
Italy is not ready to pretend everything is alright when Europe is not functioning properly, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the day after a key EU gathering. EU leaders had gathered in the Slovak capital on Friday to discuss the EU's future in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the bloc, wrapping up the summit by issuing a roadmap for tackling problems such as migration, security and the faltering economy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party has suffered a historic loss in Berlin state elections, with the right-wing AfD party posting strong gains after riding a wave of anger over her open-door refugee policy. According to projections, the anti-Islam Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) won around 14% in the capital, which has long prided itself on being a diverse and multicultural city.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats were beaten into third place by the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a north-eastern state election on Sunday, TV exit polls showed.

Talks aimed at setting up a U.S.-European free trade zone have run aground because of intransigence on Washington's part, a top German politician said Sunday. The Obama administration and the 28-member European Union have been in talks to set up the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, which would be the world's largest free trade zone.

Argentine president Mauricio Macri arrived in Berlin on Monday, in his first official trip to the country and as part of an European tour aimed at strengthening Argentina’s ties with the European Union. Macri arrived from Brussels where he met EU authorities and the day before, was in Paris with president Francois Hollande.

Germany's coalition government agreed this week to ban fracking for shale gas indefinitely after years of fractious talks over the issue, but environmental groups said the ban did not go far enough and vowed to fight the deal. Test drilling will be allowed but only with the permission of the respective state government, officials said.

If the United Kingdom votes to leave the EU next week, the move could ultimately lead to the bloc's disintegration, Germany's foreign minister has warned. Frank-Walter Steinmeier was speaking near Berlin after talks with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Friday that if Britain voted to leave the European Union, it wouldn't have access to the single market like non-members Norway and Switzerland do.

Angela Merkel broke her silence during the referendum campaign to warn that Britain would find itself isolated and weakened in trade talks outside the European Union. The German chancellor, who has not commented since David Cameron named the referendum date in February, said that a place at the bargaining table for the single market and international trade deals were reasons for Britain to remain in the EU on June 23.

The centenary of the biggest naval engagement of World War One was marked by commemorative events on Tuesday, 31 May. A service at St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney paid tribute to the 8,648 sailors who died during the Battle of Jutland and a service of remembrance also took place on board HMS Duncan at Jutland Bank, the site of the battle.