Eurotopics.net

Mass protests have been taking place in Georgia against the adoption of a "foreign agent" law targeting institutions that receive funding from abroad. In March 2023, protests against a similar bill ultimately led to its withdrawal. Commentators discuss the motives behind the legislation and point out parallels with Russia.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's conservative ruling HDZ party has won the parliamentary elections in Croatia. With almost all the votes counted it had secured 60 of the 151 seats in parliament. President Zoran Milanović's social democratic SDP came in second. In third place with 14 seats was the right-wing populist Homeland Movement, with which Plenković may have to form a coalition to stay in power.

In the aftermath of the attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow, for which Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility, fears of attacks by Islamist terrorists are growing in other countries. France has declared the highest terror alert level, while German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the threat posed by IS in Germany as "acute". Commentators discuss appropriate European responses.

In Portugal the liberal-conservative PSD under Prime Minister designate Luís Montenegro has only managed to get its candidate elected as house speaker in the fourth round of voting. The right-wing Chega party, which gained a number of seats in the elections, had also put forward a candidate - apparently in contradiction to what had been agreed - meaning that Montenegro had to compete for the votes of the Socialists (PS). Commentators see more difficulties on the horizon.

Originally the office of prime minister was to rotate between the liberal PP-DB and the conservative Gerb-SDS alliance. Now the cabinet formation process has failed completely in Bulgaria. Nikolai Denkov (PP-DB), who has been prime minister for the last nine months, immediately returned a renewed mandate to form a government on Wednesday. Since the populist ITN is also not expected to be able to form a government, the country now faces its sixth parliamentary elections in three years.