Eurotopics.net

According to an investigation by the Washington Post, the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto, has been passing on confidential information about the EU to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. The newspaper also says that the Russian foreign intelligence agency, the SVR, is backing the Orbán government in the current election campaign. Budapest vehemently denies the allegations. The EU Commission has demanded an explanation. Europe's media call for decisive action.

After eight years of negotiations, the EU and Australia have agreed on a sweeping free trade deal. Once ratified, almost all tariffs and trade barriers will be removed, except for strict upper limits for certain foods such as beef. There are also plans to improve Europe's supply of critical raw materials.

Italy has voted against judicial reform in a referendum. A 54-percent majority rejected the constitutional amendment required for the project for which Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had campaigned. Even before the vote, Meloni ruled out stepping down in the event of defeat. Two senior civil servants in the Ministry of Justice have already resigned.

The Danish elections have failed to produce a clear winner and a left-wing coalition government is looking just as unlikely as one on the centre-right. The Moderates, led by former foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, could be the kingmaker, but Løkke is refusing to work with the Danish People's Party (DF), which has recently shifted to the right.

In Iran, the influential secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani has been killed in an airstrike. The fate of the supreme leader also remains unclear: Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen since the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The media ask whether the Iranian regime can survive if its leadership continues to be eliminated by Israeli and US attacks.