Eurotopics.net

After a week of back and forthing, Italy's President Sergio Mattarella has been re-elected for a second term. The 80-year-old wanted to step down, but the parties were unable to agree on a successor and Prime Minister and favourite Mario Draghi also failed to secure enough votes several times. In the end, Mattarella agreed to stay. Commentators see the overall result as favourable but are concerned by the way it came about.

The Socialist Party of Portugal's head of government António Costa has won the early parliamentary elections by a surprisingly clear margin, even gaining an absolute majority. Costa's PS won 41.6 percent of the vote and 117 of the 230 seats in the country's parliament, the Assembleia da República. The conservative PSD was left trailing with just 27.9 percent of the vote.

To reduce polluting CO2 emissions from combustion engines, the EU plans to have thirty million electric cars on its roads by 2030. Many member states are offering purchase premiums and tax breaks for electric cars, as well as subsidies for charging stations to achieve this goal. A look at the commentary columns reveals that once again the practice is turning out to be more complicated than the theory.

The US has submitted its written response to Russia in the negotiations on the Ukraine conflict: Although Nato's open-door policy is not up for discussion, it is open to talks on arms control in Europe. If Moscow does attack, harsh sanctions will be imposed. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed dissatisfaction wit the response but stressed that his country does not want war. Europe's press predicts a prolonged struggle.