German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, along with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, decried Russia's attacks during their joint trip to Ukraine.

We take a look at how the papers are reacting to Thursday's visit by Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Mario Draghi to Kyiv. We also discuss the second round of the French legislative elections this coming Sunday, which could see Macron's bloc lose its absolute majority in parliament.

Rwanda is gearing up host the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from June 20-25 in the capital Kigali. The East African country, which has dropped French in favour of English in schools, wants to use the summit to promote its tourism and hospitality sector. But NGOs that are highly critical of Rwanda's human rights record hope to put this aspect in the spotlight during the event. Our correspondents report.

The executive body of the European Union has recommended that Ukraine be granted EU candidate status. Kyiv has sought candidate status since 2014.

The Cypriot government says the vast majority of migrants enter the island's breakaway north via Turkey and then seek asylum in the EU-backed south. Arrivals doubled to about 10,000 in the first five months of this year.

The European Commission has recommended candidate status for Ukraine. Just over three months after being invaded by Russia, Kyiv has cleared the first hurdle on the road to membership.

Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief has called for Russia to end its blockade of Ukrainian ports. His comments come ahead of a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers.

The European Commission has recommended EU member candidate status for Ukraine and Moldova, but said Georgia still falls short. In Tbilisi, tens of thousands came out to defend their dream of a future in Europe.

Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia have criticized the slow progress on their EU membership bids. With Ukraine on the fast track, Western Balkan leaders are meeting with their EU counterparts — but hold out little hope.

EU leaders are in Brussels to discuss the membership bids of Ukraine and Moldova. Meanwhile, the European Parliament has voted heavily in favor of the two countries' getting candidate status.

The European Union should change the way it does business with Africa to redress imbalances left over in part from the colonial era, EU lawmakers have said.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine four months ago, the cost of living crisis has become a global issue. Prices have gone up around the world. In Europe, the countries that use the euro saw an average of 8.1 percent inflation in May. Pressure on prices, combined with stuttering economic growth, has sparked fears of a recession. These concerns could still come into play regarding the EU's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this programme, we're joined by two MEPs to discuss how the EU should balance sanctions against Russia with the risk of recession.