Eurotopics.net

In a surprise move, Poland's parliament passed a new broadcasting law on Friday which protects the country's TV stations from takeovers by non-European countries. Currently, the only TV station with owners outside the EU is TVN, which belongs to the US group Discovery and is critical of the Polish government in its reporting. The new legislation prompted protests in over 100 cities on Sunday.

In view of the rapid spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant, the Netherlands has once again gone into lockdown. Denmark has also introduced wide-ranging lockdown measures. But although at 60 percent the mutant is already the dominant variant in Britain, Prime Minister Johnson wants to avoid a lockdown for the time being. What are the alternatives?

A report published by Sweden's State Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) shows that the number of reported robberies in which the victims and perpetrators are youths has more than doubled in recent years. The report also indicates that the number of cases in which the perpetrators come from a migration background is far higher than for the victims. The press voices anger at the ineffectiveness of the authorities.

The Czech Republic commemorated the playwright, civil rights activist and politician Václav Havel on the weekend. Havel, who was probably the best-known Czechoslovak and later Czech president died ten years ago. Commentators ask how his values would fit in with today's world.

In contrast to the US Federal Reserve, which is raising interest rates, the ECB is sticking to its zero interest policy for the time being. ECB chief Christine Lagarde reiterated on Thursday that the current high inflation levels were a temporary phenomenon. Instead, the ECB's Governing Council announced that it will discontinue its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) at the end of March. Many commentators take a sceptical view of the decisions.