Eurotopics.net

A new media law was approved by a large majority in the Ukrainian parliament last week. The European Union had recommended that as an EU candidate Ukraine reform its media legislation. Among other things, the draft seeks to restrict the influence of oligarchs on Ukrainian media. Some commentators fear that the new law gives authorities too much power, also vis-à-vis editorial teams.

Almost ten months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, neither a diplomatic solution nor a clear military outcome to the conflict is in sight. Observers examine how the war is affecting the mood and attitude of people in Russia.

The US is apparently planning to deliver Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine. A decision to this effect could be made public this week, US officials have informed Reuters. So far Kyiv's allies had been reluctant to make such deliveries, and Poland's plan to pass on German Patriot systems to Ukraine had been blocked by Berlin. Europe's press discusses the potential impact of these deliveries.

The ECB has followed the lead of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England and raised its key interest rate by another 0.5 percentage points in a bid to curb inflation. The hike was lower than the previous one but ECB chief Christine Lagarde announced further increases for next year. The inflation rate in the Eurozone dropped slightly in November from 10.6 to 10 percent.