Eurotopics.net

Slovenia elects a new parliament on Sunday. Critics accuse the incumbent right-wing nationalist prime minister, Janez Janša of the Slovenska Demokratska party, of increasingly adopting the authoritarian approach of his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán. The most promising opponent is Robert Golob of the left-liberal green party Gibanje Svoboda, founded in 2021. For commentators, the stakes are high in this election.

As a sanction against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be banned from participating in this year's Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon in London. The ban will affect No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev from Russia and two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Asarenka from Belarus. The press disagrees on whether this is the right approach.

On Sunday, France will hold a runoff election for the presidency. The latest polls put incumbent Emmanuel Macron ahead of his opponent Marine Le Pen, who is assigned to the far-right political spectrum, with 55 percent. The kingmakers will be those who voted for leftist candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the first round of the voting. Europe's press is deeply concerned for France's future.

The battle for eastern Ukraine is raging: the Russian military on Wednesday reported that it had attacked 1,053 Ukrainian military sites. Ukraine said that it had blocked Russian troops from entering Sloviansk. Evacuations have begun in Kramatorsk. Ukrainian President Zelensky warned the population about attacks on residential areas. Commentators are following the situation with grave concern.

EU Council President Charles Michel paid an unexpected visit to Kyiv on Wednesday. At a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he said the EU would "do everything" to ensure Ukraine "will win the war". Empty promises or a sea change?