Eurotopics.net

The Winter Olympics in Beijing came to an end on Sunday evening. After the traditional closing ceremony IOC President Thomas Bach handed over the Olympic flag to the mayors of Milan and Cortina, where the next Winter Games will be held in 2026. Europe's press takes stock of the event.

The discount supermarket chain Lidl is facing massive criticism under the hashtag cancel_Lidl on social media over its treatment of an elderly woman who was caught trying to steal food at a store in Athens. The store manager called the police and pressed charges against the needy senior citizen even though several customers had offered to pay for the food. Lidl has since withdrawn the charges.

As a colonial power the Netherlands systematically used excessive force and committed war crimes during Indonesia's war of independence from 1945 to 1949. This is the conclusion of the largest study to date on the subject, which was published last week. Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologised to Indonesia on behalf of the Dutch government. The national press comments.

The conservative People's Party (PP) is in the midst of an internal power struggle between two Madrid politicians: Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the president of the capital region, and Pablo Casado, leader of the party at the national level. The PP is the main opposition party and the strife is likely to intensify the drift of votes to the far-right Vox party, as was already evident in the regional Castilla y León elections on 13 February. The media are concerned.

France, certain European partners and Canada plan to withdraw their troops from Mali, where soldiers have been stationed for nine years to support local security forces in the fight against terrorist groups. Recently, however, these missions became a bone of contention when relations with the ruling military junta deteriorated. Europe's press approves of the withdrawal but warns of complications.