title stringlengths 15 139 | content stringlengths 459 61.8k | author stringlengths 0 519 | description stringlengths 37 471 | keywords listlengths 0 5 | category stringclasses 23
values | datePublished stringdate 2023-01-02 06:25:02 2025-10-28 21:57:05 | url stringlengths 35 74 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Listen: UN says global climate plans fall short, as the EU considers easing its 2040 target | The world’s latest climate plans are in and they fall drastically short. More than sixty countries have submitted their updated commitments to the United Nations, outlining how they’ll reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. But according to the UN’s own analysis published today, these plans would only cut global carb... | Evi Kiorri | More than sixty countries have submitted their updated commitments to the United Nations, outlining how they’ll reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. But according to the UN’s own analysis published today, these plans would only cut global carbon emissions by around 10% compared with 2019 levels. So, are governments... | [
"Green Economy",
"Health & Society"
] | green-economy | 2025-10-28T21:57:05.655Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/ar31d3c74f |
Women and peace-making are essential, not an 'add-on' - as Gaza proves | The United Nations on Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) was adopted 25 years ago — its anniversary falls on 31 October. It was a landmark commitment to include women meaningfully in conflict prevention and peace-building, but too often, it has fallen short. Having helped draft Resoluti... | The Berghof Foundation | It's a myth that including women is merely a “nice-to-have.” Research shows that peace agreements are 20 percent more likely to last at least two years and 35 percent more likely to last fifteen years when women are involved in negotiations. Yet, in high-level talks, such as efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, wome... | [
"EU & the World",
"Africa",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-28T14:31:26.851Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar62ac40a9 |
How NGOs die — Europe's playbook for dismantling democracy | Across Europe, a coordinated assault on civil society is unfolding with surgical precision. From Brussels to Budapest, from Bratislava to Sofia, EU institutions and national governments are deploying a five-step playbook to eliminate the independent organisations that stand between corporate power and the public intere... | The Good Lobby | The playbook is brutally efficient: fabricate a scandal, delegitimise and defund organisations into dependency on philanthropic support, then criminalise their new funding as foreign influence — all while continuing to demand NGOs monitor consumer protections that governments refuse to fund themselves, warns new EUobse... | [
"EU Political",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-28T11:31:47.303Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ar1c67c9a3 |
Irish election deepfake AI video shines light on lack of EU-wide rules | Last Friday (24 October), Catherine Connolly won the Irish presidential election, despite an AI-generated deepfake of her dropping out of the race circulating before the election. In an AI video, a realistic RTÉ News broadcast reported that the now Irish president-elect had dropped out of the race and that the election... | Owen Carpenter-Zehe | AI-generated videos of then Irish presidential candidate Catherine Connolly dropping out of the race circulated online last week. Currently there is no EU-wide legal consensus on digital likeness rights, leaving each member state to decide its own rules. | [
"Digital",
"EU Political"
] | digital | 2025-10-27T15:01:17.067Z | https://euobserver.com/digital/ar9b098635 |
Listen: Why is everyone so eager to meet with China? | This week, the European Union and China will hold talks in Brussels aimed at easing trade tensions, focusing on Beijing’s restrictions on exports of rare earths and magnets, materials vital for Europe’s automotive, defence, green tech and digital industries. All this, as Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping to discuss trade a... | Evi Kiorri | This week, the European Union and China will hold talks in Brussels aimed at easing trade tensions. All this, as Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping to discuss trade and critical minerals on the other side of the world. But why is everyone so eager to meet Chinese officials?
| [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-27T13:11:18.328Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar0c1ca88c |
Will pesticides be let off hook by EU 'omnibus' deregulation? | The European Commission’s “simplification omnibus” review is a test: will it defend citizens’ health and Europe’s ecosystems, or yield to agrobusiness pressure and roll back pesticide protections under the disguise of ‘simplification’? Eighty percent of the responses to the commission’s consultation on its omnibus came... | PAN Europe | Better enforcement of EU pesticide use is not bureaucracy. It is what keeps Europe’s food, water, and people safe. More than 120 NGOs are urging the EU Commission to strengthen implementation of the bloc's pesticide law, and thousands of citizens responded to the commission’s consultation. | [
"EU Political",
"Green Economy",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-27T11:38:44.838Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ar10983b93 |
A repeat Dutch election, China rare earth exports and von der Leyen in Nordics This WEEK | Dutch voters head to the polls on Wednesday (29 October), with far-right anti-Muslim leader Geert Wilders topping the polls, as he aims to repeat his surprise win from the parliamentary elections two years ago. The election itself only came after Wilders pulled his hard-right Freedom Party (PVV) out of a fragile four-p... | Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE. | Dutch voters go to the polls on Wednesday, with Geert Wilders’ party leading. Trade talks with China, Ursula von der Leyen attending the Nordic Council, and ECB decisions mark a busy week, while Donald Trump heads to Asia for the Apec and Asean summits — amid a tariff-war with China. | [
"Nordics",
"Agenda"
] | agenda | 2025-10-27T06:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/agenda/ar1677d44a |
Sex education remains a tricky topic in many European countries | About 80 percent of children and young people in Croatia now learn about sexuality from the internet. This figure, revealed in a study by the Croatian Institute of Public Health , is extremely worrying, says the country's ombudswoman for equality, Višnja Ljubičić. But it is hardly a surprise — given that comprehensive ... | Voxeurop | Some look with envy at countries such as Sweden, where sex education was introduced in the 1940s and made compulsory in 1955. Even in kindergartens, the topic is at least touched upon. | [
"Health & Society"
] | health-and-society | 2025-10-27T06:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/health-and-society/ar70d7a98b |
TikTok and Meta breaching the DSA, EU Commission finds | The European Commission preliminarily found that both TikTok and Meta are in violation of the bloc's D igital Services Act (DSA) on Friday (24 October). Both TikTok and Meta platforms breach the DSA's requirement to provide adequate access to their data for researchers, according to the findings, which also report that... | Owen Carpenter-Zehe | Both TikTok and Meta are breaching the DSA, according to EU Commission. The platforms are not transparent enough with their data for research use, and Meta makes reporting illegal content and appealing moderation decisions too difficult. | [
"Rule of Law",
"Digital"
] | rule-of-law | 2025-10-24T11:05:24.381Z | https://euobserver.com/rule-of-law/ar493fa366 |
