Eurotopics.net

The European Union plans to establish deportation centres in non-EU countries. Representatives of the European Parliament and governments have now reached a deal, although it is not yet clear where the hubs would be located. The measure complements the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which will take full effect on June 12. The press assesses the plan in terms of feasibility and compatibility with fundamental rights.

The release of police bodycam footage of the death of a student who was stabbed last December has sparked public outrage in the UK. Eighteen-year-old Henry Nowak died from his injuries after the police treated him as the attacker rather than the victim, handcuffing instead of assisting him. The perpetrator, a Sikh, claimed he had been racially assaulted and had acted in self-defence. He has now been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Katri Raik, the long-time mayor of the Estonian border town of Narva, now faces competition. The opposition parties Centre Party and Plan B elected a new mayor from their ranks during a city council meeting on Monday. Centre Party member Jaan Toots has already set up office in City Hall, although the legality of the move remains unclear.

Incursions by large drones are causing concern in the three Baltic states: on Tuesday, for the first time, Nato fighter jets shot down a drone over a lake in Estonia. On Wednesday, there was an official air raid alert in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius. A row over drone strikes in Latvia in the early May even led to the collapse of the country's coalition government.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has proposed that Ukraine become an 'associate member' of the EU, as a kind of preliminary step towards full membership. Kyiv would, for example, be allowed to attend the meetings of EU decision-making bodies, albeit without voting rights. Reactions to the idea have been mixed – also in Europe's opinion sections.