Eurotopics.net

The 26th UN World Climate Conference starts in Glasgow on 31 October. But signs that it could be a failure are already accumulating: key players like China's head of state Xi Jinping will be absent, and a new report backed by the UN Environment Programme shows that the world's governments plan to produce twice as much oil, gas and coal by 2030 as the Paris climate targets allow. In Europe's media the mood ranges from faint optimism to disappointment even before the summit kicks off.

The Czechs have now voted out a populist government, something the Slovaks succeeded in doing two years ago. In Hungary, too, the opposition has decent chances of prevailing against Viktor Orbán and his anti-European rhetoric in next year's general election. Journalists discuss what these developments mean for Central Europe and the causes of confrontation with the EU.

Diplomatic relations between Turkey and the West are once again in crisis: the ambassadors of ten countries including the US, Germany and France were summoned to Turkey's foreign ministry after they called for a "just and speedy resolution" to the Osman Kavala case. On Thursday, Turkey's Prime Minister Erdoğan adopted a harsher tone, saying that his country could no longer "afford to host" them.

Many countries in Eastern Europe are seeing a surge in Covid infection and mortality rates. More people died of coronavirus in Romania and Bulgaria on 19 October than in the rest of the EU put together, while Russia is registering over 1,000 deaths per day. Commentators examine why the pandemic is getting out of control there despite adequate vaccine supplies.