Israel blocking €43m of Gaza aid despite ceasefire, NGOs say | Israeli authorities have rejected 94 percent of aid delivery requests from international relief organisations during the first two weeks of the current ceasefire, leaving €43m worth of critical supplies stranded at border crossings, according to 41 humanitarian groups working in Gaza. Between 10 and 21 October, Israel ... | Hannah Kriwak | Israeli authorities have rejected 94 percent of aid delivery requests from international relief organisations — leaving €43m worth of critical supplies stranded at border crossings, according to 41 humanitarian groups working in Gaza. | [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-24T10:46:13.291Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar40280aa8 |
Why we should worry about little-known 'crisis mechanism' in EU military industrial plan | One of the European Defence Industrial Programme ’s least discussed but most alarming features is the creation of a special “crisis mechanism”. Under this framework, basic protections set out in the EU’s Working Time Directive could be suspended, allowing for extended shifts and longer workweeks in arms production. The... | The Left | The new EU programme for the military industry contains a little-discussed regulation to override workers’ rights and environmental protection whenever an undefined defence security of supply crisis is declared, warn Left MEPs Marc Botenga and Ozlem Demirel. | [
"EU & the World",
"EU Political",
"Health & Society",
"Labour",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-24T09:50:54.034Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar58aafd22 |
EU leaders clash on 2035 engine ban, but experts warn subsidising demand is key | EU leaders clashed over a planned 2035 ban on combustion engines at their summit in Brussels on Thursday (23 October). The EU has already agreed on the ban, but Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Germany's Friedrich Merz have called for the ban to be overturned, the latter vowing to "do everything" to convince other leaders in... | Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent. | As EU leaders clashed over the 2035 combustion engine phase-out at their Brussels summit, economists say governments should focus on boosting demand for European-made electric vehicles instead — perhaps by copying a French eco-bonus model. | [
"Green Economy"
] | green-economy | 2025-10-23T17:01:43.812Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/ar3cf2bb45 |
MEPs to put steel, suspension, and sunset clauses into US trade deal | MEPs are planning to rewrite parts of the EU-US trade pact, putting in place clauses to quickly suspend or terminate the deal if US president Donald Trump backtracks on any of its provisions. At a press conference in Strasbourg on Thursday (23 October), Bernd Lange, the German social democrat who chairs the European pa... | Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya. | MEPs are planning to re-write parts of the EU-US trade pact, putting in place clauses to quickly suspend or terminate the deal if US president Donald Trump backtracks on any of its provisions. | [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-23T13:11:04.513Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ard7080a43 |
Listen: EU leaders greenlight new Russia sanctions and debate Ukraine reparation loan | EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday (23 October) to discuss matters ranging from defence and housing to climate targets, but the agenda is clearly topped by Ukraine. Two big items stand out, the so-called “reparation loan” using frozen Russian assets, and the EU’s 19th sanctions package against Moscow, which wa... | Evi Kiorri | EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday to discuss matters ranging from defence and housing to climate targets, but the agenda is clearly topped by Ukraine. But can Europe turn political agreement into real financial support for Kyiv without crossing legal red lines? | [
"EU & the World",
"Ukraine"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-23T12:18:33.369Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar13f050b2 |
Outrage as Ireland picks ex-Meta lobbyist as new data protection chief | Civil society groups have decried the appointment of a senior ex-Meta lobbyist as one of Ireland's new data protection commissioners. Niamh Sweeney was announced in September as the pick for third commissioner for Ireland's already highly-controversial Data Protection Commission (DPC), rounding out its three-person lea... | Owen Carpenter-Zehe | Civil society is outraged by Ireland data protection agency — the key one in the EU — picking a former Meta lobbyist as its new commissioner. | [
"Digital",
"EU Political"
] | * | 2025-10-23T08:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/*/ar6c78a452 |
Listen: Brussels scales back deforestation law to ease pressure on small firms | The European Commission has changed course, again, on its landmark anti-deforestation law, known as the EUDR. After weeks of speculation about yet another delay, Brussels has now decided not to postpone the law for everyone. Instead, it’s introducing a series of exemptions and tweaks, especially for small businesses an... | Evi Kiorri | The European Commission has changed course, again, on its landmark anti-deforestation law, known as the EUDR. But what does this all mean in practice? | [
"Green Economy"
] | green-economy | 2025-10-22T16:16:12.521Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/arfd04dd09 |
Global leaders’ meeting on women in Beijing promotes new, accelerated process for development | Women play an important role in creating, promoting and carrying forward human civilization. Advancing the cause of women is a shared responsibility of the international community. Thirty years ago, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing . The conference adopted the landmark Beijing Declaration and Pl... | Ambassador Cai Run is the head of the mission of China to the European Union. | President Xi Jinping attended the 2025 Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women in Beijing, and promised in the next five years, China will donate another $10m to UN Women and earmark a quota of $100m in China’s Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund for implementing development cooperation projects for women and ... | [] | stakeholders | 2025-10-22T13:12:41.257Z | https://euobserver.com/stakeholders/araee0af84 |
On eve of EU summit over 2,000 scientists call for 90-95% emissions cut | More than 2,000 scientists from across the continent have urged EU leaders to commit to cutting emissions by 90-95 percent by 2040 at their summit meeting on Thursday (23 October). The 2,178 signatories to an open letter timed their appeal to coincide with the European Council meeting, where heads of state will discuss... | Hannah Kriwak | The EU is debating its 2040 climate targets — amid calls from scientists and officials to treat emissions cuts as an economic opportunity rather than a burden. But disagreements among key member states — not least France and Germany — have delayed a decision. | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-22T13:11:20.830Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arf84b0898 |
Europe’s punitive welfare systems are fuelling the far-right | Rightwing populists are reportedly adopting a new strategy to woo European voters: the promise of higher welfare benefits . This pro-welfare stance is paying off. Rightwing parties in Sweden (Swedish Democrats) and Austria (Freedom Party of Austria) have seen their ratings rise as they promise more state spending on ci... | Olivier De Schutter | As Europe punishes its poorest citizens, the far-right finds fertile ground to flourish, warns Olivier De Schutter, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. And this pro-welfare stance is paying off. Far-right parties in Sweden and Austria have seen their ratings rise as they promise more state spendi... | [
