The Feast of Feasts: Why Easter remains Europe’s beating heart
Europe, that ancient cradle of civilisation, has long been a Christian continent.
Society
Latest reporting and analysis on society.
Belgian judges protest by sending 4,000 criminals to jail
Angered by government plans to cut their pensions, Belgian magistrates will send 4,000 people who received short jail sentences to prison.
Cheap Chinese imports spur record EU product safety violations
The European Union recorded an unprecedented number of alerts about dangerous consumer products in 2023, nearly doubling the 2022 figure.
Polish MEP attempts ‘citizens arrest’ over abortion at week 36 of pregnancy
Polish right-wing MEP Grzegorz Braun attempted a citizen's arrest when he entered a hospital in Poland aiming to detain a gynaecologist he alleged had murdered a…
EC mulls legal action against Hungary over LGBT Pride events ban
The European Commission has said it was considering taking legal action against Hungary over the European Union member state's decision to ban LGBT pride events.
Dutch judges stop returning asylum seekers to Belgium over ‘lack of care facilities’
Judges in the Netherlands have reportedly refused to send asylum seekers back to Belgium over what they saw as a lack of care facilities.
Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy and damage Berlin university building
Around 300 police officers have stormed a Berlin university building after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied it and damaged the interior while others demonstrated…
Google’s policy ‘gags’ news outlets, says European press group
European press publishers have accused Google of systematically reducing traffic to media websites and called on the European Commission to take urgent action.
EC outlines list of ‘safe’ countries for returned immigrants that includes Tunisia and Kosovo
The European Commission has included countries such as Tunisia and Kosovo, where human rights have come under scrutiny, on a list of "safe countries" to which failed…
Conor McGregor scare ‘halts Dublin Mayoral election’
Dublin's mayoral election plans were cancelled by the Irish Government because mixed martial arts (MMA) star Conor McGregor might have won, according to local reports.
UK’s Supreme Court rules: ‘Woman refers to biological sex under equality laws’
The UK's top court has upheld an appeal by a campaign group on whether transgender women were legally women under equality legislation, ruling that the law referred…
Dutch advised not to eat eggs from ‘backyard chickens’
Dutch people have been advised to stop eating eggs from "backyard chickens" and opt for buying them from a shop or market instead.
Volkswagen agrees to pay damages to Belgians for ‘Dieselgate’
Belgian consumers affected by the Volkswagen "Dieselgate" emissions scandal will soon be able to start claiming compensation, marking a major step forward in a years-long…
US VP Vance: ‘I love you, Europe – but sort out your immigration problem’
US Vice President JD Vance says he "loves" Europe but European governments must be more responsive voters on immigration.
We will protect you from ‘Gringo’ Trump, French left-wing leader tells Canadians
The leader of French left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has voiced support for Canadian independence, denouncing what he described as…
‘I was there in 1962’: a reader remembers the start of the German economic miracle
In the early 1960s I had a stroke of luck. Through a Fulbright scholarship in mathematics, I was given the opportunity to study at the University of Freiburg.
El Salvador deemed safer than European countries by US Government
According to the US Department of State, El Salvador was now safer than France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, the UK and several other European countries.
German ex-chancellor Merkel praises migration policies of new government
Former chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel has said she was "pleased" with the agreement between the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union in Bavaria…
Poles first: PiS candidate pledges to ensure they are ‘not treated worse than migrants’
Karol Nawrocki, the presidential candidate of the Polish opposition Conservatives (PiS), has promised to submit legislation guaranteeing that “Poles cannot be…
Turkey: Give us a ‘fair’ shot at EU accession
Turkey should be given a "fair" shot at becoming a member of the European Union, according to its Brussels-based ambassador Faruk Kaymakci.
MEPs: Turkey’s accession progress to end over ‘deteriorating democracy’
Turkey was now no longer welcome to join the EU after its “continued deterioration of democratic standards”, members of the European Parliament's foreign affairs…
Germany’s CDU and SPD agree on ‘disastrous’ coalition pact
In Germany, the Conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) have agreed on a government coalition for the next four years.
Polish court cancels licences of two independent conservative broadcasters
A Warsaw court has revoked the licences of two independent conservative television channels, TV Republika and wPolsce24.
Smugglers who allegedly trafficked thousands of illegal migrants to EU arrested
In a co-ordinated European policing action, key figures of an alleged people-smuggling ring responsible for thousands of illegal migrant transfers have been arrested.
French presidential hopeful sparks outcry with idea to deport migrants to remote island
French presidential hopeful Laurent Wauquiez has caused an outcry in France, including within his conservative camp, for suggesting sending migrants awaiting deportation…
“Dictatorship”: German court sentences journalist for posting meme mocking minister
A German journalist has been handed a seven-month suspended prison sentence from a judge in Bamberg, Bavaria, for posting a meme mocking federal interior minister…
French court rules against ad ban on National Rally leader Bardella’s book
A French court has ruled against the advertising arm of France's national rail network SNCF after it banned posters promoting the autobiography of National Rally…
Judge in Le Pen case faces death threats, man arrested for post on X
A 70-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly issuing threats on X against Judge Bénédicte de Perthuis who ruled on the ineligibility sentence for French National…
Luxembourg decries ‘absurd’ German border controls on shared frontier
Germany's border controls on its frontier with Luxembourg, which Berlin said had been designed for security and migration, were "absurd", according to Luxembourg.
Germany blocks admission of particularly vulnerable refugees
Germany has imposed a temporary stop on the resettlement of particularly vulnerable refugees.