A €44 billion question: Can Poland be bound without lawful democratic consent?
The controversy surrounding the European Union’s SAFE loan mechanism has revealed something far more troubling than a mere policy dispute over defence financing.
Society
Latest reporting and analysis on society.
Iran: Opposition fears new massacre of political prisoners
The left-leaning opposition movement, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), sounded the alarm over an escalation of executions targeting political prisoners…
Brussels has 22 shootings in first three months of this year, mostly drug-related
In just three months in 2026, Brussels has already recorded 22 shootings, resulting in at least ten injuries and one death.
French MP Arnault accuses ‘far right’ of exploiting Quentin Deranque’s death
French far Left MP Raphaël Arnault accused the country's Right of exploiting the killing of right-wing activist Quentin Deranque for political gain, in an hour-long…
Spanish police open probe into anti-Muslim chants at Egypt friendly
Spanish police said on Wednesday that they were investigating "Islamophobic and xenophobic" chants heard during the Spain-Egypt international football match in Barcelona,…
Europe doesn’t understand Trump and his politics of results
In Berlin this past Sunday, a sign was hoisted atop the crowd against the blue-grey sky that looks like an oversized meme.
67 year-old German retiree fined €800 for “insulting” politician
A 67-year-old retired Bavarian woman had a conviction confirmed for "insulting a public official", by carrying a sign caricaturing the state's Minister-President…
Italian police question MEP Ilaria Salis over ‘close ties’ with Antifa
Italian police, responding to a request from German authorities, questioned Italian MEP Ilaria Salis in her Rome hotel room as she travelled to a "No Kings" demonstration.
UK scraps its controversial non-crime hate incidents
The UK government has formally scrapped its system of recording non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs), which for years has controversially seen police forces divert their…
Sweden charges man for selling wife to 120 men
A Swedish prosecutor on Monday charged a man, suspected of exploiting his "vulnerable" wife to have sex with men for money, with aggravated pimping, several rapes…
French masonic lodge at heart of murky murder trial
Twenty-two people went on trial in France on Monday on charges of murder and other serious crimes centred on members of a Masonic lodge accused of running hit squads.
Israeli police block Latin Patriarch from Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, sparking sharp international condemnation
In a move Catholic leaders described as lacking precedent in centuries, Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and…
UEFA fines clubs for displays of Joan of Arc and Jesus Christ, deems them ‘not fit for a sports event’
French Ligue 1 club LOSC Lille has been ordered to pay a fine for organising a display featuring the French national hero, Joan of Arc.
War on vaping defies science and reality, leading tobacco researcher warns
A leading addiction researcher warns the European Union is on the brink of a public health blunder, risking reversing decades of progress in reducing smoking–while…
Appeals court acquits German comedian over tasteless Trump assassination ‘jokes’
An appeal court in Berlin has upheld the acquittal of Sebastian Hotz, a German leftist comedian who had been charged with “condoning criminal offences” after…
Could these be his remains? D’Artagnan, sacred relic of a France long gone
A discovery in the Dutch city of Maastricht may finally solve a centuries-old mystery: The burial place of Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan, the inspiration…
Austrian High Court rules Putin mask at protest legal despite face-coverings ban
Austria’s Constitutional Court (VfGH) has decided that wearing a mask at a political protest can be a permissible form of expressing oneself, even though the country…
Polish right-wing leader’s EP immunity removed over Holocaust denial
The European Parliament has voted once again to strip the unaligned MEP and Polish right-wing party leader Grzegorz Braun of his parliamentary immunity.
Finland convicts MP for hate speech over 2004 pamphlet supporting classic Christianity
Finland’s Supreme Court has found parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen guilty of “hate speech” relating to the expression of her beliefs on marriage and sexual…
EU accuses four porn platforms of letting children access adult content
The European Union accused four pornographic platforms on Thursday of allowing children to access adult content in breach of digital rules, putting the companies…
Former Oxford professor and prominent Islamist gets 18 years for rape
A Paris criminal court has sentenced Swiss Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan to 18 years imprisonment for the rape of three women in France between 2009 and 2016.
Strasbourg clears path for medically-assisted suicide in landmark case
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rejected a last-minute request to suspend the euthanasia of Noelia, a 25-year-old woman from Barcelona, marking a decisive…
EU’s top court rules flaws in appointment do not automatically disqualify Polish judges
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that flaws in a judge’s appointment does not automatically mean that the judge lacks independence to adjudicate cases…
Belgian public broadcasters smash Christian figures but say would not do so to Islamic or Jewish ones
Presenters on Studio Brussel, a radio station of Belgium's publicly funded broadcaster VRT, have caused outrage after destroying Christian figures and stating they…
German leftist fury after CDU minister announces funding cuts to their NGO honey pot
Several left-wing NGOs have slammed Germany’s education minister Karin Prien (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) for planned funding cuts for a contentious “pro…
German police raid facilities of hard-left group suspected of attacks on electricity grid
Hundreds of police officers have raided nineteen sites connected with the hard-left scene throughout Germany in the early morning hours of March 24 to search for…
European policies on smoking alternatives ‘block innovation and harm reduction’
Experts say that policies aimed at protecting the public against the negative effects of smoking have serious adverse effects, damaging public health.
Anarchist activists killed in Rome blast while preparing explosive device
The death of two anarchists while allegedly preparing an explosive device has drawn intense attention to Italy’s domestic security landscape.
Polish court rules foreign same sex marriages must be recognised
Poland’s top administrative court (NSA) ruled that the country's public authorities must recognise same-sex marriages performed elsewhere in the European Union…
UK’s Farage says would ban mass prayer events amid iftar row
Hard-right UK lawmaker Nigel Farage, currently leading opinion polls, has said he will ban mass Muslim prayer at historic British sites if he becomes prime minister.