Eurotopics.net

The G7 summit in Taormina in Sicily is beginning under difficult circumstances. There is major disagreement among the leaders of the West's seven most important industrial nations, the US, Canada, the UK, Japan, Germany, France and Italy. For the first time the latter six states must try to reach a consensus with US President Donald Trump on trade policy, climate protection and the refugee crisis. What does the meeting hold in store?

The far-right L'SNS founded by Marian Kotleba is facing the prospect of becoming the first party elected to the Slovakian parliament to be banned. Kotleba's first party, Slovak Togetherness, was also banned. Legally a ban would be the right move, Slovakian journalists believe. But would that be the end of the right-wing extremists, whom current polls rank as the country's third-strongest political force?

The attack in Manchester has reignited the debate in Europe's press about how to react to Islamist terror. Is the openness of the modern world in fact fuelling terror?

Nowhere in the world is alcohol consumed in such great quantities as in Lithuania, according to a recent report by the World Health Organisation. In a counteroffensive the Lithuanian governing coalition wants to reduce alcohol consumption through various bans. In neighbouring Latvia, where similar quantities of alcohol are consumed, the sale of alcohol in two-litre bottles is to be banned as of 2020. Baltic media see little sense in the measures.

Facebook's purchase of Whatsapp is having expensive repercussions: the EU Commission has imposed a fine of 110 million euros on the US company for providing false information about data sharing before the takeover. The press praises Europe's competition authorities - but also warns that they must do more to counter the dominant position of US technology companies.

Pressure on US President Donald Trump is mounting in the scandal over alleged ties between Russia and Trump's campaign team. The Department of Justice has placed the investigations into the affair in the hands of former FBI chief Robert Mueller, who is considered to be non-partisan. This shows that the institutions' checks and balances are still functioning, some commentators conclude. For others, the last thing the US needs is Trump's impeachment.