Eurotopics.net

A glimmer of hope for Julian Assange: the Wikileaks founder has won the right to appeal the decision to extradite him to the US before the UK's Supreme Court. The High Court in London paved the way for the appeal on Monday after a hearing with Assange's lawyers. European commentators call for Assange to be defended in the name of press freedom.

The German navy chief Kay-Achim Schönbach's controversial statements on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are making waves across Europe. Even after his resignation, Kyiv has warned Berlin against playing down the situation. Europe's press takes different views of Schönbach's assertion that Russia does not intend to invade Ukraine and that it only wants respect.

As expected, none of the candidates in the election for Italy's president achieved the required two-thirds majority on Monday. The main parliamentary groups called on their electoral staff to abstain because they could not agree on a candidate. In the fourth round of voting, which is to take place on Thursday, an absolute majority will suffice, and Prime Minister Mario Draghi is considered the favourite.

Greece's government has declared Tuesday, January 25, a public holiday in six regions due to heavy snowfall. Schools are closed and citizens have been advised not to leave home. The announcement came after traffic broke down in Athens and many drivers were left stranded on motorways. The country's media have a sense of déjà vu.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov met in Geneva on Friday to discuss the tense situation in the Ukraine conflict. Russia is demanding a halt to Nato's eastward expansion and to troop deployments near its border. The official results of the meeting are not yet available. Very disparate views of the situation are to be found in Europe's press.

The countries of Europe are responding in different ways to the rising number of infections but milder symptoms caused by the Omicron variant: Austria has opted for mandatory vaccination and hopes to win over sceptics with lottery prizes, while in England, the Czech Republic and Turkey measures are being relaxed. The European press is also divided.