Eurotopics.net

In the face of energy shortages and rising electricity prices, several EU countries are discussing how to save the economy while easing the burden on citizens. Europe's press engages in a lively debate about excess profits taxes, subsidies, ways to save energy and the role of politics.

Finland and Estonia have called on the other EU member states to suspend the issuing of visas to Russian tourists. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also called for this measure. The EU foreign ministers are due to discuss the proposal before the end of August. Europe's press is divided on the issue.

Satellite images show that several fighter jets were destroyed by explosions at the Russians' Saki airbase in Crimea on August 9. While the Kremlin conspicuously downplayed the impact of the attack initially, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised in a video address that he will retake the peninsula that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. Commentators discuss what this means for the ongoing war.

Fish have been dying en masse in the Oder River on the German-Polish border for several days. Now high levels of mercury - which is toxic for animals and humans - has been detected in water samples. The cause has not yet been identified. Commentators are dismayed and call for action.