Eurotopics.net

The ECB has followed the lead of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England and raised its key interest rate by another 0.5 percentage points in a bid to curb inflation. The hike was lower than the previous one but ECB chief Christine Lagarde announced further increases for next year. The inflation rate in the Eurozone dropped slightly in November from 10.6 to 10 percent.

Slovakia's conservative-populist minority government has been toppled by a vote of no confidence. The motion came from the liberal SaS party, which until September was itself part of the governing coalition. Its criticism was mainly directed at Finance Minister Igor Matovič, who it claimed was abusing his office to carry out acts of revenge against political opponents. The national press voices satisfaction with the outcome.

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Istanbul to protest over the conviction of their mayor. Ekrem İmamoğlu of the opposition CHP party was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Wednesday for allegedly insulting the country's Supreme Election Council. Even if the opposition is now united on the streets, it faces a difficult decision, commentators point out.

The decision taken by the EU home affairs ministers on 8 December to allow Croatia but not Romania and Bulgaria into the Schengen Area continues to fuel debate. Austria and the Netherlands had raised concerns about the migration policy of the rejected countries and thus blocked the necessary unanimity.

Electricity may be temporarily switched off in certain locations in France in January and February to avoid uncontrolled blackouts. The reason for potential shortages is that 18 of France's 56 nuclear reactors are currently off the grid due to maintenance measures which had so far been postponed. Sweden also fears power shortages and has put an oil-fired reserve power plant into operation. European commentators take different views of the measures.