Eurotopics.net

The EU and the US have agreed on a compromise in the dispute over subsidies for Boeing and Airbus: in an initial step they will suspend the mutual punitive tariffs for five years, thus defusing one of their MAIN trade conflicts. Some commentators see this as a major step forward. Others warn that nothing has been gained yet.

After causing a lot of damage recently in relations with the West, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tried his hand at bridge-building at the Nato summit. US President Joe Biden describe his meeting with Erdoğan as positive and productive - just weeks after calling the Turkish leader an "autocrat" and recognising the Armenian genocide. Commentators are sceptical.

Estonia's government wants to pay the country's state-owned energy company Eesti Energia 10 million euros in subsidies over two years to burn wood in old power plants. The goal is to keep energy costs low in the structurally weak north-east region. Estonia has an abundance of forests, but since Tallinn gave permission for the clear-cutting of trees even in nature reserves in 2015, its forested areas have shrunken. The national press is nonplussed.

Covid infection numbers are currently falling steadily in almost all European countries. After the relaxing of restrictions in shops and restaurants and partial relaxations in cultural venues, has the time come to gradually lift the requirement to wear a mask? Commentators are at odds.