Eurotopics.net

Swiss media group Ringier has sacked several senior journalists at the Romanian daily Libertatea. The newspaper has uncovered numerous corruption scandals in recent years and is the most widely read in the country. Ringier justified the decision pointing to a decline in revenues. Commentators voice concern about press freedom and bemoan the predominance of profit-driven interests.

Negotiators from the EU Parliament and member states have agreed on the key points of the AI Act which has been in preparation since 2021. The law aims to guarantee transparency on the use of artificial intelligence, ensure high quality of the data used in development and protect copyrights. In the areas of data protection and security-relevant applications, human-controlled risk management will become mandatory.

Just weeks after his inauguration as Slovakian prime minister, Robert Fico has announced plans to abolish the Special Prosecutor's Office that deals with corruption and serious crime, as promised during his campaign. The office's head, special prosecutor Daniel Lipšic, was the lawyer who represented the parents of murdered journalist Ján Kuciak in 2018. Fico's move has prompted a warning from Brussels and demonstrations across the country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan travelled to Greece for talks on Thursday. Just a year ago, Ankara and Athens were threatening each other with war, but now there are signs of a rapprochement and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Erdoğan have signed a joint declaration for "friendly relations and good neighbourliness". Commentators' views on whether real progress has been made differ widely.