Eurotopics.net

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.

Although not all the votes in the European Parliament elections have been counted yet, the trend is clear: the liberals, greens, social democrats and the left have lost ground, while the conservatives, right-wing populists and the far right have made gains. Hence, the balance of power in Strasbourg has shifted clearly to the right. Europe's press debates how marked the shift is and how much of an impact it will make.