Eurotopics.net

Francina Armengol of the socialist PSOE party has been elected by an absolute majority as the new speaker of the Spanish parliament - thanks to the seven votes of Carles Puigdemont's separatist party Junts per Catalunya. Can PSOE, led by Pedro Sánchez, now count on the support of the separatists? And what will this mean for the formation of a government and the future of the PP and Vox? Commentators take up the debate.

In the wake of several Koran burnings in Stockholm, angry protests have broken out in Muslim-majority countries. The terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda has now called for attacks on Sweden, which raised its terror threat level to high yesterday. Commentators are at odds over the measure.

All permanent residents of Estonia, including Russian citizens and stateless persons, have the right to vote in local elections. But as a consequence of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine the country's Ministry of Justice is preparing a draft law which would deprive Russian citizens of the right to vote. The Estonian press is at odds over whether the move makes sense.

According to official figures, the inflation rate in Turkey soared to 47.8 percent year-on-year in July. The main cause for the trend is the chronically weak lira. It had been hoped that the re-election of President Erdoğan, the new Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and the new head of the central bank Hafize Erkan, who doubled the key interest rate to 15 percent, would bring more stability. Were these hopes in vain?