Eurotopics.net

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Wednesday to show solidarity with the imprisoned and seriously ill opposition leader Alexei Navalny. According to Human Rights Watch, less violence was used against the demonstrators this time than during previous protests. Commentators discuss whether the Navalny protests are losing momentum.

According to media reports, Joe Biden is set to be the first US president to officially recognise the Armenian genocide, the 106th anniversary of which is on 24 April. According to estimates, between 1.2 and 1.5 million Armenians were killed by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

The Stora Enso group has announced that it is closing its pulp and paper production at its mill in Kemi, northern Finland and another mill in central Sweden. Around 670 employees will lose their jobs in Kemi, making this the largest plant closure in the history of the Finnish forest industry. There's no point in moping, say Finnish commentators, and pin their hopes on innovation in the timber industry.

The General Council of the Judiciary in Spain, which decides on the appointment of judges to the country's highest courts, has been blocked and inactive for two years because of a deadlock between the parliamentary parties. An initiative launched by the Sanchez government last October to simplify the appointments procedure failed. Now the EU Commission has intervened, saying that the judges themselves should have some say on who is appointed to the Council.

April 22 is Earth Day. This year, several of the world's political heavyweights are making ambitious announcements. The EU wants to cut CO2 emissions by 55 percent instead of 40 percent compared to 1990 by 2030, and US President Joe Biden is hosting a climate summit with 40 heads of state and government to follow up on global emissions targets. In the view of Europe's press, however, far more must be done.