Eurotopics.net

Denmark took the plunge and lifted all infection control restrictions on Friday. Since 96 percent of people over 60 have been vaccinated, the virus no longer poses a threat to society, Health Minister Heunicke declared. Commentators in other countries now wonder when the time will come to follow suit.

20 years have passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. They were followed by the War on Terror and the US's invasion of Afghanistan. But the date marks a turning point not just in geopolitics. Commentators focus on the political, social and economic consequences of 9/11.

Chancellor Merkel made her last state visit to Poland on Saturday. In talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki she appealed for intensified dialogue in the judicial dispute with Brussels and tried to allay concerns about the now completed Nordstream 2 gas pipeline. Commentators say the chancellor has been too lax with the PiS government so far, but some detect a change of stance now.

After years of negotiations, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenka have adopted the 28 'Union Programmes' in Moscow, which are intended to promote the harmonisation of their two countries' economic and financial policies. Commentators see this as the first step towards the creation of a joint state and point out that Europe has also played a role in promoting this process.

Pope Francis visited Hungary on Sunday on the occasion of the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest. He held a large open-air mass and also met certain government representatives including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán - albeit on a rather informal basis - and then travelled on to Slovakia. Commentators are unanimous that Orbán won't be able to make much hay out of this brief visit.