Eurotopics.net

Representatives of the Russian opposition are now also members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). A total of 15 Russians and representatives of ethnic minorities living in exile are to participate in the assembly's Platform for Dialogue with Russia's Democratic Forces. Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in 2022 following its attack on Ukraine.

The EU and India have concluded nearly 20 years of negotiations on a free trade agreement. Both sides had thus deepened the "partnership between the world's largest democracies", EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in New Delhi. The agreement covers a market of nearly two billion people. Commentators highlight its strategic importance.

Every year on 27 January the victims of the Holocaust are commemorated. Although there are ever fewer eyewitnesses who can give personal testimony about the mass murders committed by the Nazis, numerous events are held to help keep the memory alive. Efforts to educate people about the past must be redoubled, commentators urge.