Eurotopics.net

Russland will es den Bewohnern der besetzten Gebiete in der Ukraine leichter machen, zu russischen Staatsangehörigen zu werden. Die Passvergabe soll vereinfacht und beschleunigt werden. Bewerber müssen nicht einmal russische Sprachkenntnisse nachweisen. Kommentatoren meinen: Russland betreibt Politik mittels Passvergabe.

The IS has claimed responsibility for the devastating series of attacks in Sri Lanka. More than 350 people died and around 500 were injured when eight bombs exploded in several churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday. Hatred of Christians is not taken seriously enough and must be fought with more resolve, commentators argue.

Two major camps are taking shape ahead of Spain's parliamentary elections on Sunday with the ruling Socialists under Pedro Sánchez and the left-wing party Podemos on the one hand, and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) and the liberal Ciudadanos on the other. Commentators worry about how much of the vote will go to the far-right party Vox, which was excluded from TV debates during the campaign.

The campaigns for the European Parliament elections are heating up. Parties are presenting their candidates and publishing their programmes. Forecasts see the Eurosceptics making gains and the established parties losing a substantial number of seats. Whether the British will take part is still unclear. Most commentators focus on their own countries, but some look further afield.

After winning a sweeping victory with 73 percent of the vote in Ukraine's presidential election Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that as president he will fight corruption and seek a peaceful end to the conflict in Donbass. Zelensky is politically inexperienced and made a name for himself as an actor in a comedy series. Commentators have mixed feelings about his election victory.