"EU Political",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-22T09:35:27.692Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ar4588f76a |
New holes in latest U-turn on EU anti-deforestation law | The European Commission has U-turned on plans to delay its landmark anti-deforestation law by another year, instead setting out a series of new exemptions for small businesses, farmers, and major manufacturers. Last month, the commission said that massive overuse of its in-house IT system needed to declare compliance w... | Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya. | The European Commission has U-turned on plans to delay its landmark anti-deforestation law by another year, instead setting out a series of new exemptions for small businesses, farmers, and major manufacturers. | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-22T05:32:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar8600e8ee |
Listen: Friedrich Merz under fire over ‘dangerous’ migration remarks | Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor, is facing strong criticism for what many describe as “dangerous rhetoric” on immigration. During a visit to the eastern state of Brandenburg, Merz said that Germany still had “a problem in the cityscape” and that his interior minister was working to enable and carry out large-scale... | Evi Kiorri | Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor, is facing strong criticism for what many describe as “dangerous rhetoric” on immigration. But why have these remarks sparked such a strong reaction across Germany and what do they reveal about the country’s political mood on migration? | [
"Migration",
"EU Political"
] | migration | 2025-10-21T15:35:54.957Z | https://euobserver.com/migration/ar2c65d518 |
Germany's Merz under pressure from CDU to abandon 'firewall' against AfD | As Germany readies itself for five separate state elections early next year, chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right Christian Democrats faces a dilemma over how to handle the surging influence and popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). In the run-up to the CDU party convention last weekend, voices... | Hannah Kriwak | As Germany prepares for five state elections next year, chancellor Friedrich Merz's center-right CDU faces a dilemma over how to handle the surging influence and popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). | [
"Migration",
"EU Political"
] | migration | 2025-10-21T14:22:11.263Z | https://euobserver.com/migration/arb5413447 |
45 meat and dairy giants emit more methane than EU and UK combined, study finds | The methane emissions from the 45 world's major meat and dairy processing companies dwarfs that of all EU member states and the UK combined, a new report found on Monday (20 October) . The report, from Foodrise , Friends of the Earth, and Greenpeace, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy also revealed that... | Hannah Kriwak | Global meat and dairy production's environmental footprint dwarfs that of all EU member states and the UK combined, according to a new report. | [
"Green Economy"
] | green-economy | 2025-10-20T15:42:34.738Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/arbe11b6de |
Amazon cloud outage prompts new questions on EU reliance on US tech | Europe found many of their online applications disfunctional on Monday (20 October) when there was a major disruption to Amazon's cloud storage — prompting concerns over overreliance on US tech. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is Amazon's cloud computing platform, which services major online companies like Snapchat, and Zoo... | Owen Carpenter-Zehe | Amazon Web Services went down globally on Monday, affecting services used in Europe. Tech experts used the outage to push for stronger European digital sovereignty. | [
"EU & the World",
"Digital"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-20T15:16:49.108Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar6c2da1b5 |
Listen: With Frozen funds and pipelines, EU leaders close to reaching a deal for Ukraine | Today, EU energy ministers are meeting to decide the future of Russian fossil fuels in the bloc, after years of delays and exemptions. At the same time, leaders are debating how to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s defence, hoping to reach a deal this week. But can Europe finally act decisively on both ene... | Evi Kiorri | EU energy ministers are meeting to decide the future of Russian fossil fuels in the bloc, after years of delays and exemptions. At the same time, leaders are debating how to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s defence, hoping to reach a deal this week. | [
"EU & the World",
"Ukraine"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-20T11:28:18.496Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arb694ab0d |
Back to the future: the European biocircular economy | The bioeconomy has always been a backbone for Europe. Food and agriculture, of course, but also the forest-based sector, which for millennia has provided housing materials, energy, and trade opportunities. Wood also fuelled early industrial development, particularly in the mining and metals industries, and made Europea... | Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget | Excluding harvested biomass from the circular economy undermines the EU's overall climate and growth objectives and creates confusion in policy along the wood-based value chain. | [
"Green Economy"
] | green-economy | 2025-10-20T10:57:27.312Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/ared0147b9 |
Holding a Trump-Putin summit in Budapest would be a charade | If anyone ever wondered what the overlapping goals of Russian and US foreign policy might be, the announcement of a potential summit between president Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Budapest leaves little doubt. The joint objectives — at least for this US administration — are unmistakably to weaken and div... | Democracy Institute of the Central European University | Vladimir Putin would have to cross the airspace of at least one, if not more, EU and Nato member states to reach Budapest. This would mean that one EU country, under US pressure, would have to breach its obligations under EU sanctions and the ICC arrest warrant to grant safe passage to a convicted war criminal and perp... | [
"EU & the World",
"EU Political",
"Ukraine",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-20T10:54:47.355Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arfd1246a4 |
EU summit on Ukraine and defence, plus Belarus and Sakharov prize This WEEK | EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday (23 October) to discuss four main priorities: defence preparedness, Russia's frozen assets , support for Ukraine, and competitiveness tied to the green transition and digital sovereignty. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to join via videoconference to updat... | Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE. | EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss defence, Ukraine aid, Russian assets, competitiveness, and climate goals. Also this week, ministers meet to discuss Russian sanctions and energy, while MEPs debate the Middle East, Belarus, and announce the Sakharov Prize. | [
"Agenda"
] | agenda | 2025-10-20T05:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/agenda/araff795b4 |
Why is the EU operating a politics of secrecy on chemical safety? | While four out five Europeans are worried about the impact of harmful chemicals on their health and the environment, the EU Commission is keeping the public in the dark over lobby battles to regulate toxic products. For example, the commission has spent almost three years refusing to release full documents relating to ... | ClientEarth | The EU Commission justified its refusal to share the documents by admitting it is worried that it will not be able to withstand the “unnecessary pressure from stakeholders” ‒ in other words, the lobbying ‒ that could result from the documents’ release. | [
