When will Ukraine join the EU?
The symbolism is strong, no question.
The leaders of the European Union, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Charles Michel and 15 commissioners visit Kyiv in the midst of the war.
An EU-Ukraine summit will be held there today.
It is a sign of solidarity with Ukraine, but also a clear signal to Moscow.
Ukraine wants to belong to the democratic and free West.
Vladimir Putin can turn his head on that.
»The entire European Union is on the side of Ukraine in the long term«
,
said Ursula von der Leyen after her arrival in Kyiv.
At the same time, she announced a new package of sanctions against Russia, along with further aid for Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also likely to talk about the prospects of Ukraine joining the EU.
The word “long-term” is crucial here.
Hopes in Kyiv for accession in the near future are high.
At the moment, however, it does not appear that Ukraine's accession to the EU is imminent.
The EU wants to take its time with this, also because Ukraine still has to carry out a number of reforms in order to fit into the EU bloc, for example in the area of fighting corruption.
And what does Putin do? While the EU and Kyiv think about the future, he continues to live in the past.
As expected, in a speech at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Kremlin chief drew parallels between his country's fight against the Nazis and the invasion of Ukraine.
It was a bizarre performance full of crude threats.
Putin also spoke about the German tank deliveries to Kyiv: "It's unbelievable, but German Leopard tanks are threatening us again," Putin explained.
"With crosses on the side." That's what someone says when they don't know what to do.
"We have something to reply with": Putin threatens Germany on the anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad
You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:
Recent developments:
US foreign intelligence expects a decision on the war by summer.
Olaf Scholz insists on Russian withdrawal before possible negotiations.
And: summit meeting in Kyiv.
"I feel remorse, but there was no way to help":
Beatings, mock shootings, interrogations lasting for days: Konstantin Yefremov marched into southern Ukraine with the Russian army, and now he's on the run.
He accuses comrades and commanders of torturing Ukrainians.
How the IOC is preparing for Russia's return:
will Russian athletes compete for gold medals at the Paris Olympics?
If IOC President Thomas Bach has his way, the answer is clear – despite the war of aggression and no matter how Ukraine reacts.
In Mr. Versluys' tank depot:
a Belgian businessman hoards dozens of tanks in a warehouse.
Particularly piquant: the army had once sold him the last of his own copies - which are suddenly worth money because of the Ukraine war.
Spicy visit to Berlin
It took a while, but now the new Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is coming to Berlin for her first visit, three months after taking office.
On Friday afternoon, "Mussolini's heiress," as she was called by SPIEGEL, was received with military honors at the Federal Chancellery.
Then there is a longer conversation with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
It was not only viewed critically in Berlin.
To date, Meloni has not received an appointment at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
"It's as if the 46-year-old had survived a longer probationary period," writes our Rome correspondent Frank Hornig in an analysis of the visit.
In fact, the post-fascist, who also drew sharp criticism of Germany during the election campaign, has been surprisingly tame since taking office.
She wants more cooperation with Berlin, refrains from overly populist tones towards Brussels and avoids other EU right-wing extremists such as Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
From Berlin's point of view, German-Italian relations can certainly continue like this.
However, disputes will probably still be unavoidable.
As always, it's all about money.
Italy advocates a rather lax reform of the European Stability Pact in order to be able to borrow more easily.
Germany is strictly against it.
Giorgia Meloni visiting Olaf Scholz: A post-fascist in the Chancellery
Coronation Mass for Nancy Faeser
Hessen used to be a social-democratic heartland.
There ruled comrades like
Holger Börner
, a skilled construction worker who will be remembered, among other things, for threatening green demonstrators with a beating "with the roof batten".
The State Chancellery in Wiesbaden has now been in the hands of the CDU for more than 20 years.
The SPD wants to change that in the state elections in October, which is why Federal Interior Minister
Nancy Faeser is to become the top candidate
there.
Faeser announced her candidacy in a SPIEGEL interview.
Today the official coronation mass is to take place in Hesse, the management bodies of the Hesse SPD are meeting to approve the personnel.
Then the so-called Hessen summit takes place, a closed meeting of the state, federal and European politicians of the Hessian SPD.
An interesting footnote to Faeser's candidacy is that she will hold on to her position as interior minister in Berlin during the election campaign.
She only wants to switch to Hesse if she wins the election.
In principle, there is not much to be said against this.
The comparison with the then hapless Norbert Röttgen from the CDU, who once failed as environment minister and prime ministerial candidate in North Rhine-Westphalia, does not work.
At the time, Röttgen had too many opponents in his own ranks who wanted to make his life difficult.
That doesn't seem to be the case with Faeser.
As things stand, the whole thing is more of a win-win for Faeser: If she is successful in Hesse, she will get one of the most important prime ministerial offices in Germany.
If it is not enough for the State Chancellery in Wiesbaden, she remains Minister of the Interior, which is also a nice job (with potential for more).
The only requirement: your election result in Hesse should not be catastrophically bad.
The comrades don't like it that much either.
Interior Minister Faeser in a SPIEGEL interview: "I was already the leader of the opposition"
Here is the current quiz of the day
The starting question today: In which of these countries will the scheduled parliamentary elections be held in 2023?
Loser of the day...
…is the
chatbot ChatGPT
working with artificial intelligence .
It can work wonders.
So answering e-mails, writing letters to grandma, writing essays for university or school and so on.
Journalists are already afraid that the robots will soon also write our texts and replace us in the editorial offices.
The good news: it's not that far yet.
When asked who the winner of the day is, the program responds, "I'm sorry, I don't have enough information to determine the winner of the day.
Can you please provide more context?” Hm.
Try again: Who is the loser of the day?
The machine's response in a nutshell: “I don't have access to real-time information and I can't pick the loser of the day.
That depends on certain developments and events that have taken place.
Also, it's important to note that calling someone a 'loser' can be subjective.” Ah, thanks for the tip.
Artificial intelligence in teaching and teaching: »The good guys can get even better with it – the bad ones worse«
The latest news from the night
Pentagon sights Chinese spy balloon over northern US:
A Chinese observation balloon has been spotted in US airspace.
According to the Pentagon, the target could be storage facilities for nuclear weapons.
A launch would obviously be too risky.
Child dies in fatal train accident – second seriously injured:
A tragic accident occurred on a railway line in Recklinghausen in the evening: According to initial findings, a freight train hit two children, one died.
The situation was initially confusing.
Holocaust survivor Sally Perel is dead:
Sally Perel became known through his autobiography »I was Hitlerjunge Salomon« – he has now died at the age of 97.
He had survived the Holocaust because he assumed the identity of an ethnic German.
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
"It makes me free, it makes me happy, it makes me strong":
She started very small: walking home from Eisenach.
Margot Flügel-Anhalt, 69, now drives to the Himalayas in a Lada and through Iran on a motorbike.
What does she learn about herself along the way?
When a tech giant gets rid of their favorite hobby:
"Echo VR" is considered an e-sports discipline.
This summer, however, the development team belonging to Meta wants to stop the VR game.
Thousands of fans are surprised and frustrated - and start a rescue attempt.
When the Black Sea has a green wave:
Spain was the role model: At the end of the 1960s, Romanians and Bulgarians began to build bed castles on the Black Sea coast to boost business with western tourists.
There was room for improvement when it came to comfort.
I wish you a good start into the day.
Yours, Roland Nelles, US correspondent
