Eurotopics.net

Instead of imposing a nationwide curfew as expected, Erdoğan on Tuesday announced a "Campaign of National Solidarity", calling on citizens to make donations to all those who lose their jobs as a result of the corona pandemic. Critics fear that the money will end up mostly in the pockets of pro-government companies. Turkish media are divided along the usual lines in their assessment of the measure.

Romania's healthcare system was suffering from brain drain even before the corona crisis. Now the country is also suffering from massive shortages of protective equipment. Local media report that medical staff are refusing to work in some hospitals. Is this understandable or irresponsible? National media take different views.

EU Commission President von der Leyen has warned EU states against disproportionate crisis measures. With its approval of an emergency law, Hungary's parliament had previously given Prime Minister Orbán power to govern by decree for an unlimited time. Europe's press is worried that the model could set a precedent and demands swift action from Brussels.

Throughout Europe countries are running out of protective face masks, most of which are produced in China. Germany imposed an export ban at the beginning of March and now the Czech Republic has followed suit. In France all stocks were confiscated so they could be distributed to health workers. Commentators discuss ways to deal with the shortages.

Most of the European countries that already have lockdown restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic have extended them until Easter or shortly thereafter. However experts and many commentators expect the more or less strict lockdowns to continue beyond that point - and are looking at how to tackle this challenging situation.