Warsaw

Poland opened an art show on April 26 to celebrate its only Van Gogh painting, a rare early landscape worth millions that was once hawked by a pedlar for the price of a beer.

"Country Huts Among Trees" dates from 1883 when the impoverished Dutch artist was still learning to paint in the countryside around The Hague.

Sofia, the vibrant capital of Bulgaria, is experiencing a surge in its economic landscape, surpassing the average European standard of living, according to senior researcher Peter Ganev from the Institute for Market Economics.

Seeking new ways to bolster European defensive cooperation, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called for the creation of a European Security Fund in statements after meeting with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Warsaw on Friday.

LOT Polish Airlines reinstated direct flights from Athens to Warsaw on Thursday. Flights will depart Warsaw daily at 2.10 p.m., with an additional flight added Mondays and Saturdays during the summer.

The flights between Warsaw Chopin Airport and Athens International Airport will be carried out on Embraer 195, Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

A brewing scandal has gripped European politics as reports surface of Russia's alleged payment to high-ranking Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in a bid to sway the upcoming European elections scheduled for June. According to Politico, the revelations come amidst growing concerns over foreign interference in democratic processes within the European Union.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will receive French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin on Friday after tensions between the leaders blew out into the open over differences on how to support Ukraine.

After a clear-the-air meeting in the chancellery, the pair will be joined by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for urgent consultations on further European military backing for Kiev.

"It is our common purpose, over time, to do for Europe's east what NATO has already helped to do for Europe's west. Steadily and systematically, we will continue erasing the line drawn in Europe by Stalin's bloody boot", said the then-Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright twenty-five years ago while welcoming the first new NATO members since the Cold War's end.

Tensions erupted in Warsaw as protesting farmers clashed with police in a demonstration against EU climate policies and Ukrainian agricultural imports, threatening their livelihoods.

Ukraine is willing to accept limitations on its trade with the EU as a means to resolve a contentious political disagreement with Poland, according to the Ukrainian trade minister, reported by the Financial Times.

In a unified expression of grief and condemnation, citizens and visitors of Sofia gathered in front of the Russian Embassy to commemorate the life and legacy of Alexei Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.