| Germany is still reeling after a Saudi man rammed into crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday. Five people were killed and more than 200 injured, while 40 remain in a critical condition. Experts warned over the weekend that the far-right Alternative for Germany may attempt to take advantage of the situation ahead of the February federal elections. True to word, the party already called for a major rally and accused the government of failing to prevent the attack. Meanwhile, far-right parties across the bloc, such as in France and The Netherlands, condemned the deadly incident and used it to push their anti-migration agenda. But, the attacker had previously criticised Islam and expressed sympathy for the far right in past social media posts. Hundreds of Germans in Magdeburg left flowers, candles and teddy bears, as a nine-year-old boy was among the victims. Politically, Berlin remained calm after Musk endorsed the far-right AfD party in a statement on X, prompting positive reactions from the quoted party and the liberal FDP but a cautious response from top-level politicians. On the foreign policy front, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo organised an EU North-South meeting in the Finnish Laponia town of Saariselka on Sunday, inviting EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Orpo noted that Russia remains a "permanent and dangerous threat" to the EU and stressed the need for increased defence spending and support for Ukraine. The leaders agreed to "unequivocally" support Ukraine, while Mitsotakis stressed that it was up to Ukraine to decide when to start talks with Russia. "But it should do so from a position of strength and not from a position of weakness," he added. Meanwhile, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made an unannounced visit to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The discussions reportedly focused on Russian gas transit issues due to the impending expiration of a gas transit deal through Ukraine and the military situation in Ukraine.
In Rome, Meloni's Italy-Albania deal faces another legal setback, calling into question not just the scheme's legitimacy but whether the government has the final say on matters such as third-country definitions, even if they are primary law. Iceland's president presented a new government on Saturday under Social Democratic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir to cut inflation and interest rates and hold a referendum on European Union membership by 2027, public broadcaster RUV said. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Saturday the government would shut down social network TikTok for at least a year from 2025. The announcement comes after two women committed suicide and a 14-year-old boy was murdered outside a school, all linked to bullying and illegal content on the platform. Despite the government's efforts to engage with TikTok over the last year, protests and demands for action led to Rama declaring, “Either TikTok itself must protect the children of Albania, or Albania will protect its own children from TikTok.” | 