Calls by European politicians for a boycott of Euro 2012 matches in Ukraine won’t affect the sports competition, says Pascal Boniface, head of France’s Institute for International and Strategic Relations. But the country’s 15 minutes in the global spotlight could cut both ways if the controversies continue.

The Euro 2012 countdown is almost over. After five years, co-host Ukraine has experienced political transformation, scandals and anticipation in tandem with large scale infrastructure projects that saw some 2,000 kilometers of roads get commissioned, airport capacity almost double in each host city, and four stadiums either get built or undergo renovation. Extra plotlines have been heaped on Ukraine’s storied rocky road of preparation, while other narratives have collapsed. They’ve only magnified the myriad problems the nation faces to the outside world.

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The German Embassy in Ukraine is expecting up to 100,000 German fans and tourists to come to Ukraine for the Euro 2012 championship.

England fans heading to Euro 2012 have been warned about the potential for high mobile phone bills because Ukraine is outside an EU-wide cap on call charges.

Perennial contender Germany will arrive in Lviv on June 8 ahead of its first match against Portugal, hungry to win its first European championship in 16 years.

When Denmark was drawn in a group with Euro 2012 favorites Holland and Germany along with its qualifying nemesis Portugal in December, a somber mood came over the Danish delegation in Kyiv’s National Palace of Arts.

Jens Nielsen is sitting in his Danish hometown of Esbjerg worrying about Ukrainian train tickets.

The Ukrainian police have dismissed the allegations on the Internet that free use of narcotic drugs will be legalized in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities during the Euro 2012 European Football Championship.