Eurotopics.net

After general elections for the three-member presidency in crisis-ridden Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Muslim nationalist Party of Democratic Action has failed to secure the Bosniak seat for the first time since 2010, which instead goes to Social Democrat Denis Bećirović. Reformer Željko Komšić of the Democratic Front has retained the Croatian seat, while ethnic Serbs are represented by Željka Cvijanović - and thus as before the election by the nationalist Alliance of Independent Social Democrats. What does this shift mean?

The conservative GERB party led by the controversial former prime minister Boyko Borisov has won Bulgaria's parliamentary elections - the fourth within two years - securing 25.4 percent of the vote. The liberal movement We Continue the Change, led by Kiril Petkov, whose pro-European coalition collapsed in June, came second with 20.2 percent. Commentators are disappointed.

After the sham referendums in four Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian troops, Putin is due to sign the corresponding accession treaties this Friday. Formal accession of the four regions to the Russian Federation is to follow a few days later. For Europe's press the annexation contravenes international law and marks the beginning of a new, ominous phase in the war.

The number of migrants heading towards Central Europe via Serbia and Hungary has spiked again now that the Covid pandemic has ebbed. Austria and the Czech Republic have introduced controls at their borders with Slovakia because smugglers are increasingly using the country as a transit route. Commentaries reflect disagreement over the measures.

The German government on Thursday agreed on a gas price brake to cushion the skyrocketing energy costs for consumers and businesses. Two hundred billion euros are to be earmarked for the plan. Other European countries are also introducing various measures to make the approaching winter more bearable. Commentators take stock.