Eurotopics.net

Respect for borders, the sovereignty of states and the taboo of wars of aggression: all these principles have been radically called into question with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Europe's press asks how the world order is changing and what the new rules will look like.

For weeks now, even independent surveys in Russia have put the approval rate for Putin's policies at a more or less constant level of around 82 percent. However, in view of all the propaganda, censorship and penalties for protest, Europe's commentators are dubious about how reliable these results are - especially now that the war against Ukraine has been going on for more than 100 days.

In an interview published in several French regional newspapers, President Emmanuel Macron has warned that humiliating Russia could prevent a diplomatic solution in the war against Ukraine once the fighting ends. He also said he believed France would play a mediating role to end the conflict.

While the states of the European Union are trying to present a united front vis-à-vis Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, EU accession candidate Serbia is backing out. Belgrade is avoiding joining the sanctions front and relying on good relations with Moscow. Commentators call for clear statements from Brussels.

In the wake of the Partygate scandal, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a vote of no confidence put forward by his party, but around 40 percent of Tory MPs voted against him. Commentators take different views of what this means for Johnson and for British politics.