Eurotopics.net

The war in Ukraine is forcing Europe to take swift action, prompting a radical rethinking of previous premises, especially in defence policy. What does this mean for the future of Europe?

The Russian president is showing no signs of relenting in the war against Ukraine. After a telephone conversation with Putin, French President Macron said that the worst was yet to come. Kyiv evoked "nuclear terror" in the wake of the shelling of the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and urgently called for more weapons. European commentators ask whether peace is at all possible.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops has led to a series of tough sanctions against Russia, the most severe of which is considered to be the exclusion of Russian banks from the Swift payment system. While some commentators believe that isolating Russia economically will bring success, others worry that the spiral of mutual sanctions will do more harm than good.

The EU interior ministers have agreed on the non-bureaucratic admission of refugees from Ukraine. The protection status, initially valid for one year and renewable for up to three years, has yet to be approved by the Council of the European Union. Commentators see a change in European refugee policy and ask what status non-Ukrainians fleeing Ukraine will be granted.