Eurotopics.net

Italian MEP and former general Roberto Vannacci has announced he is withdrawing from the right-wing populist Lega and launching a new far-right party called Futuro Nazionale. Vannacci was deputy leader of Lega, which is led by Matteo Salvini and forms part of Italy's coalition government together with Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli d'Italia and Forza Italia. What is his goal?

At least 15 people were killed and 25 injured, including two Coast Guard officers, when a speedboat carrying migrants collided with a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel off the Greek island of Chios on Tuesday. As in the case of a similar accident in December, the authorities are claiming that the camera on board the Coast Guard vessel was not in operation.

Pedro Sánchez's government is pushing for Spain to introduce a social media ban for under-16s like the one that came into force in Australia in December. Similar legislative initiatives are underway in France, the UK, Romania and Turkey – as is a fierce debate in Europe's press.

The publication of further files in the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to raise new questions. Dozens more prominent names appear in the more than three million pages of documents, thousands of videos and well over 100,000 photos most recently released by the US Department of Justice. Commentators discuss the connections between these individuals and Epstein and what consequences they will have.

France's budget for the current year has been finalised. On Monday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two votes of no confidence brought by the opposition. His predecessors François Bayrou and Michel Barnier were forced to step down shortly after taking office amid disputes over the budget. Is France entering calmer political waters?