France: Court overturns Marseille mayor’s cancellation of Christian film
A decision to cancel the screenings of the Christian film Sacré Coeur (Sacred Heart) at a public venue has been overturned.
Bureaucracy
Latest reporting and analysis on bureaucracy.
German firms hire 325,000 staff since 2022 just to handle bureaucracy
Most new jobs created by German companies in the past three years came in response to the ever-growing bureaucratic onus put on the private sector.
Rejection of EU forest law rekindles debate over EC’s powers
The European Parliament has rejected the European Union Forest Monitoring Law proposal.
US revokes German left-winger’s visa over posts on Charlie Kirk assassination
A prominent German left-wing activist has had his visa revoked by the US Department of State for celebrating the assassination of Conservative influencer Charlie…
German researchers fail to measure extent of social benefits as there are too many
Munich-based ifo Institute for Economic Research specialists were unable to find the total amount of social benefits people received in Germany due to the high number…
French court ends probe into Paris mayor’s Dior, Burberry ‘expenses’
France's Council of State has ended its investigation into Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo's expense reports, which included items of luxury clothing.
‘Simpler’ EU sustainability rules spark confusion
The European Commission says it is simplifying reporting rules, but the industry says it is making them more complicated.
Polish parents follow President, pull kids from sex-education classes
The Polish Government has suffered a set-back with the introduction of a new school subject called "health studies”, which includes sex education.
Albanian PM appoints world’s first AI-generated minister
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he had appointed the world's first AI-generated government minister to oversee public tenders, promising its artificial intelligence…
Meta and TikTok defeat European Commission in court on DSA fees
The European Commission has suffered a major defeat in court over its plans to make large tech platforms pay it to enforce the Digital Services Act.
More than half of Berlin police cadets ‘need remedial German classes’
More than half of junior staff joining the police in the German capital of Berlin have insufficient knowledge of the German language.
German district chief: ‘Mandatory community service for welfare recipients’
A politician from eastern Germany is demanding the introduction of mandatory community service for recipients of social welfare payments in Germany.
It is not the heat: Iberia burns because of weak and corrupt politicians
The Iberian peninsula is burning—again. Again, we’re told - piously, mechanically, by politicians and journalists alike—that climate change is the culprit.
States now a leviathan gobbling up resources, blind to the crises staring us down
Readers of my column know that I have a soft spot for nostalgia, but I think there is a strong case to be made that at least in certain areas the past is not just…
UK drops push for Apple encryption ‘back door’ after US challenge
The UK Government has dropped its attempt to require Apple to create a "back door" in its encryption systems, following months of legal and diplomatic challenges.
Germany’s Die Linke youth wing caught in anti-Semitism row
Linksjugend Frankfurt, the local chapter of the youth division of Germany's hard left Die Linke, has been vilified after tweeting on X that Jewish teenagers expelled…
British Foreign Secretary turns himself in after fishing without licence with JD Vance
Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy has got into hot water for fishing without a licence.
Export-oriented Belgium badly needs free‑market reform, reports warn
Even while Belgium's economy remains focussed on exports, its internal market suffers from excessive regulation, fragmented governance, and blurred public‑private…
European Taxpayers’ Association files complaint against two ex-commissioners over NGO funding
Former climate change commissioner Frans Timmermans and former environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius are the subject of an official complaint by the European…
Berlin renames major road after 300 years for political correctness
The city government of Berlin has been given the go-ahead to put in place a long-held plan to rename the major central Mohrenstraße road.
German State of Rhineland bans AfD members from entering civil service
The German State of Rhineland Palatinate said it would cease to allow members of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD) into the civil service.
German court slaps down library ‘warning labels’ on ‘controversial books’
Germany’s Higher Administrative Court in Münster has ruled that the city library must remove politically charged warning labels from two controversial books.
Defence now: Europe learns intentions require capabilities
The spectacular raid on Fordow nuclear complex showed Europe the limits of multilateral diplomacy when confronted with irreconcilable demands.
German auditors’ damning report on Habeck’s support for Northvolt
Former German Greens economics minister Robert Habeck is facing heavy criticism from the German auditors over having granted a €600 million loan to Northvolt while…
Croatia’s former EU funds minister jailed for corruption
Gabrijela Žalac, Croatia's former regional development and European Union funds minister, has been sentenced to two years in prison for abuse of office and trafficking…
Brussels government asks EU to pay for site revamp near bloc’s institutional HQs
The region of Brussels has asked the European Union for cash to cover unexpected costs of redevelopment works around the Schuman roundabout, home to most EU institutions.
What is the state for, welfare or defence? It is no longer possible to have both
While the entire world has been enthralled by the public feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the world has also continued to move on.
Will QR codes on wine bottles give consumers more info or less?
A shift to digital labelling in the wine sector, with paper labels being partially replaced by QR codes, has raised questions about whether consumers would actually…
More taxes on tobacco? The EC needs to leave our personal pleasures alone
The European Commission, under Commissioner for Climate Wopke Hoekstra, is preparing to overhaul the 2011 Tobacco Excise Tax Directive.
Polish state TV bans photos of its buildings
Poland’s government-controlled broadcaster TVP (Telewizja Polska) has placed new notices warning photographers they may not photograph the corporation’s headquarters…