Eurotopics.net

In addition to anti-inflation measures and the Ukraine war, migration policy is at the top of the agenda at the EU leaders' summit taking place this Thursday and Friday. Eight member states are calling for more restrictive asylum laws and tougher measures to combat illegal immigration, including EU financing for border fences. Others stress the need to continue to offer legal paths for immigration to the EU.

Turkey's parliamentary and presidential elections are due to be held in May - just three months after the earthquakes. The Turkish and international press concur that the disaster will play a key role in the election campaign, especially because many people blame President Erdoğan for the lack of adequate protective measures. Commentators are less unanimous about the consequences for Erdoğan's bid for re-election.

US President Joe Biden placed special emphasis on the economic situation in the US in his State of the Union Address. The Democrat stressed that twelve million new jobs have been created in the first two years of his presidency and called on Republicans to collaborate with his administration so that more projects can be implemented. Europe's press focuses on Biden's protectionist measures.

After the earthquakes in south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria, the number of victims is rising rapidly. By Wednesday morning the death toll had climbed to at least 9,000 and thousands of people are struggling to survive, trapped under the rubble or completely exposed to the freezing cold. Europe's press discusses what must be done to ensure that international aid reaches as many people as possible as quickly as possible.