Eurotopics.net

Sweden's Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has decided to resign rather than call a snap election after last week's vote of no confidence. The speaker of parliament must now appoint a candidate to form a new government. Sweden's commentators suspect it will be Löfven again. Meanwhile their colleagues in Finland find the whole situation baffling.

The federal government in Bern is planning to set up its own Instagram account and has created ten new posts to run it. This has sparked a debate in the country's press, not only about whether it is even necessary, but also about potential negative consequences of this attempt to reach out to young people.

After the passing of the "anti-paedophilia law", the debate over whether developments affecting the rule of law in Hungary are compatible with its EU membership has gained new momentum. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the law a disgrace, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte called on Hungary to leave the bloc. Europe's press discusses whether tougher steps should now be taken.

In an effort to underline the EU's independence in foreign policy after the Biden-Putin summit, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron proposed holding a meeting with Russia shortly before the EU summit last week. However, the initiative failed mainly due to opposition from Poland and the Baltic states. Other member states also felt they were being pressured into something they didn't want.

An unusually strong tornado for European standards has swept through the south-east of the Czech Republic, leaving several people dead and many injured as well as widespread destruction in its wake. Its wind speeds were estimated at 300 to 400 kilometres per hour. Now thousands are confronted with the devastating consequences.