Eurotopics.net

The Austrian government wants to extend compulsory military service from six to nine months. Its 6+3 scheme is intended to boost the Austrian army's operational readiness and better prepare soldiers for crisis and defence tasks. To make military service more attractive, holiday entitlement will be introduced and pay will be hiked up to 1,000 euros a month. The press is very sceptical.

In July 2025, after more than 40 years of civil war, the PKK has symbolically laid down its arms. Reconciliation with the Kurds is now to be placed on a legal footing, and Turkey has announced that is preparing the legal framework for a peace process that will regulate disarmament, returns and reintegration. The speaker of Turkey's parliament, Numan Kurtulmuş, called for Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood.

Following days of protests in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked Olexander Syrskyi and appointed General Mychajlo Drapatyj to take over as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The protests started when Zelensky dismissed the popular Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Following the removal of President Tamás Sulyok, chess champion Judit Polgár – Prime Minister Péter Magyar's favoured candidate for the job – has declined the nomination. Polgár explained that she did not feel strong enough to shoulder the historic responsibility of uniting a divided nation. Commentators debate the reasons for her refusal and whether Magyar should reconsider his approach.