Eurotopics.net

Tens of thousands demonstrated in Madrid on Sunday against a pardon for separatist politicians imprisoned over the Catalan independence referendum. The left-wing government under Pedro Sánchez wants to use the pardons to foster fresh dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona. Conservative opposition parties and the far-right Vox party jointly called for the protest.

The UEFA European Championship, originally slated for 2020, will kick off this Friday in Rome with a match between Italy and Turkey. With eleven host countries, this year's edition is particularly pan-European. But it is also special because spectators will once again be present in the stadiums - albeit in limited numbers. Europe's press alternates between delight and scepticism.

The G7 summit kicks off in Cornwall today. The last time the representatives of the seven major industrialised countries met was in August 2019; the 2020 summit that was to take place in the US was cancelled due to the pandemic. Europe's commentators have clear expectations for the meeting in the otherwise tranquil coastal town of Carbis Bay.

Since the plane hijacking and the escalation of the conflict between Vilnius and Minsk, growing numbers of migrants are crossing the border from Belarus into Lithuania. Among them are not just fleeing regime critics but also people who have travelled all the way from Russia, Iraq or Iran. Lithuania suspects that Belarus is deliberately allowing people to cross. The national media discuss what action must be taken.

The Danish parliament has approved a new law proposed by the country's Social Democratic-Green government which would allow asylum seekers to be moved to countries outside the EU and kept there in asylum centres while their applications are processed. According to media reports, talks with Rwanda are already underway. The legislation is drawing fierce criticism far beyond Denmark's borders.

In an open letter to her Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has called for a solution to the dispute over commuters. Finland currently only permits quarantine-free entry to arrivals from Malta and Iceland. Since the start of the year when the rules were tightened, thousands of Estonians have had to choose between their jobs on one side of the border and their families on the other.