Eurotopics.net

At least two Ukrainian ministries are under investigation for corruption. The Ministry of Defence faces accusations of having purchased food for troops at inflated prices, with Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov having resigned over the scandal. And the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Vasyl Lozynsky, has been dismissed for allegedly taking bribes and is now in custody.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has hinted that his country may be ready to yield in the conflict with Kosovo, whose independence Belgrade has yet to recognise. Vučić declared that he was willing to take the path of compromise after Western negotiators threatened sanctions if the recently presented Franco-German normalisation plan was not accepted. Commentators discuss what the future might hold.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has seized on a protest by the right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan, who burned a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, as an opportunity to once again withhold his country's support for Sweden's membership in Nato. Ankara cancelled the visit of the Swedish defence minister planned for next week. The implications of the incident should not be overrated, commentators argue.

In a televised debate, the Czech presidential candidate Andrej Babiš answered 'no, certainly not' to the question of whether he would send Czech troops in the event of an attack on Poland, Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia, in the framework of collective defence as laid out in Article 5 of the Nato treaty. The remark has triggered a storm of criticism in his home country and abroad. Commentators examine what this statement means in the context of the election campaign.