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Stories in this section cover the EU-27 countries plus the UK, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and the Balkan Countries (Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia).

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Centrist pro-European D66 party set to win election in The Netherlands

Centrist pro-European D66 party set to win election in The Netherlands

The Netherlands is set to elect its youngest ever prime minister after the far-right party of Geert Wilders was projected to suffer losses in an election he brought about by bringing down the government. Rob Jetten, the 38-year-old leader of the pro-European centrist D66 party, is on course to claim the top job with most votes counted. His party is projected to win 27 of the 150 seats in the country's lower house of parliament, beating Mr Wilder's Freedom Party on 25, according to an exit poll by Ipsos. It comes just two years after he led his party to victory in the last election, winning 37 seats, although his coalition partners refused to endorse him as prime minister. Mr Jetten will also need to rely on a coalition himself, with 76 seats needed for a majority. At least four parties will be required for him to get there.
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Erdogan tours the Gulf and says Turkey will buy Eurofighter jets from Qatar and Oman

Erdogan tours the Gulf and says Turkey will buy Eurofighter jets from Qatar and Oman

Turkey is negotiating with Qatar and Oman to acquire used Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets as part of its effort to bolster its air force capabilities. Following a three-day tour of Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman last week in which he oversaw the signing of several agreements, including in the defense sector, President  Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey aims to purchase dozens of Eurofighters and other advanced jets as a stopgap measure to strengthen its fleet until its domestically developed fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet becomes operational.

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Migration dispute topples Government coalition in the Netherlands

Migration dispute topples Government coalition in the Netherlands

The Dutch government coalition has collapsed after far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his party out of the ruling four-party coalition on Tuesday in a dispute over a crackdown on migration, triggering a political crisis just three weeks before the Netherlands is scheduled to host a summit of NATO leaders in The Hague. Wilders announced his decision in a message on X after a brief meeting in parliament of leaders of the four parties that make up the fractious administration. Prime Minister Dick Schoof called an emergency Cabinet meeting for the afternoon and new elections may be called for later this year.
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Conservative nationalist Nawrocki wins Polish presidential election

Conservative nationalist Nawrocki wins Polish presidential election

In Poland, every vote really counts. The election turned out to be an unprecedented neck-and-neck race. Conservative nationalist Karol Nawrocki won the election. With all votes counted, the politician, who is affiliated with the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, has been declared the winner by the Polish electoral commission.
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Monday Commentary
Monday Commentary: The 21st century is Asia’s moment, but for many Asian countries this moment is full of perils

Monday Commentary: The 21st century is Asia’s moment, but for many Asian countries this moment is full of perils

China wants to be first in the world, but its first stop is Asia. While the rest of the world debates and sometimes agonises over whether and how to engage with China, Asian countries have no choice but to engage. And in most cases, they will have to do so on China's terms. Most countries have to play a balancing game, but China is taking no chances. Chinese leader Xi Jinping's recent trip to Southeast Asia in April was a case in point. Another was the China-GCC-ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur on 28 May, attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and the leaders of the six Gulf monarchies and the ten ASEAN countries.
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Close race in Presidential election that may determine Poland’s future direction

Close race in Presidential election that may determine Poland’s future direction

Poland’s presidential election has come down to an ideological choice between a liberal pro-European versus a nationalist conservative. They are polling so close that the outcome is impossible to predict in the run-off round on Sunday 1st June. The contest has international implications with US President Donald Trump throwing his weight behind the nationalist candidate, Karol Nawrocki, dangling the prospect of closer military ties if Poles choose him over liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski.
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Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security

Syria and Israel in direct talks focused on security

Israel and Syria are in direct contact and have in recent weeks held face-to-face meetings aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflict in the border region between the two longtime foes, according to an exclusive Reuters report. The contacts mark a significant development in ties between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decades, as the U.S. encourages the new Islamist rulers in Damascus to establish relations with Israel and Israel eases its bombardment of Syria.
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Russia, Ukraine complete record prisoner exchange amidst Russian barrage of drones against Ukraine

Russia, Ukraine complete record prisoner exchange amidst Russian barrage of drones against Ukraine

Russia announced on Sunday it had exchanged another 303 Ukrainian prisoners of war for the same number of Russian soldiers held by Kyiv, the last phase of the largest-ever such swap between the warring countries. Russia and Ukraine have over three days "carried out the exchange of 1,000 people for 1,000 people", the defence ministry said. Meanwhile,  US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "crazy" on Sunday after Moscow launched a deadly barrage of drones against Ukraine.
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Monday Commentary
The tragedy in Gaza will haunt the West for a long time to come

The tragedy in Gaza will haunt the West for a long time to come

In the last few days, the EU and the UK took the first public steps to censure Israel for its actions in Gaza. It was done ever so gently that one could not be blamed for not noticing, but politically it was a seismic step taken after much consideration and soul-searching, and it will have long-term implications. But for many, it is too little, too late. Gaza is a tragedy that the West has been unable to prevent. It will haunt the West, particularly Europe for a long time to come.