The prospect of a deal between the United States and Iran on Monday pushed the price of oil down by five percent below 100 dollars and dominated headlines from Lisbon to Helsinki. Russia struck Kyiv overnight with an Oreshnik missile, the number of wounded rose to almost 90, and major NATO states, according to Kyiv Post, are blocking Mark Rutte’s plan to increase military aid to Ukraine. In Turkey, police using tear gas raided the headquarters of the opposition CHP. This is what Europe is writing about on Monday, May 25.
DE🇩🇪Germany
- China criticizes Bundestag delegation’s trip to Taiwan Die Zeit ↗
- The state becomes a co-owner of tank manufacturer KNDS — and reportedly rightly so Süddeutsche Zeitung ↗
- Oreshnik: a hypersonic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads threatens all of Europe — what we know about the weapon Tagesspiegel ↗
- Trial of former RAF terrorist Daniela Klette in Verden (what makes it exceptional) Die Zeit ↗
- Power struggle in the VdK social association — chair Verena Bentele is to be removed Süddeutsche Zeitung ↗
- Alexis Tsipras returns to Greek politics Süddeutsche Zeitung ↗
PL🇵🇱Poland
- Raid in President Nawrocki’s mother’s apartment: BBN chief speaks of a “colossal problem,” services reportedly did not know it was the president’s apartment Onet ↗
- Bild: Minister Hegseth compromised over the issue of US troops in Poland Wirtualna Polska ↗
- Krakow Mayor Miszalski removed by municipal referendum — who will replace him Rzeczpospolita ↗
- Kaczyński tries to block Judge Kapiński’s nomination Rzeczpospolita ↗
- Raid in the offices of Lidl and carriers — suspected cartel agreement on the driver market TVN24 ↗
- Minister Domański: the goal is for Poland to be among the EU’s three largest economies within 10 years Rzeczpospolita ↗
HU🇭🇺Hungary
- The Tisza government has state secretaries, Lázár János resigned as head of the tennis federation Portfolio ↗
- Magyar Péter tells Fidesz ministers in the dispute over a letter concerning Orbán Anita: “Tell your fallen boss that I am here” 24.hu ↗
- Huge sums are being decided in Brussels, Hungary faces strict conditions (EU funds) Portfolio ↗
- Balog Zoltán “morally blind” — the pardon case through the eyes of a philosopher of religion 24.hu ↗
- HungaroControl warns of summer flight cancellations; operational disruptions are already substantial Portfolio ↗
AT🇦🇹Austria
- Two dead in a house in Salzburg, police are investigating Der Standard ↗
- Turmoil over billions in cuts: how much money Austrian universities will receive Kurier ↗
- Israel issued a new evacuation call in southern Lebanon ORF ↗
- Myanmar’s army launched a major offensive in border regions ORF ↗
UA🇺🇦Ukraine
- Major NATO states reportedly block Rutte’s plan to increase military aid to Ukraine Kyiv Post ↗
- Stubb declared that he is ready to be the EU representative at peace talks with Russia Ukrajinska Pravda ↗
- A monastery run by Poles was also damaged in the “most terrifying attack” on Kyiv Kyiv Post ↗
- Belarusian opposition leader arrived in Kyiv for talks Kyiv Post ↗
- “It can be compared to Chernobyl”: ministry predicts the creation of a second exclusion zone in Ukraine Censor.NET ↗
- British defense minister’s plane hit by suspicious GPS jamming near the Russian border Kyiv Independent ↗
FR🇫🇷France
- “Hungary is preparing to definitively close the chapter of Viktor Orbán” (analysis) Libération ↗
- Roman Gofman, the new “Russian general” of Mossad, sparks controversy Marianne ↗
- Attal supports Macronist primaries before the 2027 election to avoid an LFI–RN duel BFM TV ↗
- Lebanon: two dead in Israeli strikes in the south of the country France 24 ↗
- Tunisie Telecom app hacked, broadcast a message critical of those in power BFM TV ↗
IT🇮🇹Italy
- Netanyahu returns to court six years after the start of his corruption and fraud trial ANSA ↗
- “The war of the seven straits”: why blackmail over Hormuz opens a new conflict Corriere della Sera ↗
- “China is devouring Made in Italy and Europe — why are we afraid to defend ourselves?” (commentary) Corriere della Sera ↗
- Five EU countries including Italy call for tools to protect the market Il Sole 24 Ore ↗
- Former PLO official is on the Five Star Movement (M5S) candidate list Il Giornale ↗
CH🇨🇭Switzerland
- AfD in Saxony-Anhalt: a cadre nursery and 200 new officials — how it is preparing to take power Tages-Anzeiger ↗
- Deepfakes hit Swiss politics: fake videos about “unrest over immigration” that never happened Tages-Anzeiger ↗
- Friedrich Merz: the ambition of a late starter has been quieted — is there still more to come? (portrait) Neue Zürcher Zeitung ↗
- “The time of open borders is over”: walls and ditches are being built everywhere in West Africa Neue Zürcher Zeitung ↗
ES🇪🇸Spain
- Begoña Gómez (Prime Minister Sánchez’s wife): UCO says her company had commercial activity and the department’s software was created after manipulated contracts El Mundo ↗
- Prosecutors’ association takes appointments to the Prosecutor General’s Office “outside merit” to the European court El Español ↗
- Judge on Zapatero’s future in the trial: “There are indications of criminality” ABC ↗
