European Union

The enemy of Putin's Russia is stability, and its real interest is the constant maintenance of tensions, if necessary with occasional military actions, so that it remains a factor that you must call if you want a solution, writes Orhan Dragaš.

Italy's parliament will start voting on January 24 for a new president, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi widely expected to take over despite the risk of destabilising the country's post-pandemic recovery.

The euro is celebrating a big birthday after being available as cash since January 2002. Twenty years on, 340 million citizens in 19 EU countries use it every day, and in global transactions it is on a par with the US dollar. Although the initial scepticism has faded, there are still those who have their doubts about the single currency, as a look at today's commentaries confirms.

The Omicron variant is causing infection rates to soar in many countries, although hospitalisation rates remain low. Initial studies show that mice and hamsters experience less severe forms of the disease with the new variant. Europe's media discuss which measures are called for and how much should be asked of citizens.

After the inflation rate in Turkey soared to 36 percent in December 2021 the country experienced a surge in energy prices and rents at the turn of the year: electricity became 50 percent more expensive for households with low consumption, and for consumers of more than 150 kWh per month prices increased by up to 130 percent. The price of natural gas, petrol, social housing and bridge tolls also rose noticeably. Can the Erdoğan system survive all this?