Eurotopics.net

The US Supreme Court has handed down its judgement on the extent to which former presidents are protected from criminal prosecution. According to this judgement immunity applies to official acts, at least. Decided by six votes to three, this was a victory for the ultra-conservative justices on the jury. Europe's press discusses the implications for the cases pending against ex-president Donald Trump.

The first round of the French parliamentary elections will be held on Sunday. President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly after his party suffered heavy losses and the right-wing nationalist Rassemblement National (RN) made strong gains in the European elections. The electoral alliance New Popular Front (NFP) is running with a centre-left agenda. Europe's press is keeping a close eye on the developments in France.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump fiercely attacked each other in the first televised debate between the US presidential candidates. Biden labelled Trump a liar and a criminal with the "morals of an alley cat". Trump made the unsubstantiated claim that the migration policy of the "worst president of all time" had led to more crime. The European press is unanimous that Biden in particular failed to make a convincing impression.

Hungary takes over the rotating presidency of the EU Council on 1 July. The Hungarian government's much-criticised stance vis-à-vis EU decision-making, particularly with regard to the war in Ukraine, has raised doubts about the country's suitability for this role. Press reports now paint a more nuanced picture.

The EU leaders have now officially agreed on who the top posts in the bloc should go to: Germany's Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) is to remain Commission President, Portugal's António Costa (S&D) is to become President of the European Council and Estonia's Kaja Kallas (Renew Europe) is to take over as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Commentators assess the selection from different perspectives.