- Network dismantled that illegally registered more than 400 migrants in Seseña — 91 at one address El Español ↗
- Oil fell 5% below 100 dollars due to progress in US-Iran talks ABC ↗
BE🇧🇪Belgium
- Pope Leo XIV issued a major document on human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence La Libre ↗
- Shooting near the station in Diksmuide: man in life-threatening condition, six arrested, link to drug milieu De Morgen ↗
- Child Focus sounds the alarm: five reports a day amid rising runaways among minors 7sur7 ↗
- UN peacekeeping forces: fewer than 79,000 people deployed in 2025, the lowest in 25 years La Libre ↗
PT🇵🇹Portugal
- Shooter killed near the White House claimed he was Jesus Christ, had previously been hospitalized Observador ↗
- “Europe wants to go into space without the US: we must act quickly” Público ↗
- The French want to invest 800 million euros in green aviation fuel in Figueira da Foz Jornal de Negócios ↗
- Taiwan says US support “has not changed” after the Trump–Xi Jinping summit Expresso ↗
IE🇮🇪Ireland
- Ireland is more exposed to AI economic risks than other countries, according to the IMF The Irish Times ↗
- Iran appears to have won important concessions in Trump’s “largely negotiated” peace deal The Irish Times ↗
- Harris described Seán Kyne’s success in the by-election as a “win for centrist politics” The Journal ↗
NL🇳🇱Netherlands
- Finnish President Stubb ready to represent Europe at peace talks with Russia de Volkskrant ↗
- Men stormed an Ebola clinic in Congo, wanted to take away two dead people NU.nl ↗
- Pope Leo XIV: let us not allow artificial intelligence to rob us of our humanity NOS ↗
🌍 Other Countries
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Rubio — a “solid” deal with Iran could come as early as Monday BBC ↗. Former SNP chief Peter Murrell in court for embezzlement BBC ↗. Anger grows after China’s worst mining disaster in years BBC ↗
- 🇷🇸 Serbia: student protests continue and, according to N1, “confirmed their strength” N1 Serbia ↗
- 🇷🇴 Romania: poll on a referendum to recall President Nicușor Dan Digi24 ↗. A new park in Bucharest will be named “Donald J. Trump” after a popular vote HotNews ↗. Ex-head of ADR, according to the minister, lost 14.7 million lei from the PNRR EU fund Pro TV ↗
- 🇭🇷 Croatia: former US ambassador accused Bakir Izetbegović of secretly yearning for Bosnia’s partition Index.hr ↗. County Court in Zagreb evacuated over bomb threat N1 Croatia ↗
- 🇹🇷 Turkey: Öcalan and DEM Parti react to police raid at CHP headquarters — “is this possible in a democracy?” Cumhuriyet ↗. Akkuyu nuclear power plant close to launch TRT Haber ↗
- 🇸🇪 Sweden: Ericsson is moving its headquarters out of Kista — symbolic end of an era for Swedish tech Dagens Nyheter ↗
- 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: pro-Cypriot governing parties remained outside parliament, a blow to the Cypriot president Dnevnik ↗. Iran re-elected chief negotiator Kalibaf as speaker of parliament 24 Chasa ↗
🔁 Cross-Country Topics
- US-Iran close to a deal, oil falls below 100 USD, Hormuz in play — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇫🇷 FR · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇮🇪 IE · 🇬🇧 UK · 🇵🇹 PT · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇧🇬 BG · 🇨🇭 CH · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇱🇺 LU (14 countries)
- Massive Russian attack on Kyiv, Oreshnik missile and retaliation against Belgorod — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇺🇦 UA · 🇨🇭 CH · 🇭🇺 HU · 🇧🇬 BG
- Enhanced Games — “Olympics” of legal doping in Las Vegas — 🇦🇹 AT · 🇮🇹 IT · 🇨🇭 CH · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇸🇪 SE
- Turkey: police at CHP headquarters and Erdogan’s retreat over closing a university — 🇫🇷 FR · 🇬🇧 UK · 🇹🇷 TR
- Ebola in Congo — more than 900 suspected cases — 🇫🇷 FR · 🇧🇪 BE · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇧🇬 BG
- Heatwave across Europe, up to 35 °C — 🇫🇷 FR · 🇬🇧 UK · 🇪🇸 ES · 🇵🇹 PT · 🇱🇺 LU · 🇩🇪 DE
- Pope Leo XIV — document on AI and human dignity — 🇧🇪 BE · 🇳🇱 NL · 🇵🇱 PL
- Bridge in Indonesia collapsed, two Austrians died — 🇩🇪 DE · 🇦🇹 AT · 🇧🇪 BE
- Attack in Tokyo: man sprayed a substance, about 20 injured — 🇦🇹 AT · 🇷🇸 RS · 🇵🇹 PT
- Belarusian opposition (Tsikhanouskaya) in Kyiv — 🇺🇦 UA · 🇵🇱 PL · 🇧🇬 BG
🔬 Through a Foreign Newsroom’s Eyes
- “China wants to win the war against Taiwan with an army of spies” (NZZ) — Swiss investigation into China’s espionage strategy, which Slovak and Czech media are not covering.
- “Hungary definitively closes the Orbán chapter” (Libération) — a French liberal perspective on Hungary’s transition after Tisza’s takeover of government.
- “AfD is preparing to take power in Saxony-Anhalt” (Tages-Anzeiger) — how the far right is systematically preparing to govern, with personnel purges in the state administration.
What hotinfo Is Watching
Whether the US-Iran deal will bring a real reduction of tensions in Hormuz or merely a temporary calming of oil markets. We are also watching the formation of Magyar’s government in Hungary and the fate of EU funds for Budapest, as well as whether major NATO states will definitively block Rutte’s plan to strengthen aid to Ukraine.
