Eurotopics.net

Ulf Kristersson, leader of the liberal-conservative Moderate Party, became Sweden's new prime minister on Monday. His conservative coalition plans to work closely with the Sweden Democrats (SD). Migration and fighting crime are the main issues on which there is common ground among the parties. Commentators look on with concern.

Although Moscow still officially calls Russia's war against Ukraine a "special operation", Putin has now imposed martial law in the four illegally annexed Ukrainian regions, allowing commanders there to massively restrict civic freedoms. At the same time the Russian military is calling on the civilian population in Kherson to flee. Commentators examine the implications.

Because Poland has failed to comply with all the requirements of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the EU Commission is threatening to withhold payments from the bloc's Cohesion Fund. This was first reported by the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita with reference to confidential documents. If Poland does not fulfil the agreed conditions for the disbursement of EU funds, billions in payments could be withheld. The press is alarmed.

Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has caused an uproar with remarks about Vladimir Putin. In an audio recording of a meeting with members of his Forza Italia party, the 86-year-old member of parliament boasted that Putin had given him 20 bottles of vodka for his birthday and had described him as one of his five true friends. What does this mean for the pending formation of a new government?