New EU digital driving licence ‘will erode personal freedoms’
"A digital EU driving licence is on its way!" the European Commission has trumpeted - but experts said national variations in licence rules would cause confusion.
Democracy
Latest reporting and analysis on democracy.
AFP journalist jailed as protests against Istanbul Mayor’s incarceration hit sixth day
A Turkish court has detained Agence France-Presse (AFP) photojournalist Yasin Akgul as part of an investigation into protests over the jailing of Istanbul's Mayor…
Turkey’s Erdogan says protests at Istanbul Mayor’s jailing a ‘movement of violence’
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said protests over the jailing of Istanbul's Mayor had become a "movement of violence" and that the main opposition party would…
Turkey’s turmoil and the taboo question: is Islam compatible with democracy?
Turkey’s democratic façade collapsed on March 19, when Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - the West’s secular poster boy - was snatched from his bed in the middle…
Turkey detains 37 people over social media posts on detained Istanbul mayor
Turkey detained 37 people accused of "provocative" social media posts over the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the government said on March…
Where is democracy? Unelected establishment judges now stand against elected populists
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a right-populist walks into office. The unelected judiciary says, “We’re investigating you!”
EU and Soros-funded NGO accuses Italy of ‘undermining democracy’
According to the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, Italy, along with Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia, have been contributing to a "democratic race to the…
‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty,’ demands French MEP
French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann has called on the US to return the Statue of Liberty to his home country over dissatisfaction with the policies of the administration…
ECJ Advocate General rules Polish Constitutional court ‘not independent’
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, or court, (TK) cannot be considered impartial and independent, according to the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice…
French senate offers farrago of nonsense, a degenerate view of Western alliance
Few things could illustrate more clearly the total failure of the Euro-federalists to understand the legitimate political and strategic interests of the United States…
Let’s take the EU ‘back to basics’, Conservative think-tanks’ report says
Two European Conservative think-tanks, Polish Ordo Iuris and the Hungarian Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) have published proposals on institutional reform of the…
Romanian election re-run: Musk accused of ‘manipulating public opinion’
A Romanian NGO has accused US tech billionaire Elon Musk of trying to sabotage the country’s democracy, claiming he was part of a “disinformation and intimidation”…
German NGOs urge incoming government to get tough on social media platforms
More than 75 German non-governmental organisations (NGOs), trade unions and church representatives have sent an open letter to the country’s expected future government…
Slovak PM Fico: ‘EU’s democratic system is broken and Romania proves it’
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has criticised the European Union, arguing that democracy in the bloc was no longer functioning properly.
Germany’s SPD threatens to derail coalition talks over ‘political neutrality’ inquiry
German progressives have been outraged by a requested inquiry into the political neutrality of State-funded organisations, with the Social Democratic Party (SPD)…
Berlin NGOs sue Musk’s X over German election data access
Two Berlin-based NGOs, Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and the Society for Civil Rights (GFF), have sued Elon Musk’s X under the European Union's Digital…
Democracy in Romania: dissent against the EU is no longer tolerated
If you ever needed proof that democracy in the European Union is now little more than a stage play, Romania has just provided it. The protagonist? Călin Georgescu.
German Government launches initiative to target ‘conspiracy thinking’
The German Government has set up a new advisory office aimed at supporting those affected by conspiracy narratives, misinformation and disinformation.
EC pushes ‘critical thinking’ courses for ‘first-time voters’ to tackle disinformation
The European Commission is pushing for media literacy across the bloc via courses in "critical thinking and politics" aimed at secondary school students, or what…
EC’s new ‘Democracy Shield’ revealed to have ties to Soros
The European Democracy Shield (EUDS), the European Commission's latest initiative to "promote democracy", has strong ties to US left-wing billionaire George Soros,…
China’s planned UK ‘mega-embassy’ poses ‘significant security concerns’, warns US
China's proposed new "mega-embassy" in central London posed "significant security concerns" to the UK's financial services sector, a US Congressional China committee…
US think-tank slams Poland’s Tusk over ‘abuse of democracy’
A report by US think-tank Hudson Institute has criticised Poland’s centre-left government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk for governing in an autocratic manner.
Many NATO members are as opposed to Ukraine membership as is Russia
Since my column last week where I attempted to examine President Trump's Gaza proposals in terms that would be more plausible to Europeans than his initial presentation,…
Irish court grants ‘secret order’ for police to search conservative outlet’s X account
An Irish court issued warrants in secret to the Irish police in June who wanted to search for confidential information from the X account of conservative news portal…
US VP Vance slams Europe over ‘anti-democratic behaviour’
US Vice-President JD Vance has criticised the European Union at the Munich Security Conference, accusing European nations of anti-democratic behaviour.
Liberal and left-leaning groups appeal to Polish Government for USAID cuts compensation
Poland’s Liberal and left-leaning civil society organisations have appealed to the centre-left government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk to make good a shortfall…
Israel’s Likud party joins Patriots.eu in European Parliament as observer
The European Parliament right-wing alliance Patriots.eu has announced that Israel’s Likud party has joined its ranks as an observer member.
‘Let’s buy California from Trump’ – Danes push back at Trump’s Greenland dream
A group of Danish citizens has launched an initiative to buy California from the US and transform it into a Danish territory as a response to US President Donald…
USAID in the EU: this is not development assistance, it is ideological warfare
For years, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has quietly funnelled millions into European Union countries under the pretext of promoting democracy,…
Explosive: US government’s deep involvement in European journalism
The US government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has been funnelling millions of dollars into student and professional…