Eurotopics.net

In response to US President Donald Trump's comment that it was time for elections in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the country is ready to hold elections if the United States and Europe can guarantee its security. Commentators examine the prospects for a fair vote – and see the ball in Trump's court now.

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have escalated again after the US military seized the fully loaded oil tanker Skipper off the coast of the South American country on Wednesday. Washington said the Venezuelan tanker was being used illegally to transport "sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran". The regime of Nicolás Maduro has accused the US of committing an act of "international piracy".

Greece's finance minister, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, has been elected as the new head of the Eurogroup for the next two and a half years. This informal council of economic and finance ministers from the 20 countries of the Eurozone meets once a month to coordinate economic and financial policy. The Greek press sees the nomination as a major success.

In Lithuania, proposed amendments to the laws governing public broadcaster LRT have sparked major concerns about press freedom. Introduced in parliament by the right-wing populist ruling party Nemuno Aušra, the amendments aim, among other things, to ease the dismissal of LRT's Director General. Critics warn that this could weaken the broadcaster's editorial independence and facilitate political interference.

The Unesco World Heritage Committee on Wednesday recognised Italian cuisine as an intangible cultural heritage. The decision "honours who we are and our identity", stressed Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose government proposed that the cucina italiana be added to the World Cultural Heritage list in 2023. Some commentators, however, say the accolade has a bitter aftertaste.

Donald Trump has reiterated the criticism of Europe recently expressed in the US National Security Strategy. In an interview with Politico, he said that Europe's top politicians were too "weak" and too "politically correct", and that their efforts to control migration and end the war in Ukraine had failed. European commentators make suggestions as to how the bloc should position itself.