European Union

President Erdoğan has repeatedly shown video footage of the Christchurch attack in New Zealand at rallies in the run-up to local elections in Turkey. He explained that he was using the video to show how hatred against Muslims is growing, and also made historical references to the First World War when Australian and New Zealand troops fought against the Ottoman Empire. His use of the footage has drawn harsh criticism in the media.

The UN's war crimes tribunal in The Hague has sentenced the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs Radovan Karadžić to life imprisonment, increasing the sentence of 40 years handed down by the previous court. Karadžić was found guilty of the genocide in Srebrenica and other crimes. How will the sentence affect life in the Balkans?

Angered by the lack of proper motorways in his country, a Romanian entrepreneur has built a one-metre-long stretch of highway as a symbolic gesture of protest. Many Romanians have rallied around him and staged a 15-minute strike in support of his protest last week. The entire country has only around 800 kilometres of motorway. Romania's press is impressed by the action.

EU leaders must show that they take Roma rights and anti-Roma discrimination seriously. That means recognising their cultural identity and contribution to Europe, truth and reconciliation, argue a group of political leaders and campaigners.

The European Court of Justice on Thursday ruled 44 Italian landfill sites to be in breach of the EU's landfill directive, which stipulates that waste must be treated before it is landfilled to not harm human health and the environment. If, despite the court's judgment, Italy still does not rectify the situation, the commission may refer the country back to the court for a second time proposing financial penalties.

Falck Rettungsdienste and Falck
Freedom of establishment
Public procurement rules do not apply to services for the transport of patients provided, in emergency situations, by non-profit organisations or associations

Commission v Italy
Environment and consumers
Italy has failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive on the landfill of waste as regards 44 landfill sites

According to exit polls from the provincial elections, the anti-immigration Forum for Democracy, a Dutch populist party, is set to unravel the centre-right governing coalition led by prime minster Mark Rutte. NOS broadcaster says the Forum for Democracy is set to win ten seats in the 75-seat upper-house senate, while Rutte's People's Party for Freedom and Democracy would drop from 38 to 31 seats.

The European Commission on Wednesday doled out a €1.49bn fine against Google over its market dominance in online search adverts and for imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites. "This is illegal under EU anti-trust rules," said European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager. The fine is the third imposed upon the internet giant in two years.

The Italian senate on Wednesday blocked a criminal case against Italy's far-right deputy-prime minister Matteo Salvini. An Italian court in January had ruled that Salvini should be charged for preventing the disembarkation of 177 asylum seekers from the Italian coastguard ship Ubaldo Diciotti in August last year. "I would do it all again. And I won't give up," said Salvini in a letter to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

EU leaders and heads of state on Thursday at their summit in Brussels are set to take a tougher approach in their relations with China. Talks will revolve around trade restrictions, competition, and cyber-security, among other issues. The whole will feed into an upcoming EU-China summit on 9 April.