Eurotopics.net

The EU leaders have now officially agreed on who the top posts in the bloc should go to: Germany's Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) is to remain Commission President, Portugal's António Costa (S&D) is to become President of the European Council and Estonia's Kaja Kallas (Renew Europe) is to take over as EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Commentators assess the selection from different perspectives.

It is still unclear whether the EU member states will be able to agree on a proposal for the presidency of the Commission at this Thursday's summit. At the same time, the newly elected EU Parliament is under pressure to form political groups as quickly as possible. The lists of names must be presented by 15 July in order for groups to be recognised at the constituent meeting the following day. Europe's press is keenly following the developments at all levels.

In the Russian republic of Dagestan in the North Caucasus, terrorists attacked Orthodox churches, synagogues and the police in the major cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on Sunday. 21 people were killed, 16 of whom were police officers. The five attackers, including two sons and a nephew of a local head of administration, were shot dead. Governor Sergey Melikov blamed "foreign forces" for the attack. The state of alert has since been lifted.

Donald Tusk's governing coalition in Poland has sparked a broad debate over the importance of traditional values with proposals to cut the number of Catholic religious education classes in schools, revise curricula and negotiate the introduction of registered partnerships for homosexual couples. Commentaries in the Polish press reflect the contentiousness of such measures.

After the snap parliamentary election on 9 June, coalition talks in Bulgaria are once again in danger of failing. Former prime minister Boyko Borisov's conservative Gerb party has failed to secure a majority together with the second strongest party, the Movement of Rights and Freedoms (DPS), which represents the Turkish minority. The search for a third coalition partner seems unlikely to succeed. The national press is unsparing in its criticism.