Eurotopics.net

In Russia the gubernatorial elections have had an unexpected outcome: in Primorsky Krai the run-off vote was declared invalid due to electoral fraud, in Khakassia the encumbant threw in the towel after the first round, and in Khabarovsk and Vladimir the incumbents belonging to Putin's United Russia party trailed behind the challengers from the populist LDPR. A positive development?

Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople has tasked two of his envoys with making preparations in Ukraine for the formation of an independent church there. The decision prompted the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church to convene a synod and condemn the step as an "invasion" of their territory. Why the panicked reaction?

In the course of a money-laundering investigation the Finnish police have searched several properties belonging to a company based in southern Finland. The company owns numerous plots of land on the skerries off the coast of Turku which are strategically positioned and could potentially be acquired by Russians. The press sees the operation as a national security matter.

Pope Francis will visit Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia from September 22 to 25 - the first papal visit to the Baltic countries in 25 years. Different media outlets have very different expectations of the pope.

London and the EU are at an impasse in the Brexit negotiations. At the summit in Salzburg the leaders of the other 27 member states rejected British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan. Commentators see the EU adopting an uncompromising stance - but not all of them want the two sides to reach an agreement.

Migration was the second big topic alongside Brexit at the summit in Salzburg. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz proposed seeking a similar deal with Cairo to the one with Ankara. There was a general consensus on the need to boost the resources for Frontex. Some commentators believe the EU is on the right path. Others predict that the devil will be in the details.