Eurotopics.net

The outcome after the presidential election in Belarus is still completely open: the mass protests are continuing, there are strikes in factories, but President Lukashenko has given no indication that he is willing to offer the opposition concessions, much less step down. Nonetheless many European media are already focusing on how things could develop in Belarus once his era is over.

When the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic engulfed Europe, the EU states responded individually and without coordination. Many countries opted for more or less strict lockdowns, while others didn't impose any lockdown. Borders were closed. The free movement of persons and goods came to a halt. Journalists warn that such a chaotic scenario must be avoided at all cost.

The key matches of the 2019/2020 UEFA Champions League football tournament are currently taking place in Lisbon, albeit under special conditions due to the pandemic: all matches from the quarter-finals onwards will take place within just a few days without spectators and at the same venue, and the contest between two teams will be decided in a single match, as in the World Cup. Commentators discuss the future of this format.

The EU leaders are discussing the situation in Belarus and the mass protests rocking the country at an emergency summit today. Shortly before the video conference began, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned against foreign intervention in Belarus. What can the EU do to defuse the tensions in the country?