Eurotopics.net

Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has caused an uproar with remarks about Vladimir Putin. In an audio recording of a meeting with members of his Forza Italia party, the 86-year-old member of parliament boasted that Putin had given him 20 bottles of vodka for his birthday and had described him as one of his five true friends. What does this mean for the pending formation of a new government?

After the failure of her mini-budget, British Prime Minister Liz Truss's hold on power is very tenuous. A growing number of Conservative MPs want to push through her resignation with a vote of no confidence. Europe's press look at the role of the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt and the Tories' trials and tribulations.

The EU Commission on Tuesday presented proposals aimed at reining in soaring gas prices. The plans include member states purchasing at least 15 percent of their gas jointly in the future as well as a dynamic EU price cap that would apply to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF), Europe's leading trading hub. Commentators criticise the proposals as half-hearted and see wealthy countries like Germany as partly to blame.

Bulgaria elected a new parliament on 2 October in the country's fourth general election in two years. None of the parties secured a majority and the formation of unusual coalitions is faltering. If it fails, the president will dissolve parliament again and appoint an interim government which would then lead the country without a parliament until the next elections. Commentators voice consternation.