Eurotopics.net

Ukraine has asked for expedited European Union membership under a special procedure. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the EU's special relationship with Ukraine in an interview on Sunday: "Ukraine is one of us and we want them in the European Union." Europe's press debates to what extent a fast-track accession procedure would be possible - and sensible.

Humankind is neither limiting climate change nor prepared for its consequences - this is the sobering conclusion of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. The report also warns that there is little time left to avoid the most severe consequences of extreme weather and collapsing ecosystems, and that the efforts so far are entirely inadequate, with the window of opportunity fast closing. Europe's press is alarmed.

The European Union has announced it will provide Ukraine with half a billion euros worth of weapons and equipment. Tough sanctions against Russia were adopted quickly and unanimously. Commentators are impressed by this unusually rapid and unified response.

The 44-year-old Volodymyr Zelensky has been President of Ukraine since May 2019. Before that, the lawyer worked as an actor and comedian. His courageous and skillful denunciation of Putin's brutality and calls on the West to show solidarity have turned him into a national and international role model, as Europe's press comments admiringly.