"EU Political",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-20T04:32:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ar4236b709 |
Privacy and AI fears, in EU bonfire of digital red tape | EU data laws are to become more business-friendly after 19 November, when the EU Commission unveils its "digital omnibus" to cut red tape, amid privacy and security concerns. The omnibus will target rules on cookies and other tracking technologies, cybersecurity incident reporting, and tweaks to the EU's flagship Artif... | Owen Carpenter-Zehe | EU data laws are to become more business-friendly after 19 November, when the EU Commission unveils its "digital omnibus", amid privacy and security concerns. | [
"EU & the World",
"Digital",
"EU Political"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-18T05:35:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar721f4c30 |
EU battles to phase out Russian fossil-fuels by either 2027 or 2028 | “Russia weaponised energy like it weaponises information, like it weaponises all the possibilities that it has to influence the decisionmaking process in the EU but not only in EU – this is something we have to keep in mind to avoid aggression of Russia in the future,” the Ukrainian ambassador to the EU, Vsevolod Chent... | Hannah Kriwak | Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Commission has pushed to phase out fossil fuels from Moscow – but some member states, especially landlocked countries like Hungary and Slovakia, have been reluctant to do so. | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy",
"Ukraine"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-17T12:15:38.179Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ara867a0db |
Trump praised 'crime-free Egypt, but it's the EU who's paying for the repression | During last weekend's hastily-arranged Gaza Peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, US president Donald Trump stood beside Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi before a hall of cameras and European dignitaries, among them Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen, and declared with satisfaction: “There is very little crime in Egypt; i... | Shimaa Samy | During last weekend's Gaza Peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, US president Donald Trump stood beside Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and declared with satisfaction: "There is very little crime in Egypt; it’s a strong system.” In fact, the Egyptian regime is based on systemic violence, writes one formerly imprisoned journali... | [
"EU & the World",
"Africa",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-17T09:38:30.835Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar953fd940 |
Mainstream loses control of agenda by mimicking far-right, study finds | During the 2024 European Parliament election campaign, centrist politicians warned about the threat posed by far-right parties to democracies. Yet experts suggest that the political mainstream itself is partly responsible for their growing success. Far-right parties made significant gains in the June 2024 elections, gr... | Hannah Kriwak | During the 2024 European Parliament election campaign, centrist politicians warned about the threat posed by far-right parties to democracies. Yet experts suggest the political mainstream itself is partly responsible for their growing success. | [
"EU & the World",
"EU Political"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-17T05:32:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arffb2b2c8 |
MEPs confront Meta about removing political ads | MEPs confronted Meta's "allergy to EU legislation" during a debate in the European Parliament on Thursday (16 October) — raising their concerns over the company's decision to end all political, electoral, and social advertising in the EU in the wake of a new law. The scrutiny session in the internal market and consumer... | Owen Carpenter-Zehe | MEPs grilled a Meta lobbyist over its decision to cease political ads in the EU after new political advertising regulations | [
"Digital",
"EU Political"
] | digital | 2025-10-16T15:18:57.161Z | https://euobserver.com/digital/ar10ebd27b |
European Investment Fund financed Israeli spyware company Paragon | The European Investment Fund (EIF) provided venture capital for Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions , confirmed a spokesperson for the European Investment Bank Group, to which the EIF belongs. “In January 2020, the EIF signed a commitment of €21.2m with Aurora Europe SCSp, a fund-of-funds with a total size of €85m a... | Apache | The European Investment Fund backed Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions in 2020 through a local venture fund, according to a new investigation by Belgian investigative site Apache. Founded a year earlier by former Israeli PM Ehud Barak and an Israeli ex-intelligence chief, Paragon’s spyware has been used against act... | [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-16T14:15:27.675Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar1b6908da |
Listen: Inside Greece’s 13-hour workday reform | Greece’s parliament is voting today on a controversial labour reform proposed by the conservative government, allowing employees under “exceptional circumstances” to work up to 13 hours a day, for up to 37 days a year. The government insists the measure is voluntary and designed to help workers earn more without havin... | Evi Kiorri | Greece’s parliament is voting today on a controversial labour reform proposed by the conservative government, allowing employees under “exceptional circumstances” to work up to 13 hours a day, for up to 37 days a year. The government insists the measure is voluntary, but what does this new bill change for workers? | [
"Health & Society"
] | health-and-society | 2025-10-16T11:13:18.842Z | https://euobserver.com/health-and-society/ar3a26ee3f |
This weekend's election in a European country no one recognises: North Cyprus | When Turkish Cypriots go to the polls on Saturday (19 October), they will not just be asked to choose a candidate to serve a five-year term as president of the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — they will be required to make a decision over whether to orient themselves in the direction of Turkey or Euro... | Cyprus Mail | The election in North Cyprus (recognised only by Turkey) has two protagonist candidates — the pro-Turkey ally of Erdoğan, Ersin Tatar, who insists that the only solution to the Cyprus problem is a two-state solution, and the pro-Europe opposition-backed Tufan Erhürman, who wants to return to negotiations based on a fed... | [
"EU & the World",
"EU Political",
"EU Elections",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-16T10:55:24.484Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar45354379 |
Europeans paid €930bn extra due to energy dependency, report finds | Between 2021 and 2024, when energy prices spiked in the wake of the pandemic and Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Europe’s fossil-fuel import bill increased by €930bn, a report by the think tank Ember published on Thursday (16 October) found. Overall, the total costs of Europe’s fossil-fuel imports during these ... | Hannah Kriwak | Between 2021 and 2024, Europe’s fossil fuel imports cost €1.8 trillion, up €930bn due to price spikes, a new report has found. Heavy reliance on a few suppliers has exposed the EU to risks, prompting experts to call for widespread electrification to foster energy autonomy. | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-16T05:01:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arf04ba838 |
