Eurotopics.net

The EU foreign ministers met on Monday to discuss developments in the Western Balkan states. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell called for the resumption of talks on the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Visa-free travel to the EU for Kosovars and the lifting of Bulgaria's veto on accession talks with North Macedonia were also top priorities, he said.

Sedat Peker, a mafia boss and Turkish ultra-nationalist who was released from prison in 2014, has left Turkey and posted a series of video messages revealing the state's involvement in organised crime. Although Peker has been a key supporter of President Erdoğan since his release from prison, a dispute with the president's son-in-law and former finance minister Berat Albayrak is suspected to have led to his fall from grace.

Violent clashes between Palestinians and Israelis have rocked Jerusalem in recent days. The violence was triggered by the pending eviction of some Arab families in East Jerusalem in favour of Israeli settlers. Most recently, Hamas fired missiles at Israel, which retaliated with an air strike on Gaza. Commentators take stock of the turmoil.

After the Scottish National Party (SNP) under Nicola Sturgeon won a clear victory in regional elections in the UK, the question of Scottish independence, which the SNP is campaigning for, is firmly back on the agenda. Europe's press discusses the lines of conflict in terms of money, power and identity.

US President Joe Biden has repeatedly expressed interest in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. One possibility would be a summit during Biden's European trip in mid-June. Russian media discuss which topics are conducive to consensus and how much leg-work the West needs to do in the run-up to a meeting.