Eurotopics.net

In a TV interview, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf has described his country's coronavirus strategy as a failure. Sweden's independent coronavirus commission had previously issued a harsh judgment with its first report, saying that Sweden had not sufficiently protected the elderly and that the areas of responsibility had not been clarified. Commentators for the most part agree.

The US government has imposed sanctions against Turkey. It has banned cooperation in the military sector with immediate effect in response to Ankara's purchase of Russian air defence systems. At its last summit the EU refrained from imposing tough sanctions on Turkey over its policy in the Mediterranean. What will happen now?

On 17 December 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire out of frustration with his living situation. The images of his self-immolation spread rapidly on social media, triggering spontaneous protests against despotism and oppression in Tunisia and culminating in a series of uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. Ten years later, Europe's media take stock of the Arabellion.

Hungary's parliament has stripped homosexual couples of the right to adopt. "The mother is a woman, the father is a man," according to a resolution passed last Tuesday. Exceptions can only be granted by the Minister for Family Affairs. The ban has become one more in a series of restrictions imposed on LGBT people under the Orbán government. Commentators voice concern and outrage.