Eurotopics.net

Against the backdrop of the rapidly deteriorating situation in eastern Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised financial support but not the heavy weapons demanded by Kyiv. Like several other voices in the German press, he fears that weapons deliveries could further escalate the conflict. Europe's press for the most part finds this approach too hesitant.

Inflation in the Eurozone is currently unusually high at 5.8 percent - and there is no sign of the war in Ukraine abating or the soaring prices for energy, food and raw materials on the global market going down. Life is becoming more expensive - and it is questionable whether wages and pensions will rise accordingly. But the problem has very different repercussions for rich and poor countries.

Every year on April 25 Portugal celebrates the anniversary of the Carnation Revolution of 1974 - a military coup that put an end to the dictatorship and initiated the transition to democracy, freedom and European integration. The Portuguese press takes stock 48 years on.

With the run-off vote for the French presidency taking place on Sunday, Europe is watching France with bated breath: the latest polls put the liberal incumbent Macron ahead of his far-right rival Le Pen, but his victory is by no means certain. Undecided and left-leaning voters will be crucial for the outcome. Commentators see the vote as decisive for the EU's future.

Moscow announced it had captured the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Thursday morning, but Kyiv promptly contradicted this. Ukrainian forces are still putting up resistance at the Azovstal steel plant. Only a few civilians at a time are being allowed to leave the port city, which has been sealed off by Russian military forces for weeks. Aerial shots show what appears to be new mass graves. Europe's press examines the symbolic significance of this battleground.