Eurotopics.net

In Poland, a strict ban on abortions with only very few exceptions has been in place for a year now. Now a pregnant woman in the town of Pszczyna has died after doctors refused to perform an abortion before the foetus's heart had stopped beating. Women's rights activists have launched new protests and hundreds of candles have been lit outside the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw. The press is also shocked.

Sweden's capital region is suffering from a steadily worsening shortage of midwives. On Friday, 26 Stockholm midwives resigned in protest against undignified working conditions and low wages, and more than 100 have resigned so far this year. The provincial government has now signalled its willingness to negotiate. The press also sees urgent need for action.

Republican Glenn Youngkin has been elected the next governor of the US state of Virginia according to preliminary results. The vote is widely seen as an important test of the mood ahead of the midterm elections in the US next year. If the Democrats lose their wafer-thin majority in the Senate, Joe Biden will have little chance of implementing his governmental plans. Europe's press is following the developments with great interest.

The number of Covid cases is rising in many European countries despite widespread vaccination. In Eastern Europe in particular, healthcare systems are buckling under the strain of the fourth wave of the pandemic. But in the West, too, rising hospitalisation numbers are leading to tightened restrictions. Commentators from various countries fear that their governments are once again ill-prepared.

Ten EU countries are calling on Brussels to label nuclear power as a green source in the EU's taxonomy for sustainable activities. Among them are states like France, which have long relied on nuclear power, and also countries like Poland, which only now plan to start building nuclear power plants. The taxonomy is seen as an important guide for sustainable investments. Commentators are divided.