Eurotopics.net

More and more countries have either partially or fully stopped the rollout of the Astrazeneca vaccine due to cases that point to thrombosis as a potential side effect. Denmark, Bulgaria and the Netherlands, among others, have suspended the use of the vaccine for 14 days, while Romania and Italy have withdrawn certain batches from circulation. How justified are these measures, and what must be done now?

Poland and Hungary have launched a legal action at the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) against the new mechanism that links the payment of EU funds to compliance with the rule of law. The move comes as no surprise, as the EU heads of government made clear in December that the mechanism could only be implemented after it had been examined by the ECJ. In practice the tool stands to be delayed for years. How serious is the legal challenge?

Germany's governing CDU has suffered its worst results to date in regional elections in the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. In Baden-Württemberg, the Greens won with 32.6 percent of the vote while the CDU lagged behind with 24.1 percent. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the SPD was the strongest party with 35.7 percent while the CDU slipped to 27.6 percent. Europe's press sees this as a major development as the "super election year" kicks off in Germany.

Valued at roughly 1.6 trillion euros, the "American Rescue Plan" for combatting the Covid crisis passed by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday and signed into law by US President Joe Biden on Thursday is one of the biggest economic stimulus programmes of all time. The debt-financed package primarily aims to help the poor, families, communities and schools. The majority of Europe's media are impressed and hope the plan will have a positive impact on this side of the Atlantic, too.