When German chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Poland in May, prime minister Donald Tusk heralded “a new beginning … in Polish-German relations”. Tusk also called for a summit of the Weimar triangle, an alliance between France, Germany and Poland created in 1991 as a working forum for European security. Foreign ministers from its three member countries worked together following the 2014 killings of protesters in Kyiv’s Maidan square, but in recent years, the alliance has become less effective amid the perceived cautiousness of former German chancellor Olaf Scholz to take decisions to arm Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion. Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Tusk have all signalled a commitment to the forum’s potential, but as foreign policy researcher Rachel Herring notes, there is concern that Polish president-elect Karol Nawrocki, a staunch nationalist, will block pro-European legislation that could help further its goals.

Earlier this month, Bulgaria received permission from the European Commission to enter the eurozone on January 1, one year after the country joined the EU’s passport-free Schengen area. But the timing of the currency switch lacks popular support – a May poll found that just over 20% of Bulgarians are in favour – and anti-euro protests in Sofia have followed the rise of Vazrazhdane, a nationalist political party that won more than 13% of the vote in October elections. Amid this climate, University of Birmingham doctoral researcher Yuxiang Lin looks at the benefits and disappointments that have come since Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007, and writes that its current coalition government will need to guard against the potential for eurosceptic movements to grow.

Degrowth – the reduction of production and consumption in an equitable way – and fashion may not, at first glance, seem like a good fit. The industry creates 92 million tonnes of clothing waste each year, and as Handan Vicdan, a marketing professor at EM Lyon, writes, efforts to efficiently reduce and discard waste do not advance degrowth principles. But upcycling – the transformation of waste into something of higher value – does. Vicdan and her colleagues looked at designers, brands and manufacturers in Turkey that practice upcycling, and she notes that while efforts such as using sailcloth to make handbags and collecting food waste to make textile dyes are still niche, they can foster degrowth values.

It’s always a good time to interrupt a sedentary lifestyle, and research shows that opting for more snacks – “exercise snacks” – is an effective way to do this. Brief periods of high-intensity movement several times a day reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and they also improve metabolic capacity and muscle function. Climbing stairs can count, as can jogging in nearby woods – but since it’s almost summer, read our explainer on how to distinguish and treat tick, wasp, spider and mosquito bites.