Eurotopics.net

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. The virus, also known as monkeypox, is far less infectious than Covid-19, but a new variant is spreading increasingly around the world from Central Africa. Is the WHO's response too radical or too weak?

After reaching a high in 2022, the birth rate in Hungary has dropped significantly: it was 11 percent lower in May 2023 than in May 2022 and currently stands at 1.5 births per woman. The national press asks whether Orbán's family policy has failed. At the same time other European countries are also wondering how to counter population decline.

Germany's Prosecutor General forwarded an arrest warrant for one of three Ukrainians suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipeline to the Polish authorities in June. According to the Wall Street Journal, President Zelensky authorised the attack. August Hanning, former chief of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, suspects that Warsaw was also involved in planning the blasts. Time for a reassessment?

For many European countries, summer poses a growing number of threats, including wildfires, droughts and record heatwaves. In Greece, Athens' suburbs are facing wildfires for the first time, while in Spain some regions are on red alert for extreme heat. The EU has announced it is investing an additional 600 million euros in its Civil Protection Pool fund. Commentators discuss what action should be taken.

Negotiations aimed at preventing the situation in the Middle East from escalating further begin today in Doha. Officially the aim is a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but observers hope that a deal will also be struck to dissuade Iran from carrying out its plans for revenge. European media analyse the conditions under which the negotiations are taking place.