Eurotopics.net

The representatives of around 130 countries, including numerous heads of state and government, are currently meeting in Nice in the south of France to discuss ways to protect the world's oceans. The key topics of the Ocean Conference are climate change, overfishing and pollution. European commentators pin their hopes on the event.

The Sudeten German Congress, the traditional annual meeting held to commemorate the expulsion of Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia after WWII, could take place in the Czech Republic for the first time next year. A proposal to this effect, together with an invitation to Brno, was announced at this year's congress in Regensburg. Czech commentators see a significant shift in Czech-German relations.

The Nato defence ministers agreed on new capability targets on Thursday. While the details remain confidential, it's clear that there will be a significant rearmament effort. After the meeting US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said that a deal in which Nato members spend the five percent of GDP on defence that Washington has demanded instead of just two percent was within reach.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has visited US President Donald Trump at the White House. There had been much speculation ahead of the meeting, especially after Trump's heated discussions with his Ukrainian and South African counterparts, but the atmosphere during the talks was decidedly amicable and hot topics were avoided.