Eurotopics.net

In his State of the Nation address on Thursday, Putin sent warnings of a nuclear war to the West and made promises to the Russian people. Two weeks before the Russian presidential election, he held out the prospect of a support programme for families, investments in the healthcare sector and an increase in the minimum wage. But he failed to impress commentators with his promises.

After the National Assembly approved the proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution in January, an overwhelming majority in the French Senate has also voted in favour of the move. The three-fifths majority still required in a joint vote in March is now considered a mere formality. The initiative aims to better protect the right to abortion. The press is at odds over how much sense it makes.

It's official: Sweden is to become Nato's 32nd ally. Hungary gave its approval on Monday, removing the final hurdle. Budapest gave up its resistance after the purchase of four Swedish JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets for Hungary's armed forces was finalised during a visit by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday. What does accession mean for the alliance and for historically neutral Sweden?

According to his allies, the murdered Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was due to be swapped for the "Tiergarten murderer", Vadim Krasikof, who is imprisoned in Germany. Maria Pevchikh, chairwoman of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, explained that secret negotiations were at their final stage. The media discuss the implications of the negotiations and whether they were sabotaged.