European Union

Inflation is currently at its highest level in decades, in Europe and around the world. In the Eurozone it stands at 4.9 percent, in Russia at 8.4 percent and in Turkey at 21 percent. Consumers are being hit particularly hard by high energy costs and rising food costs. But in many countries citizens can expect little help from the politicians, commentators observe.

The Belarusian blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky, husband of opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. The 43-year-old was convicted of "preparing and organising mass unrest" in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. For commentators, this shows once again how far Lukashenka's Belarus has moved away from democratic standards.

France's President Macron has met with Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán in Budapest. Both stressed their willingness to cooperate despite differences, and Macron hinted at a concession on migration policy but said that Hungary was too inflexible on the subject of the rule of law for the EU to disburse money from the Covid recovery fund. Commentators discuss the purpose of the meeting.

Nine months after the Dutch general elections, the four previous coalition parties in The Hague have finally settled on a new coalition agreement. The press comments bitingly on the fact that Prime Minister Mark Rutte is now embarking on his fourth term in office.

The suicide of Spanish actor Verónica Forqué has reignited the debate about mental health in Spain. According to statistics, twelve percent of the population takes tranquillisers, and incidence rates for panic attacks, hypochondria and obsessive-compulsive disorders are rising sharply. Commentators look for causes and bemoan the lack of government action.