Eurotopics.net

The annual rallies took place in many countries on May 1, International Workers' Day. However, partly due to changing employment relations in post-industrial society, the protests have lost their momentum. Europe's press takes a closer look.

Pressure is growing inside and outside Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) to expel former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder because of his close ties to Putin. Schröder is a board member of the Russian energy giant Rosneft and has been nominated for a board position at Gazprom. Europe's press debates how to react.

After initially rejecting the idea Germany is now pushing for an EU-wide embargo on Russian oil imports - pointing out that Russia earns significantly more from oil than from natural gas, and that oil is more widely available on the global market than gas. This potential cut in energy supplies is, however, by no means uncontroversial among EU member states, and questions remain as to how much Russia's revenues would suffer as a result.

France and its overseas territories are politically out of sync. In the first round of the recent presidential elections a majority there voted for the left-wing populist Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Then in the second round far-right Marine Le Pen won 58 percent of the vote. The elections have exposed the profound crisis in relations between mainland France and the country's former colonies scattered all over the world.

The war in Ukraine is entering a new phase. More and more states in the West are supplying the Ukrainian army with heavy weapons. Russia is not only threatening to cut off gas supplies but also indicating it is prepared to resort to nuclear weapons. Europe's press is concerned and wonders how dangerous the cornered president can get.