Eurotopics.net

Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on 1 July. The Hungarian government's much-criticised stance vis-à-vis EU decision-making, particularly with regard to the war in Ukraine, has raised doubts about the country's suitability for this role. Press reports now paint a more nuanced picture.

The EU leaders have now officially agreed on who the top posts in the bloc should go to: Germany's Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) is to remain Commission President, Portugal's António Costa (S&D) is to become President of the European Council and Estonia's Kaja Kallas (Renew Europe) is to take over as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Commentators assess the selection from different perspectives.

It is still unclear whether the EU member states will be able to agree on a proposal for the presidency of the Commission at this Thursday's summit. At the same time, the newly elected EU Parliament is under pressure to form political groups as quickly as possible. The lists of names must be presented by 15 July in order for groups to be recognised at the constituent meeting the following day. Europe's press is keenly following the developments at all levels.

In the Russian republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus, terrorists attacked Orthodox churches, synagogues and the police in the major cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on Sunday. 21 people were killed, 16 of whom were police officers. The five attackers, including two sons and a nephew of a local head of administration, were shot dead. Governor Sergey Melikov blamed "foreign forces" for the attack. The state of alert has since been lifted.