Eurotopics.net

Prime Minister António Costa's socialist minority government in Portugal is facing a crisis after a dispute over the 2022 budget. The Communists and the Left Bloc, which until now have supported the government, have voted against its draft budget. President Rebelo de Sousa had announced that he would dissolve parliament if the vote failed. Commentators harshly criticse the far left's stance.

The Republic of Moldova, which so far has been dependent on Russian gas but has been unable to reach an agreement with Moscow on terms for continued supplies, has now purchased a first "test portion" of natural gas in Poland, which will be delivered via Ukraine. Journalists believe this confrontation could have unexpected consequences.

Wholesale prices for natural gas have quadrupled within a year, and a meeting of EU energy ministers on Tuesday failed to produce a joint action plan to counter this inflationary trend. While Spain, Greece and others are demanding intervention in the markets, Germany, the Netherlands and the Baltic States want to wait and see first. Some commentators see the single market and EU energy policies as the core of the problem.

The 26th UN World Climate Conference starts in Glasgow on 31 October. A new report by the UN Environment Programme does not bode well for the success of the summit: it shows that the world's governments plan to produce twice as much oil, gas and coal by 2030 as the Paris climate targets allow. The world is still heading towards "a climate catastrophe", according to UN Secretary General António Guterres. The press discusses the role of the EU in reversing the trend.