Eurotopics.net

The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 is gaining momentum in some EU countries, but vaccination rates are still low compared to those in the US and the UK. The Next Generation EU recovery plan for the pandemic-weakened economy was quickly adopted last year, but not a single euro has been distributed yet. Are doubts about the EU's effectiveness in the crisis justified? Commentators are divided.

France's President Macron has presented his plans to abolish the prestigious École Nationale d’Administration, training school of the elites. Generations of high-ranking officials have received their education there, including Macron himself. It is to be replaced by the much more inclusive Institut du Service Public and a new curriculum.

The pandemic is also having an indirect negative impact on people's health: from mental health issues caused by social restrictions to a registered excess mortality that has nothing to do with Covid-19 infections. Policymakers need to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon and find ways to deal with it, commentators urge.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has threatened that Russia will intervene in Donbass to protect its citizens. Hundreds of thousands of people living in the region hold Russian passports. Fighting there has escalated in recent days, and Russia has deployed troops to the border with Ukraine. Moscow says it plans to hold a military exercise there, but Kiev fears a military offensive. Commentators take stock of the situation.