EU summit plan still hobbled by Austria-Slovakia on Russia, but no Israel sanctions | An Austrian bank and Slovakian cars still stand in the way of further EU action on Russia — while any possible EU Israel sanctions are being put on hold. Austria's ambassador to the EU maintained a "reserve" on the 19th round of Russia sanctions in the EU Council in Brussels on Wednesday (15 October). Vienna is trying ... | Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online. | An Austrian bank and Slovakian cars still stand in the way of further EU action on Russia — while any possible EU Israel sanctions are being put on hold. | [
"EU & the World",
"Ukraine"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-15T17:15:34.303Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar24cf83dc |
Listen: French PM freezes Macron’s pension law saving the government for now | French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced the suspension of Emmanuel Macron’s 2023 pension reform, which had raised the retirement age from 62 to 64. Now, two years after it was passed, its implementation will be paused until after the 2027 presidential election. But how is this suspension saving the govern... | Evi Kiorri | French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced the suspension of Emmanuel Macron’s 2023 pension reform, which had raised the retirement age from 62 to 64. Now, two years after it was passed, its implementation will be paused until after the 2027 presidential election. But how is this suspension saving the govern... | [
"Health & Society"
] | health-and-society | 2025-10-15T12:37:24.210Z | https://euobserver.com/health-and-society/ar8f1d6716 |
Global growth steady so far despite Trump tariffs, says IMF | The global economy has again proved stronger than expected, though not necessarily healthier, according to the latest World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday (14 October) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It described a world showing “unexpected resilience” despite Trump-era trade tariffs , but warned risks... | Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent. | According to the International Monetary Fund the global economy has shown “unexpected resilience” in the face of sweeping Trump-era trade tariffs, but warned that uncertainty is weighing on investment. | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-15T05:31:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar6e40e90a |
Italy-Albania migrant deal: Millions spent, few results | “I found myself in a maximum-security prison without ever having spent a day in prison in my life,” Mustafa recalls. He perfectly remembers the day he entered the migrant detention centre, opened by Italy in Gjadër, Albania. The sound of the gate closing, the towering bars surrounding the structure, the suffocating lac... | is a lawyer and freelance investigative journalist in Italy, specializing in migration policies and co-author of | Migrants were detained in Albanian centres under an Italy-Albania deal, managed by the Medihospes cooperative on a €133m contract, but legal, operational, and ethical issues persist, an investigation reveals. | [
"EU & the World",
"Migration"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-14T15:53:36.603Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar124e4323 |
Listen: EU ministers discuss mutual deportations as new migration fix | European interior ministers met in Luxembourg this week, with the meeting continuing today to discuss how to better manage migration, or at least how to convince voters that they’re doing so. At the centre of the talks is a proposal that would make deportation orders issued by one EU country automatically recognised by... | Evi Kiorri | European interior ministers met in Luxembourg this week, with the meeting continuing today to discuss how to better manage migration, or at least how to convince voters that they’re doing so. At the centre of the talks is a proposal that would make deportation orders issued by one EU country automatically recognised by... | [
"Migration"
] | migration | 2025-10-14T10:48:06.586Z | https://euobserver.com/migration/ar0cab2def |
The Várhelyi affair: When an EU member state spies on Brussels | Brussels has always been a spy capital. Nato and the EU headquarters have long made it a magnet for Chinese, Russian, and other hostile intelligence services. But this threat comes from within. The European Commission is investigating allegations that Hungary ran a spy operation within EU institutions — not from a host... | The Good Lobby | The Várhelyi spying allegations pose a question the European Union has never had to answer so starkly: what happens when a member state treats the institutions it helped create not as a common project, but as hostile territory to be infiltrated and undermined? asks Alberto Alemanno. | [
"Rule of Law",
"EU Political",
"Opinion"
] | rule-of-law | 2025-10-14T09:22:10.492Z | https://euobserver.com/rule-of-law/arfb57f7e9 |
Meta and Google stop political ads, hurting research on EU | Political researchers have raised concerns their work would be affected due to Meta and Google's decision to cease their official political ad services and adjust their ad archives – a move responding to the EU's new advertising regulations. With the EU's new regulation on the transparency and targeting of political ad... | on 8 October, two days before enforcement. | Political researchers have raised concerns their work would be affected due to Meta and Google's decision to cease their official ad services – a move responding to new EU regulations. | [
"Digital"
] | digital | 2025-10-14T06:14:55.872Z | https://euobserver.com/digital/ar63b2aab1 |
The idea of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine – explained | “The evidence of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine is plain to see. Unpunished crimes only encourage new atrocities,” said EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas on Monday (13 October), as she pledged €10m to support the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Kallas made the announcement... | statutes | EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas has pledged €10m to support the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. But what exactly would such a tribunal mean in practice — and what are the difficulties? | [
"EU & the World",
"Rule of Law"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-14T05:34:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar29f676fd |
AI and green trends in workplace will hit women harder | Three major transitions — digital, green and demographic — influence the current labour market, and women are disproportionately affected by these shifts, experts warn. During a panel discussion held in Brussels on Monday (13 October), trade union representatives voiced concerns that future-oriented jobs in the digital... | Hannah Kriwak | Women are more likely than men to suffer from evolutions in the workplace, as they are underrepresented in digital and green jobs. | [
"Green Economy",
"Health & Society",
"Labour"
] | green-economy | 2025-10-13T15:44:08.008Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/ar1ee4615c |
Listen: Hostages freed ahead of peace summit in Egypt without Hamas | After more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas, all remaining living hostages have been released, a ceasefire has taken hold, and world leaders are gathering in Egypt to talk peace, but only one side of the conflict will be there. So, what kind of peace can be built without Hamas at the table? Production: By... | Evi Kiorri | After more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas, all remaining living hostages have been released, a ceasefire has taken hold, and world leaders are gathering in Egypt to talk peace, but only one side of the conflict will be there. So, what kind of peace can be built without Hamas at the table?
