Eurotopics.net

China announced 1,500 new cases of coronavirus infections on Wednesday morning. Forty million people are now under quarantine in the country. In Europe, only individual cases of infection with the new virus have cropped up so far. Commentators argue that many of their colleagues are exaggerating the threat.

The parliament in Tallinn is expected to approve a pension reform today, Wednesday: The so-called second pillar, the private pension back-up fund, is to be voluntary in future. Until now all employees had to pay two percent of their salary into savings accounts, with the state adding another four percent. Under the reform the money on these accounts can now be withdrawn. Estonia's press is highly critical.

Beijing on Tuesday demanded an apology from Jyllands-Posten after the Danish newspaper published a satirical drawing featuring a Chinese flag with each of the stars depicted as coronaviruses. Stockholm had already summoned China's ambassador in mid-January for repeatedly trying to put pressure on public television broadcasters and newspapers. Danish and Swedish media agree that they must not give in to the Chinese on this issue.

The nationalist conservative party alliance "United Patriots", which is part of the Bulgarian government coalition, wants non-smoking employees to receive two extra days of paid leave in a bid to increase Bulgaria's productivity levels. The national press has difficulties taking this proposal seriously.

Salvini's far-right Lega party was unable to continue its triumphal march through the regional parliaments: on Sunday it lost in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, where Stefano Bonaccini, the candidate of the centre-left coalition which governs at the national level, received 51 percent of the vote. Is this the end of the road for Salvini? Europe's media are at odds.