Google rejects EU demands for fact-checking
Google has rejected demands by the European Commission to add fact-checking to its search results and YouTube videos as well as to use fact-checking in ranking and…
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FPÖ bigwig starts firestorm with call for abolishing EU censorship law
Petra Steger, a leading MEP for the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), has provoked an EU firestorm about censorship and freedom of speech with her calls to abolish…
Former EC tech chief Thierry Breton gets top lobbying job, skipping two-year waiting period
Thierry Breton, the EU's Internal Market Commissioner and tech enforcer until September 2024, has received special approval from the European Commission to start…
Tusk’s government to indict Conservative ex-PM over attempt to hold postal ballot
Poland’s justice minister Adam Bodnar has asked parliament to lift the immunity of former Conservative (PiS) prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, so he could face…
COSCO and the US blacklist: Europe’s ports or Beijing’s tentacles?
The United States has just delivered an almighty wake-up call to Europe, blacklisting China’s state-owned maritime leviathan, COSCO, in a bold stroke that could…
Educare interruptus: Tusk pulls out of sex education reform after coalition split
New sex education classes for Polish school children will be optional rather than compulsory, Donald Tusk's government declared January 16.
TikTok, five other Chinese firms hit by EU privacy complaints
TikTok, Shein, Xiaomi and three other Chinese companies were named in a privacy complaint filed by Austrian advocacy group Noyb, which alleged the firms were unlawfully…
EU car industry calls for CO2 fine relief to avoid ‘irreparable’ harm to competitiveness
The European automobile industry has called on the EU to roll back CO2 emission fines to avoid crippling the bloc's competitiveness.
Imperialism not a replacement for good governance, it is its consequence
In this third and final part of our series on neo-Imperialism I would like to start with the most important observation: Successful and lasting imperialism is a…
ECHR upholds criminal conviction for malicious obstruction of traffic by unions
The European Court of Human Rights has unanimously upheld a Belgian court decision convicting the Belgian Socialist Union on a charge of blocking roads during a…
NGOs gained influence under von der Leyen, while companies lost theirs
NGOs had much more contact with the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen, compared with her predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker.
Commission announces ‘action plan’ for EU health cyber attacks–but no funding
Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission announced an "action plan" January 15 to respond to a sharp rise in cyberattacks against the EU health sector--but the…
Austria will scrap ‘green’ subsidies, say coalition negotiators
The Austrian Freedom Party and the People’s Party pledged cuts in "climate subsidies" to curtail Austria's ballooning budget deficit.
EU plans to give away €1.9bn in ‘humanitarian aid’ in 2025
The European Union is planning to give away €1.9 billion of taxpayer money in so-called "humanitarian aid" this year, the European Commission has announced.
France’s first trans mayor resigns, citing “toxic” environment
France's first transgender mayor Marie Cau, who was elected in 2020, has resigned from office citing a "toxic" environment and transphobia.
French drug usage higher than ever: over 1m people used cocaine in 2023
France's 'high society' has apparently grown, as experimenting with drugs has soared. Cocaine consumption in the country exploded, with 1.
German army withdraws from Twitter/X
Germany's defence ministry and army announced they were ending their activities on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Wilders: Cut spending on climate policies and Ukraine to fund tax cuts
Dutch hard-right leader Geert Wilders called on his country's government to cut spending on climate policies and the Ukraine war to fund tax cuts.
What did European liberals ever get from trusting Joe Biden?
Next week American President-elect Donald Trump will drop the “elect,” and President Joe Biden will pick up "former” before his name.
Incidents across Italy’s rail network lead to suspicions of sabotage
Magistrates of the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office are investigating a series of incidents on the Italian railways suspecting potential sabotage.
Denmark’s prime minister summons business leaders following Trump’s Greenland threat
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the country's business leaders to a meeting on January 16 after US President-elect Donald Trump last week threatened…
Polish opposition conservatives slam Zelensky for interference in presidential poll
Poland’s opposition Conservatives (PiS) have attacked Volodymyr Zelensky after the Ukrainian president had met with the centre-left Tusk government’s presidential…
Irish coalition buckles, vows to continue carbon tax hikes
Members of Ireland's new coalition government have reversed their criticism of carbon tax policies, undertaking instead to continue the regular increase in the highly-unpopular…
Eurocrats ignore Trump influence while welcoming Gaza ceasefire
Eurocrats have welcomed the introduction of a ceasefire in Gaza while ignoring incoming US President Donald Trump's influence on getting the deal.
Tusk provides no evidence for claims Russia planned terrorist attacks on airlines
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said that Russia had been planning ‘acts of terror’ against both Polish and international airlines, but provided no evidence…
Swedish debt collectors begins seizures at doomed green-tech Northvolt
'Green' darling Northvolt faced seizures by the Swedish Enforcement Authority, Kronofogden, the country's debt collector, over unpaid bills.
Not such close allies: US restricts AI chip exports to Poland
The US government has decided to exclude Poland from the list of 18 countries given unrestricted access to US AI chip exports, meaning the Poles will have restricted…
All parties except AfD to push on with German energy transition
Energy policy has figured highly in Germany's February 23 elections, the country's first since Berlin severed ties with Russia, its long-time gas supplier.
Dominion: Trump’s new grand strategy?
With Donald Trump only days away from being sworn into what will likely be the most “imperial” of US presidencies since Franklin D.
Only Europeans have downbeat view of second Trump presidency, poll finds
Story reposted with corrected graphic