| [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-13T14:15:13.211Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar77debac7 |
The S&D's plan for a European social leasing revolution for electric cars | Cars have long been a cornerstone of Europe’s economic strength. However, today the continent’s automotive industry is under pressure, as trade disruptions, rising energy costs, raw material shortages, and shrinking demand for European cars converge. Most concerning is the rapid rise of non-European competitors, steadi... | Mohammed Chahim | To protect Europe’s industrial backbone, we must make electric mobility accessible to all Europeans by boosting demand through a bold commitment to social leasing, write the president and vice-president of the Socialists & Democrats. | [] | stakeholders | 2025-10-13T10:22:02.270Z | https://euobserver.com/stakeholders/ar58e492a2 |
Dutch government takes control of Chinese chip-maker under rare law | The Dutch government has imposed sweeping restrictions on Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, citing “serious governance shortcomings” at the semiconductor manufacturer. The minister of economic affairs Vincent Karremans, announced late on Sunday (12 October) that he had invoked the Goods Availability Act on 30 September... | Wester is a journalist from the Netherlands with a focus on the green economy. He joined EUobserver in September 2021. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Vice, Motherboard, a science-based website, and climate economy journalist for The Correspondent. | The Dutch government has imposed sweeping restrictions on Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, citing "serious governance shortcomings." | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-13T08:47:57.509Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar40fad961 |
From skills gaps to growth: How the EIT Is powering Europe’s talent | Europe is facing growing challenges to stay competitive, as the Draghi report recently underlined. For the EU to remain a global leader, it must address one of its most urgent priorities: closing the European skills gap. Across sectors — from digital technology to clean energy — employers struggle to find people with t... | The European Institute of Innovation & Technology | As Europe faces mounting pressure to stay globally competitive, the skills gap has become one of its biggest obstacles. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is stepping in with a model that links education, research, and business to train a new generation for the green and digital transitions. | [] | stakeholders | 2025-10-13T04:30:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/stakeholders/ar7259ed1a |
Working for women’s rights in a hostile committee | “We need to resist all of those who are violating these basic values and rights of women. Unfortunately, these are together with us in this parliament”, said the vice-chair of the committee on women’s rights and gender equality, Croatian S&D MEP Marko Vešligaj, during a plenary debate on Thursday (9 October). And she w... | Hannah Kriwak | A plenary debate in Strasbourg on gender equality showed just how active and outspoken rightwing MEPs have become. Chair of the women's rights and gender equality committee, MEP Lina Gálvez Muñoz, is concerned about the power they now have. | [
"EU Political",
"Health & Society"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-10T14:07:22.589Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/are841b3e1 |
Listen: With EU politicians contaminated with PFAS, will Brussels finally act? | Over the summer, a group of 24 European politicians, ministers, commissioners, senior officials, agreed to have their blood tested for toxic PFAS chemicals. The results that now came out showed that every single one of them tested positive. But will these results push Brussels to act or to water down its own rules agai... | Evi Kiorri | Over the summer, a group of 24 European politicians, ministers, commissioners, senior officials, agreed to have their blood tested for toxic PFAS chemicals. The results that now came out showed that every single one of them tested positive. But will these results push Brussels to act or to water down its own rules agai... | [
"Green Economy"
] | green-economy | 2025-10-10T13:21:30.755Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/ar308cb9c0 |
China's PR offensive in Europe rings hollow | China's ambassador to the EU, Cai Run, has been busy since he arrived in Brussels a year ago. On social media, in luncheons with business, at this month's National Day reception and on the pages of this site , he has been striving to present a vision of peaceful cooperation, mutual success, and shared prosperity betwee... | Amnesty International Taiwan | The Chinese government has issued statements about the importance of peace and positioned itself as a broker between Russia and Ukraine, the Myanmar junta and armed groups, and Iran and Saudi Arabia. But at the same time, they have allowed the export of arms to Sudan and Myanmar and of censorship and surveillance techn... | [
"EU & the World",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-10T10:34:14.097Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar15f34f02 |
MEPs discuss proxy voting for pregnant women and new mothers | Allowing MEPs who are pregnant women and new mothers to vote via proxy was discussed at the European Parliament's constitutional affairs committee (AFCO) on Thursday (9 October). The parliament wants to change the rules when it comes to voting in the plenary. However, the mandate for MEPs is personal and cannot be tran... | Hannah Kriwak | The European Parliament wants to allow pregnant MEPs absent from the chamber to vote in plenary sessions. But it's expected that the European Council’s consent will be difficult. | [
"EU Political",
"Health & Society"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-09T13:04:05.931Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ar294e7e18 |
Ceasefire, yes. Now what about accountability for Israel's genocide? | For nearly two years we called to stop the genocide in Gaza. And now, the genocide suddenly stopped, as we all knew it will — by a simple decision of the Trump administration in Washington. Not by the United Nations, not by the orders of the International Court of Justice, and clearly not by any European government or ... | European Jews for Palestine | This much-needed and welcomed ceasefire does not change the simple fact that Israel has just committed a genocide in Gaza. We got so much used to this term now, that the 'G' word became almost normal. Where do we go from here? asks Dr Yoav Shemer-Kunz of European Jews for Palestine. | [
"EU & the World",
"Opinion"
] | * | 2025-10-09T09:39:38.927Z | https://euobserver.com/*/arc1563476 |
MEPs call for stronger enforcement of digital regulation | MEPs called on Wednesday (8 October) for stronger enforcement of digital rules, amid concerns over external pressures that can undermine Europe’s digital sovereignty. The European Commission has outlined how they are enforcing the EU’s digital regulation, citing this year's decision to impose multimillion-euro fines on... | Owen Carpenter-Zehe | MEPs have called for stronger enforcement of digital rules and ways to reduce technological dependency on non-EU actors, amid concerns over external pressures that can undermine Europe’s digital sovereignty. | [
"Digital",
"EU Political"
] | digital | 2025-10-08T16:31:16.472Z | https://euobserver.com/digital/ar6a99cb3e |
Listen: Austria’s bid to free Russian assets tests EU unity on sanctions | EU ambassadors are once again meeting in Brussels this Wednesday trying to agree on a new round of sanctions against Russia. But this time Austria, besides Hungary and Slovakia, has thrown a spanner in the works. But why does Austria want to unfreeze money linked to sanctioned Russian oligarchs and where does that leav... | Evi Kiorri | EU ambassadors are once again meeting in Brussels this Wednesday trying to agree on a new round of sanctions against Russia. But this time Austria, besides Hungary and Slovakia, has thrown a spanner in the works. | [
"EU & the World",
"EU Political"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-08T10:50:00.216Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar98fb3891 |
October 7 redux — so now what from the EU? | Now entering its third year, Israel’s genocidal devastation of Gaza, following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, has exposed and deepened multiple dangerous divides across Europe. Three of these require immediate EU action. First on the list: adoption of European Commission proposals for the partial suspension of the... | Simply Shada | Complacent EU officials in Brussels may shrug off accusations of double standards as part of a new geopolitical reality. But others know that no amount of clever spin or PR can hide the difference in the EU’s treatment of Ukrainian and Palestinian lives, writes Shada Islam. | [
