Eurotopics.net

The EU Commission has presented its annual EU enlargement report, which assesses the progress made by the ten EU candidate countries in implementing reforms. Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine were commended for their efforts, whereas Georgia was criticised for regressing. Commentators look closer.

Spain's top prosecutor, Attorney General Álvaro García Ortiz, is on trial before the Supreme Court over allegations of leaking an email to the media which implicates Alberto González Amador, the partner of the president of the Community of Madrid Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP), in tax fraud. García Ortiz, who was appointed by the Sánchez government in 2022, is suspected of using his office to harm an opponent of the ruling PSOE party.

Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein has opened its first brick-and-mortar store in France. Frédéric Merlin, head of the Société des Grands Magasins (SGM), which owns the BHV Paris department store where Shein is establishing its retail space, hailed the move as a "revolution". Merlin's decision to enter a partnership with Shein triggered a storm of protest because the latter has been repeatedly been accused of disregarding social and environmental standards.

New York elects a new mayor today, Tuesday. In the race for City Hall, 34-year-old left-wing Democrat Zohran Mamdani has a substantial lead against former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Commentators discuss what makes the self-declared "democratic socialist" so successful.