Eurotopics.net

The Russian people will elect their representatives to the State Duma from September 17 to 19. All the stronger opposition candidates have been excluded from the election, and the OSCE has decided not to send observers because of Moscow's strict requirements. Commentators explain why the election is unlikely to have any impact on Putin's power and that of his United Russia party - even if on paper there are a few alternatives.

Protests against coronavirus restrictions have turned violent in Ljubljana. The police used tear gas and water cannons after demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at the parliament building. The national press shows varying degrees of understanding for the protests, which were mainly directed against stricter testing requirements for the unvaccinated.

Electricity prices have soared in EU countries since the beginning of the year. The electric baseload - the minimum amount of electricity required by the power grid - currently costs more than twice as much on the electricity exchange platforms as it did in the summer of 2020, while natural gas prices have increased ten-fold in the same period. Increased demand in Asia and less input from wind power are among the reasons for the surge in prices.

At a special meeting on Tuesday the EU interior ministers failed to reach an agreement on binding conditions for taking in Afghan asylum seekers. Despite the strong desire to reach a consensus, the EU Commission failed due to opposition from Austria, Hungary, Denmark and Slovenia, among others. Instead, Afghanistan's neighbouring countries are now to receive money for taking in refugees. Europe's press is for the most part incensed.

Nato began its mission in Afghanistan 20 years ago. Today, most experts consider the strategy of building a democratic state on the basis of military support to have failed. More than 3,500 troops belonging to Nato and its allies lost their lives in Afghanistan. While some commentators point to lessons to be learned from the fiasco, others say the self-criticism has gone too far.