Turkey says EU is ‘unjust and biased’ on membership bid
The European Commission's annual report on Turkey's long-stalled EU membership bid is "unjust and biased", the Turkish foreign ministry said.
Democracy
Latest reporting and analysis on democracy.
AfD MEP calls party’s ‘extremist’ label a ‘de-legitimation strategy’
German domestic intelligence classified the AfD's Saxony-Anhalt branch as an extremist group on Tuesday, which an AfD MEP called a cynical ploy to hurt the party's…
Unions to stage mass EU protest over austerity measures
Unions are organising a mass protest in Brussels over what they call a new round of EU austerity.
Melenchon sanctions his own MP for calling his party ‘undemocratic’
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, founder of France's left-wing La France Insoumise party, has sanctioned one of his own MPs for calling his party undemocratic.
Belgian minister sparks ire after refusing to call Hamas a terrorist group
Belgium’s climate minister Zakia Khattabi has caused outrage by saying she did not want to call Hamas a "terrorist organisation".
EU weighs advancing Ukraine’s membership bid as Russia war drags on
The European Union executive is expected to recommend taking Ukraine one step closer to becoming a member of the bloc this week, according to EU officials, a coveted…
The EU machine is forgetting its citizens are not merely ‘economic abstractions’ — if they don’t notice soon they will be engulfed by the populism they so fear
How much is a carton of milk? used to be question thrown at politicians to gauge whether they were in touch with the reality faced by the common man.
UK’s ‘Leave’ voters still enjoy Brexit afterglow, study finds
British people who voted for Brexit are more positive about democracy, with those on the “winning” side happier all round, according to a UK study released on…
Bomb threats plague Germany amid Islamist terror surge
Germany has suffered numerous bomb threats over the past few days aimed at schools, media organisations, political parties and other institutions.
Kisin: Europe is seeing more censorship as elites are ‘losing control’
Europe is experiencing more and more censorship because the elites feel they are "losing control", Konstantin Kisin, the co-host of the popular podcast Triggernometry,…
Eight French airports hit by security alerts
Eight French airports faced security alerts on Wednesday and several were evacuated for checks, the DGAC aviation authority said, and the Palace of Versailles closed…
Crisis in French left-wing alliance over refusal to label Hamas ‘terrorists’
The Socialist Party (PS) in France has voted for a "moratorium" on its participation in the New People's Ecological and Social Union (Nupes), the French left-wing…
Dutch Greens and Socialists want to ditch the monarchy
A majority of Dutch Green (GroenLinks) and Socialist Party (PvdA) coalition members want to get rid of the Dutch monarchy.
Venice mayor suspends electric bus service after two accidents
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro announced a ban on La Linea's electric buses following two accidents involving its vehicles, one of which resulted in the deaths of 21…
Brussels put ‘democratic process at risk’ with plan to axe Palestine aid: Billy Kelleher MEP
Speaking in the Brussels Signal studio, Kelleher described the announcement to cut aid made by Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi…
Vienna Beer Party, on promise of more ale for all, polls at historic highs
The Beer Party in Vienna, or Bierpartei, is polling at 12 per cent, its highest and a score that would make it the third party in the Austrian city.
German police arrest members of Reichsbürger group accused of coup plot
German police conducted raids and arrested members of a far-right group that had sought to violently overthrow Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government and kidnap the…
Birds of a feather? Putin praises Che Guevara and Fidel Castro
Russian President Vladimir Putin has honoured controversial Latin American Socialist political figures from the past at an International Parliamentary Conference…
German minister proposes giving 18-year-olds €20,000 for free
Germany should start handing out €20,000 in cash to citizens when they turn 18 years of age, a government minister has argued.
France records highest number of abortions in more than 30 years
New data published by French statistical body the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES) show that in 2022, France had its highest level…
Youth Regional Network build ties with weekend in Koppang, Norway
In a dynamic blend of collaboration and cultural exchange, the Youth Regional Network (YRN) orchestrated a highly successful capacity-building weekend in Koppang,…
Re-join EU march in London fails to set British media on fire
Hundreds of people rallied at the National Rejoin March (NRM) in Hyde Park in central London on September 23, demanding the UK re-enter the European Union.
ECR negotiator Saryusz-Wolski says group’s treaty change proposals were ‘rejected in bad faith’
Non-Eurofederalist recommendations for European Union treaty changes were rejected in bad faith, a senior Polish MEP has told Brussels Signal.
German Left calls for the abolition of homework
Germany's hard Left Die Linke party has called for the complete abolition of homework in schools, much to the delight of nine-year-olds across the country.
Forced sterilisations in the EU: MEP calls for action
The European Union must take action against the forced sterilisation of disabled people within the bloc, an MEP has said.
Gen Z more enthusiastic to work than older generations, study finds
Gen Z, or those born between 1996 and 2010, are more enthusiastic about working than older generations, a survey conducted in Germany has found.
‘We are not leaving Europe’, confirms Soros heir
In an opinion piece for US-based news outlet Politico, American philanthropist Alex Soros, who recently took over leadership of the Open Society Foundations (OSF)…
German judge handed suspended jail sentence over school mask-mandate opposition
A judge in Germany has been handed a suspended two-year jail sentence as a result of his opposition to school COVID-mask mandates in the country.
Sweden to cut use of screens in schools as reading standards suffer
Sweden's education minister Lotta Edholm is taking action as Swedish children’s ability to read apparently deteriorates.
Democracy! Minister plans to get political rival fired from teaching job
Germany's Antifa-linked interior minister Nancy Faeser has announced plans to have one of her political rivals fired from his position as a teacher.