Eurotopics.net

In Sweden's parliamentary elections the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats (SD) have made strong gains, coming in second behind the incumbent ruling party, the Social Democrats. According to the preliminary results on Monday morning, the left-wing government may be replaced by a coalition of conservatives, liberals and right-wing extremists. The final results are expected on Wednesday.

The Romanian low-cost airline Blue Air has suspended its operations, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded across Europe. Insolvency proceedings have been underway since July 2020, and recently the company's problems have increased due to non-refunded tickets for cancelled flights and unpaid CO2 emission certificates. The national press takes the airline management and the authorities to task.

Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history, died on Thursday aged 96. She passed away surrounded by her family at Balmoral, her country estate in Scotland. Only three months ago she celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. Europe's press pays tribute to the monarch, but also examines her reign and her successor, Charles III.

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.