Eurotopics.net

For days now, European media have been covering the war in Ukraine around the clock, often stressing that these events are taking place in the middle of Europe. More distant conflicts receive less attention and refugees from other crisis areas less solidarity, commentators criticise.

The war in Ukraine is also having repercussions on international cultural life: Russian star conductor Valery Gergiev lost his post as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra after he failed to publicly distance himself from his friend Vladimir Putin. Performances by opera star Anna Netrebko, who said on the weekend that she was against artists being forced to reveal their political beliefs, have also been cancelled. Europe's press analyses the pros and cons of such views.

One year after taking office, US President Joe Biden is facing serious problems: on the home front he has failed to push through social and environmental reforms, while in foreign policy the US's inglorious withdrawal from Afghanistan remains fresh in people's minds. And now the acute threat of an invasion of Ukraine must be dealt with. Taking stock, the European press is highly critical.

In France, the president is not obliged to justify his actions before the National Assembly. So for Emmanuel Macron, his speech to the EU Parliament on Wednesday outlining the goals of his country's EU Council presidency was also a welcome occasion to open the French presidential campaign on European terrain. Not all commentators are happy about this conflation.