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…
Society
Latest reporting and analysis on society.
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.
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…
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.
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.
Police officers who join Alternative for Germany face ‘termination’
Members of Germany's federal police active in the hard-right "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) party risk disciplinary procedures and an end to their employment, leaked…
Breton: EU censorship just a ‘buzzword’ pushed by ‘conspiracy theorists’
Former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has decried recent allegations of censorship within the European Union as just a "buzzword" pushed by "conspiracy theorists".
German hospital introduces employee bodycams after rising violence
A German hospital announced plans to issue bodycams to all its employees, after a rise in violent attacks on staff by patients and their relatives.
Birth rate continues dropping in France, lowest since end of WWI
France's fertility rate has dropped to the lowest level since 1918, with only 663,000 babies born in France in 2024. This was 21.
German state spy agency head says his agency is too neutral on AfD
The head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency in Thuringia has criticised his own service for staying too neutral on the right-wing Alternative for Germany…
Pension protests pressure Belgian government talks
Belgian political parties currently negotiating over forming a government faced a new challenge with protests and strike action in Brussels on January 13 over pension…
Violence erupts in Italy over police death of Italian-Egyptian teenager
Italy has seen violent unrest break out, largely attributed to immigrant communities over the death of 19-year-old Italian-Egyptian Rami El Gamal during a police…
A director sees only racism in Britain when history offers more
The often overrated Hanna Arendt was bang on the money when she declared that, “Under normal circumstances, the liar is defeated by reality, for which there is…
Polish Government aims for power to block social media content
The Polish centre-left coalition government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk has proposed legislation that would grant a state agency the power to block social…
German hard-right AfD party dissolves ‘radical’ youth branch
At its party conference, the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has decided to drop its youth organisation and create a new one.
Holocaust and ritual slaughter increasingly sensitive topics in Belgium
This story was edited following a reaction from one of the mentioned schools
Belgian film crew ‘threatened by thugs demanding protection money’
Belgian film producer Bert Hamelinck has revealed on national TV that his crew was told they had to pay protection money to local thugs in order not to be harassed.
EC and European Council chiefs target Trump and Musk
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa have sent a joint statement to the US President-elect Donald Trump…
Danish Socialists want donation cap to prevent ‘Musk-Style’ influence in politics
The Danish eco-socialist party, Enhedslisten, is pushing for a 20,000 kroner (€2.
German inquiry into whether Musk-AfD podcast would be an ‘illegal donation’
Germany's parliament is reported to be investigating whether an upcoming online conversation between US tech guru Elon Musk and the head of the Alternative for Germany…
EU court orders EC to compensate citizen for violating its own protection laws
The General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union has directed the European Commission to compensate an individual who alleged his personal data was…
German magazine attacks rival for publishing Musk op-ed
A major German news website has attacked one of its main rivals over its competitor's decision to publish an article written by Elon Musk.
EU threatens Meta with fines after Zuckerberg backs Trump
The European Union has threatened Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta with fines of up to six per cent of the global turnover of the platform.
Left-wing German anti-discrimination commissioner calls for government to quit X
German Federal Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Ferda Ataman has called on her government to leave social media platform X.
EC forces ‘gender balance’ on companies, despite missing its own goals
The European Commission has announced that private companies will now have to respect so-called gender balance norms.
France’s Retailleau targets ‘political Islam’, calls for university ban on Islamic veil
French Minister of Interior Bruno Retailleau has targeted what he referred to as "political Islam", calling for a ban the Islamic veil in French higher-education.
Meta’s Zuckerberg vows to ‘restore free speech’ as ‘EU is institutionalising censorship’
Meta, the parent company of social media giants including Instagram and Facebook, has said it planned to "restore free speech".