Eurotopics.net

Czech Health Minister Jan Blatný has rejected Germany's offer to relieve the country's overstretched Czech clinics in the border region by transporting corona patients to Bavaria and Saxony. That could lead people to believe the Czech Republic can't take care of its own citizens, he said. Commentators in Prague find this stance utterly incomprehensible.

In Latvia, a new website called manavakcina.lv. was launched on the weekend where anyone who wants to can register for vaccination against Covid-19. As of Tuesday, 62,000 people had registered. Vaccinations have got off to a very slow start in the country, with only around 18,000 of its nearly two million inhabitants having been received the jab so far. The country's press doesn't believe the new website will improve the situation.

EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell travelled to Moscow last week to engage in dialogue on controversial issues such as Navalny's imprisonment. But even as his joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in progress, Russia expelled three EU diplomats. Europe's press is shocked by this affront to which the EU apparently lacks a fitting response.

The support of Matteo Salvini's right-wing populist, Eurosceptic party Lega for Italy's new government has surprised many observers, not only in Italy. On closer inspection, however, commentators find a number of reasons for this change of stance.

The audio-only social networking app Clubhouse is currently booming in various countries. Users can listen in on conversations like live podcasts or actively participate in discussions - but only by invitation and only on Apple phones. Commentators discuss the reasons for the hype and examine the app's potential and limitations.