Eurotopics.net

At Thursday's EU Summit European leaders failed to agree on who should succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as EU Commission President. The decision has been postponed until a special summit scheduled for 30 June. While Merkel wants the post to go to EPP lead candidate Manfred Weber, Macron favours Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager or Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

Almost five years after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down arrest warrants have been issued against three Russians and a Ukrainian accused of murdering 298 people. Moscow rejects the charges. The trial against the four men is slated to begin in March 2020. Commentators say the pressure on the Kremlin must be increased.

The Council of the European Union has postponed its decision on opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania to October following a meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg. The EU mustn't go too far with its delaying tactics and the potential accession candidates shouldn't lose heart, commentators advise.

US President Donald Trump has announced at a rally in Orlando that he will run for re-election, kicking off his presidential campaign almost a year and a half ahead of election day in November 2020. Observers assess his chances and give their opinion on whom the Democrats should send into the running.