European Union

European tourism has had its worst time in living memory as coronavirus lockdowns, curfews and hotel and restaurant closures have threatened the industry's livelihood and frustrated travellers eager for a change of scenery.

The finance ministers of the G7 countries agreed on a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent on Saturday. Under the deal, multinationals will pay more taxes in the country where they generate turnover rather than in the country where they have their headquarters, as has been the case so far. Participants at the meeting celebrated the decision as a historic reform. Commentators acknowledge this, but some doubt that it will truly curb tax avoidance.

Budapest's left-wing mayor Gergely Karácsony has launched a bid to become the lead candidate of a coalition of opposition parties aimed at unseating Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. To this end he announced the establishment of Alliance 99 (the 99 stands for 99 percent of the citizens). Hungary's main opposition parties on the left and right had already decided last year to run together against Orbán's Fidesz, which has been in power since 2010, in the 2022 parliamentary elections.

The Belarusian state television broadcaster ONT aired a lengthy interview with the imprisoned government critic Roman Pratasevich in which the 26-year-old blogger - breaking down in tears at times - admitted to organising protests against President Lukashenka and said he in fact admired the president. Belarusian opposition activists in exile and Pratasevich's parents are convinced that the interview was the result of torture.

The Ukrainian government has presented a draft law aimed at the "deoligarchisation" of the country. Those who are oligarchs according to the definition stipulated in the draft must register and disclose their income on an annual basis. In addition, they are prohibited from financing political parties and purchasing state property. The media are sceptical that this is the right way to break the power of oligarchs in Ukraine.

Hydrogen today represents a tiny fraction of the energy mix but its importance is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years as the European Union aims to create a Europe-wide market for clean hydrogen to drive the decarbonisation of heavy industry.