Eurotopics.net

In the wake of Berlin's decision to allow deliveries of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, a large alliance is emerging to equip the country with battle tanks and similar vehicles. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has now said that in Moscow these and other arms deliveries are viewed as "direct participation in the conflict". Europe's press examines the potential consequences.

Citizens of the Czech Republic will elect a new president in the second round of the presidential election this weekend. They have the choice between retired general and former Nato second-in-command Petr Pavel and former prime minister Andrej Babiš, who caused a furore during the election campaign when he questioned Czech solidarity in the framework of Nato collective defence. Commentators criticise the way the campaign was conducted.

The wiretapping scandal in Greece continues to make waves. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is now facing a vote of no confidence put forward by the opposition party Syriza, whose leader Alexis Tsipras accuses Mitsotakis of lying when he claimed not to have known that the Greek National Intelligence Service was wiretapping politicians, ministers, military officers and journalists. Commentators have harsh words for the PM.

Finland has had two pandas on loan from China since 2018. The costs for Ähtäri Zoo, where the animals are kept, amount to 1.5 million euros per year for rent and maintenance and have now become a bone of contention. A government proposal to provide 5 million euros in funding for the zoo has met with criticism, partly because two of its ministers come from the Ähtäri constituency. The zoo wants to return the animals to China. The press points to the international dimensions of the affair.

In the wake of Berlin's decision to allow the delivery of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, a large alliance is emerging to equip the country with these and similar vehicles. Germany and Poland each plan to deliver 14 Leopard 2s, the Netherlands 18. Britain is sending 14 Challengers and the US 31 M1 Abrams. Taken together these deliveries will cover roughly a third of what experts estimate is needed - but the impact is already being felt, Europe's press stresses.