Without USAID, the EU will have to pay for its own propaganda
President Donald Trump’s decision to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has left Democrats reeling and knees quaking in Brussels.
Democracy
Latest reporting and analysis on democracy.
Sweden’s deadliest attack leaves 11 dead at city school
Eleven people have been killed in a shooting at an adult education centre in the Swedish city of Orebro, police said.
Georgian police arrest government opposition leaders at protest
Georgian police have arrested two government opposition leaders during street protests against the ruling administration.
Can streets be sexist? EU cities push for more inclusive public spaces
The French Socialist-led city of Nantes has announced plans to revamp public spaces in the name of equality as part of the city 2025 budget.
Polish PM Tusk’s anti-PiS legal policy sees alleged killer’s conviction overturned
A court of appeal in Poland has overturned a life sentence for an alleged serial killer originally convicted of having murdered three women in order to take control…
Now is the ‘best time’ to negotiate independence from Denmark says Greenlandic MP
“This is the best time to push for independence from the pressure of the United States,” declared pro-independence Greenlandic MP Kuno Fencker.
Protests erupt as Greeks accuse authorities of Tempi train tragedy cover-up
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered on January 26 outside the Greek Parliament in Athens, demanding justice for the 57 victims of the 2023 Tempi train disaster.
Former Commissioner Breton says EU should launch ‘tech offensive’
Thierry Breton, former European Commissioner for the Internal Market, has called for Europe to defend its digital sovereignty and maintain unity in the face of challenges…
French media mogul Pigasse declares ‘civilisational war’ as Trump returns to power
French business banker and left-wing media mogul Matthieu Pigasse claims the world has entered a "civilisational war" as US President-elect Donald Trump is set to…
Germany’s US ambassador warns: Trump will ‘undermine democracy’
Germany's ambassador to the US has warned his superiors in Berlin that US President-elect Donald Trump will seek to "undermine democracy" in his second term.
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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.
Italy PM Meloni lauds ‘beautiful’ meeting with Donald Trump
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has boasted that she had a "beautiful" meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump.
German minister wants EC to clamp down on X
German Greens MP and Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth, says X must be "regulated" to "protect democracy". Speaking to Table.
Romanian election annulment ‘to go to ECHR’, says victor’s lawyer
The issue of Romania's annulled presidential election is to be heard at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), media in the country has reported.
In the Middle East this time, it is all different: Trump is back
Just twenty years ago this week, the world’s greatest scholar of Islam, Sir Martin Gilbert, wrote of George W Bush and Tony Blair that they “may well, with the…
‘Progressive democracy’ means destroying the power of the people’s vote
If you listen to establishmentarians in Washington and Brussels, liberal democracy is under threat from anti-democratic populist movements.
German President brands Musk’s X a ‘threat to democracy’
Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has branded Elon Musk's X social media platform a potential "threat to democracy".