Eurotopics.net

The EU Parliament has called for construction work on the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to be halted following the arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The EU must put an "immediate stop" to the completion of the pipeline, a resolution adopted on Thursday states. Commentators also call for sanctions that have a more tangible impact.

French President Emmanuel Macron has received a report commissioned by the French government and compiled by historian Benjamin Stora. It contains proposals for improving relations between former colonial power France and Algeria, which remain tense 60 years after the Algerian War of Independence. Media from both countries see this as an important opportunity that must be seized.

In his inaugural speech, Joe Biden promised to be "a president for all Americans. He issued a call for unity and urged people to listen to one another. The ceremony inspired hope in many observers that the new administration will be able to reunite the country. Others fear that it will be exclusive in its own way.

The situation could certainly be easier for the newly inaugurated 46th US president: Joe Biden is taking over a politically destabilised and economically weakened nation that is in the grips of a pandemic. Europe's press sees Biden and his team facing a whole series of urgent challenges.