Eurotopics.net

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenka paid a state visit to Beijing on Wednesday. Moscow's closest ally is under pressure due to the Western sanctions and hopes to increase its trade ties with China. Commentators speculate on the purpose of the meeting from the Chinese leadership's perspective.

The Finnish parliament voted in favour of joining Nato by 184 votes to 7 on Wednesday. But Finland, like Sweden, is still waiting for Alliance members Hungary and Turkey to approve their accession. What are the chances of these two states lifting their blockade?

Before embarking on a tour of Gabon, Angola, Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo, French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a new strategy for Africa. The military presence of French soldiers is to be reduced and France will seek equal and fair cooperation with its former colonies. Commentators debate the potential consequences of this course.

At least 47 people were killed and 80 injured in a head-on collision between two trains on the Athens-Thessaloniki line on Tuesday. Employees of the Hellenic Railway Company OSE explained that traffic on the line has been controlled manually since 2000 due to a damaged signalling system. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has blamed human error for the tragedy. Greece's press says he is evading his own responsibility with this statement.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti met with EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell in Brussels on Monday to discuss the Franco-German plan to normalise the situation in Kosovo. Although nothing has yet been signed, the proposal can be considered accepted, Borrell said, adding that all that remains to be done is to implement it. Commentators are less certain about that.