Eurotopics.net

Following the attacks by the radical Islamic Hamas organisation against Israel, a dispute has flared up over development aid for the Palestinians. EU Council President Charles Michel warned against suspending financial aid after EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi announced a halt to payments, but then backpedalled. The EU Commission has now announced that it will review financial assistance for Palestine. Commentators are also at odds over the issue.

Slovakia's ex-prime mininster Robert Fico, charged with forming a government after his election victory, is close to achieving his goal: the left-wing Hlas party led by Peter Pellegrini - also a former prime minister - has decided to join forces with Fico and turned down an offer to form a coalition with the liberal Progresívne Slovensko, the Christian Democratic KDH and the pro-business liberal SAS. For commentators, this is a mistake.

At the Labour Party's annual conference in Liverpool, British opposition leader Keir Starmer pledged to launch "a decade of national renewal" if he wins the general election expected for 2024. In his conference speech he promised new houses, cheaper energy and economic growth. What to make of these promises?

The far-right AfD party made major gains in elections in the German states of Bavaria and Hesse on Sunday. The AfD is listed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as suspected case of right-wing extremism. The AfD came third after the CSU and the Free Voters party in Bavaria, and second after the CDU in Hesse. Commentators wonder what this means for the federal government.

Hamas' attacks on Israel continue, with more than 900 Israelis killed since Saturday. Israel is retaliating by bombing Gaza and has also been shelling targets in southern Lebanon, in what it says is a response to attacks by the Shiite Hezbollah militia. Casualties on the Palestinian side number around 680 people so far. Commentators fear for the stability of the entire region.