for severe coronavirus symptoms. Some commentators are furious and accuse Washington of selfishness. Others advise Europe to prepare to go to battle for medicines.

The British government on Wednesday offered three million Hong Kong citizens the right to settle in the UK, with the option to obtain citizenship later on. Prime Minister Boris Johnson had threatened to take this step a month ago if China went ahead and introduced its new security law. Commentators doubt that the UK is doing itself any favours.

Turkey's President Erdoğan has announced plans for tight controls on social media, with the possibility of them even being shut down. He explained the move saying it was necessary to protect citizens from hate, threats and terror propaganda. Opponents of the government fear a new phase of censorship. Press voices in the country are divided.

According to official figures 78 percent of voters cast their ballots in favour of Russia's controversial constitutional referendum on 1 July, while 21 percent voted against. Observers say the vote was rigged. What does the result mean for Russia and Europe?

A parliamentary vote on the liberalisation of Belgium's abortion law was once again postponed on Thursday. The bill would allow abortions after the third month of pregnancy. A decision as important as this should be taken under a stable government, some argue. Others say these are undemocratic delaying tactics.

Open Beach, an open-air beach bar that received permission from Vilnius' municipal authorities to set up on the city's historic Lukiškės Square, has caused an outcry not just in the national press. Sun loungers now adorn the site where supporters of an uprising against the czarist regime were hanged in the 19th century, and where the KGB later resided. A new law classifying the site as a historical monument could now put an end to the summer fun.