Eurotopics.net

After seven years, talks between Switzerland and the EU aimed at a new institutional framework agreement are in danger of collapsing. Swiss President Guy Parmelin is to meet EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tomorrow, but in recent weeks Bern has neither given concrete answers to Brussels' questions nor presented proposals for a partnership agreement. Commentators conclude that the only goal now is damage control.

In the George Floyd case, a Minneapolis court jury has found ex-police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts he was facing: second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Commentators hail the verdict as a historic and promising start in the fight against racist police violence.

Tourism in Greece is to be ramped up again from May 15, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in a televised speech on Wednesday evening. Covid-related restrictions will be relaxed in the coming weeks, with restaurants and cafés reopening from May 3. Commentators are emphatically unenthusiastic.

US President Joe Biden has called Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to propose a summit meeting in a third country. Tensions between the two countries escalated after Russia deployed troops to the border with Ukraine, and the US responded by sending two warships to the Black Sea. Moscow says its troops were sent to carry out a military exercise, but Kyiv fears a military offensive. Commentators discuss whether the situation will escalate further.

Sharp drops in the number of infections thanks to a successful vaccination campaign have made it possible: after three months in lockdown, shops, gyms, hairdressers, zoos and outdoor dining facilities reopened in England on Monday. While people there are taking full advantage of the new freedoms, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are taking a more cautious approach. What will England's easing of restrictions bring?

A group of experts from the University of Nijmegen has sharply criticised the Dutch asylum system. In its report, which was commissioned by the state, it concludes that people have been falsely portrayed as fraudsters and lost their residence permits as a result. It also says that the legislation of recent years has increasingly weakened the position of asylum seekers. Commentators call for solutions.