Eurotopics.net

EU member Croatia joined both the Eurozone and the Schengen Area on 1 January 2023. At a joint press conference in Zagreb, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a "day for history books". Croatian media take different views of the significance of the move.

Russia's war against Ukraine and the West's subsequent sanctions against Russian companies, goods and individuals, along with mobilisation and ever-widening restrictions on the media and NGOs, are taking their toll on the Russian economy. And the people are feeling the pinch, commentators write.

Looking back on a turbulent 2022 in Europe and the world, the press discusses the fate of democracy. Commentators weigh up the electoral victories of the far right against anti-autocracy protests and new European and transatlantic unity.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has profoundly shaken the global order. Although the attack took many by surprise, it was not entirely unexpected, as some commentators stress.

After the dramatic pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, many had hoped for a year of recovery. But the war against Ukraine, soaring inflation and the effects of climate change have meant that reviews of the year 2022 are once again mainly negative. Commentators nonetheless highlight certain constructive developments, too.