Ukraine making ‘progress’ with free speech despite censorship push, EC insists
Ukraine is making "progress" with protecting freedom of speech despite its Government backing the censorship of journalists, the European Commission has insisted.
Society
Latest reporting and analysis on society.
Preserving France’s linguistic diversity: from Marseille’s Provencal to trendy teenage slang
In the vibrant streets of Marseille, where the Mediterranean sun casts its warm glow, a celebration unfolds, echoing the city's rich cultural tapestry.
Mayor of Pregrada champions young community leaders
Committee of the Regions, Brussels – Pregrada, Croatia
The unknown side to Portugal’s famed Algarve
Algarve, Portugal
Hungarian-speakers’ organisation to renew push for Szeklerland autonomy
Szeklerland, Romania.
Poland witnessing ‘creeping coup’, says opposition leader
The leader of the Polish Conservative (PiS) party, Jarosław Kaczyński, has slammed the actions of the newly-installed justice minister Adam Bodnar whom, he said,…
Is the resurrection of East Germany more than a fantasy?
"Thus it was that, 68 years ago, the flag of Austria was raised above the land, and the Austrian Dragoon was the law in Hungary ...
European Parliament plotting ‘woke’ re-working of history curriculums
The European Parliament is plotting a "woke" re-working of history curriculums across the bloc, several leading academics have warned.
EU gig-workers’ directive in trouble
A long-promised European Union directive giving full employment rights to “gig economy” workers could fall victim to the EU elections, experts told Brussels…
AfD ‘will not be banned’, despite German Government threats
Germany’s populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party will not be banned despite threats from the Government, according to one prominent academic.
French regulator hammers Amazon with €32 million fine over ‘intrusive staff surveillance’
French regulator Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) fined Amazon France Logistique €32 million for what the CNIL said was an "excessively…
The EU’s hate-speech bill is not simply about being tough on prejudice. But it is a crackdown on dissent and a restriction on democracy
Last Thursday, in a worrying development for freedom of speech in Europe, the European Parliament voted to add hate speech and hate crime to the list of ‘EU Crimes’.
Protests erupt across Germany against ‘neo-Nazi’ AfD
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in Germany to demonstrate against the populist right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, seen by many…
Rights talk: The gender agenda will be a major fault-line in the 2024 European Elections
Gender policies have become a major dividing line in contemporary politics.
Hungary won’t amend asylum, LGBTQ laws for EU funds
Hungary won’t meet European Union demands to amend controversial laws on asylum seekers and on restricting LGBTQ content, a senior minister said, making it less…
Europe’s capital facing sinkhole, sewage problem as debt explodes
Brussels is in danger of drowning in its own filth while sinkholes erupt across the city like a spotty teen’s chin.
Argentina’s Milei berates Western ‘Neo-Marxists’ at World Economic Forum
"Neo-Marxists have managed to co-opt the common sense of the Western world and this they have achieved by appropriating the media, culture, universities, and also…
European Parliament threatens to sue EC over funds for Hungary
A majority of MEPs, dominated by Liberals and the assembly's Left, are enraged about the European Commission's decision to release up to €10.
‘I’m an anti-Semite and I don’t give a damn’ says daughter of hard-left French MPs
The daughter of two hard-left French MPs has been arrested for antisemitism and glorifying terrorism, French media has reported.
Green MEPs guilty of ‘hyperbolic pathos’ as near-empty Parliament debates rise of ‘neofascism’
Liberal and left-wing MEPs are calling for the heads of Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
Turkey ramps-up web censorship ahead of March elections
Turkey has clamped down on virtual private networks (VPNs) ahead of local elections in March.
Edward Gibbon, Max Weber and Ralph Schoellhammer are wrong: Protestants did not invent capitalism. We Catholics got there first
Dr Ralph Schoellhammer is the Vienna academic whose work you will have read in Brussels Signal. I treat him and his articles with respect. I have to.
Polish lawmaker who extinguished Hanukkah candles loses immunity
Poland's parliament has voted to remove the immunity from prosecution of a lawmaker who used a fire extinguisher to put out Jewish Hanukkah candles in the country's…
German pupils ‘aimed to enforce extreme Islamic rules’
German police are investigating whether four young Muslim students attempted to impose stringent Islamic procedures, such as gender segregation and stoning, at a…
Is rape a crime? EU seems unsure …
The European Union's first directive on combating sexual violence against women has hit a roadblock.
Berlin’s still got it
Berlin, Germany Never write off Berlin. This is a city has been through a lot and it knows how to stay true to itself.
AfD’s Höcke should lose ‘fundamental rights’, German politicians told
A major player in Germany’s populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party should be stripped of all his "fundamental rights" under the country’s Constitution,…
EU risks being left ‘on its own’ if Trump returns, says Belgian PM
The European Union risks being left "on its own" if the US opts to return Donald Trump to the White House as President, the Prime Minister of Belgium has said.
When the Right starts talking about white privilege we are in trouble: Conservatives aren’t going to win by using Left-wing talking points
In the protracted daytime soap opera that passes for today’s U.S. Congress, Hunter Biden’s surprise appearance led the highlight reels all last week.
Belgian Socialists call for ‘ban on political advertising’ on social media
Socialists in Belgium say they want to put a stop to “excessive” spending on social-media adverts by political parties.