Eurotopics.net

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his party Ano won the regional elections this weekend. However his partners in the national government - the social democrats and the communists - suffered such great losses that forming a coalition at the regional level will now be more difficult. This strengthens the position of the conservative and liberal opposition parties in the 2021 general election, the press concludes.

The EU has launched legal action against the UK after London failed to meet its ultimatum to withdraw its controversial Internal Market Bill. If signed into law the bill would override key sections of the existing Brexit Withdrawal Agreement with Brussels. Europe's press is divided on whether this will escalate the tensions or whether it is just a formality.

The Polish government is being restructured and reduced in size. There will now be 14 instead of 20 ministries. Jarosław Kaczyński, head of the national-conservative governing party PiS, will become deputy prime minister. The new minister of science and education will be Przemysław Czarnek, who is being criticised for his anti-LGBT statements. What impacts will the restructuring of the cabinet have on relations with the EU?

In view of the situation in Belarus and the repressive acts against prominent IT professionals, Latvia and Lithuania see the chance to attract companies that no longer feel safe there. Latvia, in particular, has low bureaucratic hurdles and, according to the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), some companies have already committed to relocating there. Nervous anticipation can be seen in the Baltic press.

Navalny has given the news magazine Der Spiegel his first extensive interview after being poisoned. He accuses Putin of being personally responsible for the attack and announced that he would return to Russia and continue his political struggle. Putin's press officer Dmitry Peskov reacted with the counteraccusation that Navalny was receiving instructions from the CIA.