"EU & the World",
"EU Political",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-08T10:31:06.640Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar0a1a35c6 |
The fight for fair traineeships across the EU | On Wednesday (8 October), the European Parliament adopted its position on fair traineeships in the EU, paving the way for negotiations with EU member states. With youth unemployment being twice as high as the overall unemployment rate, traineeships are seen as a way to enter the labour market. There are over three mill... | Hannah Kriwak | MEPs want to end unfair traineeships, triggering backlash from small businesses who warn the rules will strangle opportunity. But the real fight is yet to come: trilogues where the EU parliament and member states will have to find a compromise in what promises to be a tough negotiation over labour rights of Europe's ne... | [
"Labour"
] | labour | 2025-10-08T10:08:42.648Z | https://euobserver.com/labour/ar38e9d488 |
Listen: Two years since 7 October - Fragile Gaza peace talks continue | This Tuesday marks two years since Hamas carried out the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history, when militants entered the Nova music festival, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Since then, many captives have been released in deals or ceasefires, but around 48 hostages remain in Gaza. ... | Evi Kiorri | This Tuesday marks two years since Hamas carried out the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history. In these two years, Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and displaced around 90 percent of Gaza’s roughly two million people. | [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-07T11:08:33.262Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ara9806b2c |
Why 7 October is our collective failure | 7 October was one of the worst days of my life. When it happened, I was at Emmanuel Macron's annual party conference as his parliamentary group’s Middle East adviser. I quickly realised I had a friend among the families of the hostages. Udi Goren and I had been exchanging messages for years as he wanted to visit Egypt.... | Renew Europe | "We do not represent the families of the hostages. We represent the State of Israel," the ambassador coldly replied, only to then complain that our resolution supported international law and the work of the International Criminal Court to prosecute war criminals on all sides, recalls the then MENA advisor to Renew Euro... | [
"EU & the World",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-07T10:27:45.706Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar4ed8efe5 |
Secrecy Tracker: Israel info withheld, 15 docs max 'rule' & vanishing texts | Dear reader, We are back after the summer break with new episodes of transparency stonewalling and affronts to access to information. I am Maria Maggiore , from Investigate Europe. I wrote this edition with my colleagues Harald Schumann and Pascal Hansens , as well as Elena Sánchez from EUobserver and Alexander Fanta f... | European journalists know how difficult it is to get a sit-down audience with von der Leyen. But now things have reached a new low: the Leading European Newspaper Alliance (LENA) was able to publish an interview with the German politician, but the answers were provided in writing to written questions, with no possibili... | Our latest edition of the Secrecy Tracker exposes new cases of EU secrecy: refusals to disclose documents on Israel’s defence funding and its Gaza reports, a so-called 'fair solution' limiting transparency of Big Tech, Ursula von der Leyen’s deleted texts, stalled document-access reforms, and lawsuits over hidden envir... | [
"Rule of Law",
"EU Political"
] | rule-of-law | 2025-10-07T06:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/rule-of-law/ar3d7faee1 |
Tests find 100% of EU officials have 'forever chemicals' in bloodstream | Medical results published on Tuesday (7 October) show that all EU officials tested have the so-called 'forever chemicals' in their bloodstream. Among the officials tested was EU environment commissioner Jessika Roswall and Peter Javorčík director-general for transport, energy, environment and education. For half of the... | Hannah Kriwak | Forever chemicals are everywhere: bloodstream, drinking water and outdoor clothing. A new study shows that they are also in European officials. | [
"Health & Society"
] | health-and-society | 2025-10-07T04:19:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/health-and-society/ar7a0b31e0 |
Listen: French PM quits hours after unveiling cabinet plunging the country into chaos | France’s prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has resigned less than a month after being appointed and just 12 hours after presenting his new government. French president Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation this morning, with the Élysée Palace confirming the decision in a short statement. But what led to the resignati... | Evi Kiorri | France’s prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has resigned less than a month after being appointed and just 12 hours after presenting his new government. But what led to the resignation and what happens now? | [
"EU Political"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-06T12:24:53.450Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ar4c02099d |
Extra year delay to EU law will increase deforestation, chocolate firms warn | European chocolate makers, including Nestlé, Mars and Ferrero, have condemned the EU Commission’s plans to delay the bloc’s landmark anti-deforestation law by another year , warning that it would actually lead to more deforestation. In an open letter to the EU executive on Friday (3 October), the firms state that they ... | Benjamin Fox is a seasoned reporter and editor, previously working for fellow Brussels publication Euractiv. His reporting has also been published in the Guardian, the East African, Euractiv, Private Eye and Africa Confidential, among others. He heads up the AU-EU section at EUobserver, based in Nairobi, Kenya. | A group of Europe's leading chocolate makers — including Nestlé, Mars and Ferrero — have condemned the EU Commission’s plans to delay the bloc’s landmark anti-deforestation law by another year, warning that it would lead to more deforestation. | [
"EU & the World",
"Africa",
"Green Economy"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-03T14:39:22.005Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar350219fb |
Plight of Roma in EU 'one of the greatest human rights scandals on the continent' | Michael O’Flaherty, the commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe, can quickly list many signs that show just how much racism is still a central part of life in Europe. “We had that dreadful attack on the synagogue in Manchester in the UK. We have attacks on Muslims. We have attacks on people because of th... | Hannah Kriwak | "[Roma] are the largest minority on the continent and their situation is deplorable in terms of lack of respect for their human dignity, human well-being, being targeted for hate, exclusion, and shoved to the edges of our societies," European Council commissioner for human rights Michael O’Flaherty told EUobserver in a... | [
"EU & the World",
"Health & Society"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-03T14:17:54.423Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar15f268c1 |
ALLOW ALL? Brussels deregulation drive to make rejecting cookies harder | Simplification has become the latest buzzword in Brussels — now they're coming for cookie banners. Behind the annoyance and the catchy name 'cookies' lies a powerful safeguard against technologies that track every click, shopping habit, and health app update. 'Simplifying' cookie banners should mean making it easier fo... | European Digital Rights Initiative | The EU Commission seemingly wants to alter the obscure Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive, through its 'Digital Omnibus' package. The official justification? To reduce 'cookie fatigue.' The effect, however, would make it easier for companies and governments to tap into our devices without consent. | [
"Digital",
"EU Political",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | digital | 2025-10-03T10:49:38.816Z | https://euobserver.com/digital/ard653a0af |
Former PM Babiš set for clear election victory in Czech Republic | Andrej Babiš, billionaire businessman and leader of the populist ANO party, is once again at the centre of Czech politics. Polls give him a commanding lead ahead of this weekend’s parliamentary election, but his return to the prime minister’s office is far from certain. Coalition arithmetic, legal battles , and a skept... | Der Standard | Former prime minister Andrej Babiš and his populist party ANO have been miles ahead in the polls for months. But it is by no means set in stone that the billionaire will become prime minister again. | [
