Eurotopics.net

A bill to liberalise Poland's abortion law - one of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's key election promises - has failed in parliament: 215 deputies voted in favour and 218 against, with two abstentions and 23 absences. The governing coalition of liberals, moderates, conservatives and leftists is split over the legislation. Tuesday saw angry protests by the Women's Strike movement in front of the Sejm.

Mobile phones have already been banished, to varying degrees, from everyday school life in Italy, France, the Netherlands and the UK. Other countries are also considering such bans.

The German Ministry of the Interior has banned the Islamic Centre Hamburg (IZH) mosque association on the grounds the organisation pursues anti-constitutional goals and spreads aggressive antisemitism and the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Tehran summoned the German ambassador to Iran over the issue. Is the ban long overdue?

Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to be officially nominated as the Democratic candidate after Joe Biden's withdrawal from the US presidential campaign, but for many prominent party colleagues and Democratic voters, as well as Europe's press, this is a mere formality. Her chances against Trump and above all her record as former attorney general of California are now the subject of heated debate.

On 6 June 1944, Allied troops landed at various points on the coastline of Normandy, thus opening up a second main front in the war against Nazi Germany. A few weeks later they were able to break through the enemy's frontlines, a decisive step towards victory over the Axis powers. Political leaders and veterans from all over the world have travelled to Normandy to mark the anniversary. Commentators draw parallels between then and now.

The elections to the European Parliament began today, Thursday, with the opening of polling stations in the Netherlands. Voting will take place in the Czech Republic and Ireland on Friday, followed by Italy, Latvia, Slovakia and Malta on Saturday and the remaining countries on Sunday. A glance at the European commentaries shows that EU citizens' expectations regarding the MEPs and the outcome of the elections vary widely.