Eurotopics.net

Germany's plan to lower electricity costs for its energy-intensive industries through state subsidies as of January next year has put a cat among Europe's pigeons. Commentators point beyond Germany's borders, where the subsidies present an existential threat to the competitiveness of other European nations with similarly electricity-intensive structures.

A leak by Bloomberg is causing a commotion. The media company has published a dialogue said to be a transcript of a telephone conversation between US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin aide Yuri Ushakov on 14 October. In a familiar tone, Witkoff tips Ushakov on how Putin should deal with Trump. Europe's press tries to get a handle on the situation.

Same-sex marriages that are registered in one EU member state must be recognised in all other EU countries, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Tuesday in Luxembourg. What prompted the decision? A homosexual couple who married in 2018 in Germany tried to register their marriage in Poland after moving there, but their request was rejected by Poland's restrictive legislation.

The Romanian Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes (IICCMER) has published a report on how Tiktok is being flooded with pro-totalitarian, nostalgic and extremist videos. More than 200 such videos have ratcheted up some 130 million views, many of them idealising the former dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu as a patriotic and authentic leader.