Eurotopics.net

Sixteen right-wing and far-right parties have signed a declaration on reforming the EU. They are demanding that Europe respect the "freedom of nations" and accuse the Commission of imposing rules on member states. They also state that this is part of their plan to form a large alliance in the EU Parliament. As things currently stand, the various parties still belong to separate groups within the Parliament.

Now it's a fact: Turkey is no longer part of the Istanbul Convention for the protection of violence against women. President Erdoğan announced the withdrawal by decree in March. On 1 July, the day it went into effect, large demonstrations were held in several Turkish cities. The highest administrative court has rejected a lawsuit filed against the decree. The disillusionment in Turkey and outside the country is real.

In countries throughout Europe, concern over not having sufficient vaccine supplies has been eclipsed by the large number of people not turning up for their vaccination appointments. Commentators discuss the reasons behind this hesitancy, how governments might combat it, or whether they should just not bother.

After several years of involvement in European politics, former EU Council President Donald Tusk is returning to the Polish political stage: the liberal Civic Platform (PO) elected him as its provisional leader on Saturday. At the same time, the ruling national conservative PiS confirmed Jarosław Kaczyński as its chairman. Poland's next general election is scheduled for 2023, but there is now speculation about bringing it forward.

With 670 deaths per day, the number of people dying from Covid in Russia has now reached unprecedented levels, in part because of the Delta variant. Yet apart from certain restrictions on border traffic the country has not imposed any stringent containment measures for a year. Vaccination is also making slow progress, with only twelve percent of the population fully vaccinated. What are the reasons and what lies ahead for the country?