Antwerp diamond trade ‘faces collapse’
The centuries-old diamond trade in Antwerp is facing a severe crisis, with local traders having expressed fears that the industry could soon vanish altogether.
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Latest reporting and analysis on news.
How the European populist-right is becoming mainstream
There is a concept in sociology called the “Overton window”.
Lagarde: US dollar world-order here to stay as overregulation holds back EU
The US dollar world-order is not going anywhere anytime soon, European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde has claimed.
French Communist Party leader seeks right-wing voters, blames hard-left for election demise
French Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel has said he holds the La France Insoumise (LFI) party responsible for his demise during French legislative elections…
Berlin-funded music show censors anti-Communist song
A well-known anti-Communist song has been censored by a show co-funded by the German Government, local media have reported.
US tobacco giant Philip Morris to close German plants as Europeans smoke less
US multinational tobacco giant Philip Morris has said it planned to close two German factories due to falling demand across Europe.
Ireland’s new hate-crime law gives legal status to 72 genders
Ireland has brought a new Hate Crime Bill into law but leading Irish gay and feminist advocates have said the new legislation was sloppily drafted and "threatens…
Germany braces for Halloween horror amid Gaza tensions
Germany has been bracing for a night of terrors this Halloween, with authorities expecting riots amid tensions surrounding the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The case for geopolitical optimism
There is no question that the world is spinning out of control, hurtling towards the catastrophe of major power war – which would likely see nuclear exchanges.
Severe weather causes catastrophe and deaths in parts of Spain
Extreme weather conditions in Spain have cost at least 72 lives, including four children.
UK budget: Finance minister hikes taxes to highest in 30 years, boosts defence spending
Britain's new finance minister Rachel Reeves has announced the biggest tax increases in three decades in her first budget and pledged to boost UK defence spending.
European watchdog finds ‘markings of fraud’ in Georgian elections
Europe Elects, a Germany-based international election watchdog and data analyst, has said it found clear signs of fraud in the Georgian election results.
EPP spending probe reports ‘designed to damage Manfred Weber’
Rumours of an ongoing European Public Prosecutors Office probe of the European People's Party is a "reheated" scandal aimed at undermining party president Manfred…
Schengen set to expand while Belgium is left surrounded by border controls
Schengen is designed to be a passport-free travel area but Belgium, home to the European Union, has now found itself boxed in.
EC rejects Poland’s plea to exclude defence spending from budget-deficit figures
The European Commission has rejected Poland’s request for defence spending to be excluded from calculations in relation to the country’s budget deficit.
EU has ‘double standards’ on rule-of-law, says democracy watchdog
The European Union has long loved lecturing others on their behaviour but when it comes to holding itself accountable, the bloc often goes silent.
Real world shows EU green policies may cause chaos
Over the past five years, the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has passed more environmental regulations than any commission in history.
Belgian party drops deal with Vlaams Belang amid ‘threats of violence’
A municipal coalition agreement in Belgium between a local party, the STiP+, and the hard-right Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang Party has been cancelled amid reports…
EU deindustrialisation: Audi to shut Brussels factory in February 2025
German vehicle manufacturer Audi has said it would shut its factory outside Brussels by the end of February next year, media outlets in Belgium have reported.
NGO warns of ‘alarming’ mercury levels in canned tuna across Europe
French food NGO Bloom has published a report revealing mercury contamination in canned tuna sold across Europe.
French economy ‘at the edge of the precipice’
There is more than the usual curiosity that accompanies news of budgetary disappointment in an important country in the case of the shambles of public accounts now…
UK budget D-Day: Finance minister Reeves looks set to light blue touchpaper
Britain's new finance minister Rachel Reeves is set announce what may be the biggest tax hikes in three decades in a bid to fix the country's sagging public services,…
Weakened Spanish Government could be forced to polls over budget impasse
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's crippled Socialist government could soon come to an end -- that is if hard-left party Podemos holds to its stance of refusing…
French minister for foreign trade to challenge China over ‘political’ cognac duties
France will challenge China over its import duties on brandy, which Paris calls political and unjustified, when junior trade minister Sophie Primas visits Shanghai…
EC chief Von der Leyen Seoul-searches after 10k North Korean troops confirmed in Russia
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pushed for a tighter defence relationship with the Republic of Korea.
German car industry chief warns one-in-four jobs at risk in next decade
Volkswagen's recent shock announcement to cut tens of thousands of jobs, in concert with wage restrictions, was not an isolated event but part of a much bigger crisis,…
The revenge of God? Across the world liberalism has hit its expiration date
If you fear that Trump, Orbán, and others are the greatest threat to a liberal world order, maybe you should consider going beyond a purely Western viewpoint.
EU iPhones to lack essential features until next April amid the bloc’s regulation issues
Apple has confirmed it will not roll out essential features of its latest series of iPhones in the European Union until April 2025.
As 13 EU nations criticise Orbán’s ‘premature’ Georgia visit, Austria gears up to host Hungarian PM
A coalition of European Union member states have criticised Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for his "premature" visit to Georgia two days after a disputed…
Polish radio station U-turns on AI journalists replacing live presenters
Publicly owned Off Radio Kraków has stopped using AI journalists in place of human presenters after protests from reporters and the State media regulator.