Eurotopics.net

In its biggest interest rate move since the introduction of the euro, the European Central Bank has raised its key interest rates by 0.75 percentage points to 1.25 percent. The bank's Governing Council already announced in the summer that it was abandoning its years-long zero interest rate policy. The move aims to counteract the rampant inflation in the Eurozone, currently at 9.1 percent. The monetary watchdogs have acted too late, commentators complain.

Soaring energy prices pose a challenge for the EU as a whole, but also for individual member states, which are weighing up different measures to ease the pressure on their citizens. Commentators are particularly concerned about the approaching winter.

When Swedes go to the polls to elect a new parliament this Sunday, the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats have a good chance of becoming the second-strongest parliamentary group and senior partner in a right-wing governing alliance. The national press is concerned at the prospect of strong results for the party, which emerged from the far-right milieu.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Western sanctions are a failure and a "threat to the whole world". Shortly beforehand the Kremlin had escalated the current energy crisis by completely stopping gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on the grounds that the G7 and EU are planning to impose a price cap on Russian energy imports. Commentators warn against taking Moscow's narrative seriously.