Eurotopics.net

Chancellor Merkel on Wednesday reversed plans for a five-day strict lockdown over Easter that had just been decided on Monday. She apologised to the nation, saying that the decision had not been well thought through. Europe's commentators are dismayed by what looks like an increasingly chaotic pandemic policy in Germany.

The front runners are Israel, the US, and the UK. These countries have managed to vaccinate their populations against the coronavirus faster than the countries of the EU. Observers look at why the European Union is lagging so far behind, and find answers in the way the public and private sectors deal with each other.

Romania's Minister of Economic Affairs Claudiu Năsui has proposed a law that would create a public register listing all employees of the notorious former communist secret police Securitate as well as their relatives. Under the rule of communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, which ended in 1989, the Securitate was responsible for the deaths of around 200,000 Romanians. The national press is not convinced by Năsui's proposal.

Faced with continuing Covid vaccine shortages in the EU, Ursula von der Leyen has threatened to impose export bans. According to Brussels, at least 41 million doses have been exported from the EU since February, ten million of which went to the UK. Meanwhile British-Swedish manufacturer Astrazeneca has only delivered 30 percent of the agreed vaccine doses to the EU in the first quarter, EU sources say. Europe's press discusses the pros and cons of export bans.

Although most European governments are extremely reluctant to impose further lockdowns and restrictions on their citizens, in view of growing infection rates they see no other option. This makes it all the more important that the measures they take are viewed as reasonable and logical. Which is posing a major problem, commentators note.