European Union

After Kyiv and Moscow traded blame over the worsening situation in the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine was able to mobilise its Western allies at political level, with several high-level meetings planned this week.

Airlines could check new European Union COVID certificates before allowing onboard passengers going on summer holidays, a senior official said on Tuesday (13 April) as the bloc seeks to restart a travel sector ravaged by the pandemic.

The CDU presidium on Monday backed party leader Armin Laschet as the Christian Democrats' candidate for chancellor in this year's general election. In Bavaria the CSU presidium did the same with its chairman Markus Söder. The latter is now pushing for the two parties' joint decision on the candidate to take account of the polls - in which he is ahead. Europe's press sheds light on the implications of the decision with a view to the September elections.

The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 is gaining momentum in some EU countries, but vaccination rates are still low compared to those in the US and the UK. The Next Generation EU recovery plan for the pandemic-weakened economy was quickly adopted last year, but not a single euro has been distributed yet. Are doubts about the EU's effectiveness in the crisis justified? Commentators are divided.

France's President Macron has presented his plans to abolish the prestigious École Nationale d’Administration, training school of the elites. Generations of high-ranking officials have received their education there, including Macron himself. It is to be replaced by the much more inclusive Institut du Service Public and a new curriculum.

The pandemic is also having an indirect negative impact on people's health: from mental health issues caused by social restrictions to a registered excess mortality that has nothing to do with Covid-19 infections. Policymakers need to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon and find ways to deal with it, commentators urge.