"EU Political",
"EU Elections"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-03T08:17:51.531Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/arce1f645d |
It’s time to put children before Big Tech and limit social media to over-15s only | Ensuring that children are safe online, just as in the physical world, should be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, that is not the reality today. Far too many children and teens experience stress, anxiety, sleep problems and declining well-being from extensive use of social media, where addictive feeds, harmful content, and... | Christel Schaldemose | Today, foreign tech giants freely profit from our children’s attention — while we know that social media can have profoundly negative effects on their health and well-being. This needs to stop to protect children from a digital world run by algorithms beyond control. That is why we call for a European age limit of 15 f... | [
"Digital",
"EU Political",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | digital | 2025-10-03T05:31:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/digital/arcfded93e |
Listen: France seizes Russian-linked tanker as unidentified drones appear over Germany | The French authorities have detained two crew members of a Russian-linked oil tanker suspected of belonging to the so-called “shadow fleet”. The vessel is also thought to be involved in recent Russian drone activity, while Germany has reported sightings of unidentified drones over critical infrastructure. So, where doe... | Evi Kiorri | The French authorities have detained two crew members of a Russian-linked oil tanker suspected of belonging to the so-called “shadow fleet”. The vessel is also thought to be involved in recent Russian drone activity, while Germany has reported sightings of unidentified drones over critical infrastructure. So, where doe... | [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-02T15:43:39.942Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar6748b6fb |
One million Europeans demand Brussels fund safe abortions | Mirella from Croatia, Isabella from Poland and Andrea, visiting Malta from the United States, all needed urgent abortions. All three women sought medical care for serious health reasons, but instead of help, they encountered obstacles. For one of the women, that proved fatal, as she died from an infection because the d... | Hannah Kriwak | This week, the pan-European platform My Voice, My Choice brought its demands directly to equality commissioner Hadja Lahbib, calling on the EU to set up a fund to guarantee safe and legal access to abortion as an essential aspect of women’s rights and healthcare across all member states. | [
"Health & Society"
] | health-and-society | 2025-10-02T15:14:47.398Z | https://euobserver.com/health-and-society/ar0cf7bdcb |
Torture weapons are being used on Europe's streets to put down protests | In this era marked by democratic volatility, spiraling prices and calls for social change, peaceful protests are increasingly being policed with a heavy hand. The risk of anti-authoritarian protest feels particularly high. In Europe — and beyond — security forces are maintaining order through often brutal tactics, whic... | Dr Alice Jill Edwards | Rubber bullets, chemical substances, experimental acoustic weapons have been used recently by various police on Europe's streets against peaceful protests, writes the UN special rapporteur on torture. | [
"EU & the World",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-02T09:49:31.695Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar6c6cda93 |
No EU member state likely to hit targets on reducing Roma poverty, report finds | Europe's Roma population is still facing far-reaching discrimination and the EU is unlikely meet its own goals set in the Roma Strategic Framework, according to a new report from the European Agency for Fundamental Rights on Thursday (2 October). Roma families are still four times more likely to live in poverty than ot... | Hannah Kriwak | Roma still face ethnic discrimination in Europe and struggle with poverty, their children have less access to education and they are below the EU average when it comes to paid employment, according to a new report. | [
"EU & the World",
"Health & Society"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-10-02T05:31:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arfb47aa5a |
Listen: EU leaders debate 'drone wall' in Copenhagen after airspace violations | Today, Europe’s leaders gather in Copenhagen under unusually tight security. Outside, a German frigate sits in the harbour, signalling Europe’s military mood. Meanwhile, Danish authorities have banned all civilian drone flights this week, with Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frideriksen stressing that Europe’s “hybrid w... | Evi Kiorri | Today, Europe’s leaders gather in Copenhagen under unusually tight security, with Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frideriksen stressing that Europe’s “hybrid war” isn’t some abstract concept, it’s already playing out in the skies above us. But what else is on the agenda? | [
"EU Political"
] | eu-political | 2025-10-01T11:24:50.111Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ara48fcb16 |
'Cementing over our own future': Europe's nature loss is 600 football pitches daily | Europe is losing green spaces that once sheltered wildlife, supplied food and removed carbon from the atmosphere at an alarming rate, a new investigation reveals. Today, in the first investigation of its kind across Europe, the journalism project , which worked with scientists from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Re... | Léopold Salzenstein | Every year, Europe loses 1,500km² to construction. Green spaces that once sheltered wildlife, supplied food and removed carbon from the atmosphere at an alarming rate, a new investigation reveals. | [
"Green Economy"
] | green-economy | 2025-10-01T07:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/ar43246a8b |
Listen: What the Gaza peace plan means for Palestinians, Israel, and Hamas | After a meeting at the white house Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu have presented what they’re calling a 20-point peace plan for Gaza. They presented this as a historic breakthrough and the basics go like this: a ceasefire would begin immediately, Hamas would have 72 hours to release all the hostages it ... | Evi Kiorri | After a meeting at the White House, Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu have presented what they’re calling a 20-point peace plan for Gaza. But is this really the start of peace?
| [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-30T18:56:58.110Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar9c522ba9 |
Behind the scam: how an alleged criminal network set a trap for thousands of Europeans to fall for ‘fake’ investments and raked in millions | At first glance, Olympus Prime looked more like a thriving tech start-up than one of the numerous, non-descript call centres popping up across Serbia’s capital city. Housed in a high-spec design building amongst a growing business neighborhood in Belgrade, the company shared space with a Chinese cultural complex and an... | Meanwhile, many victims still grapple with what happened to them. Some of those approached for this investigation refused to speak, afraid they might be targeted by scam agencies again. For others, the memories were simply too painful to revisit. "It is the worst thing to talk about," says one woman who lost €54,000 to... | A suspected scam network operating out of Serbia duped an estimated 70,000 people worldwide into making bogus investments, profiting €250m in the process. The transnational scheme involved a former Premier League team sponsor and a convicted money launderer, Investigate Europe and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Net... | [
"EU & the World",
"Investigations",
"Health & Society"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-30T06:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arf605a31b |
Four EU states paid more for Russian LNG than they gave to Ukraine | France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands together spent more money on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) than in financial support for Ukraine, according to a new report by Greenpeace published on Tuesday (30 September). Those three member states, which are the EU countries importing the most Russian LNG, together s... | Hannah Kriwak | Some EU member states paid more for Russian LNG than they gave in financial support for Ukraine, a new report by Greenpeace Belgium shows. With that €8bn Russia could have bought 270,000 Shahed attack drones. | [
"EU & the World"
] | * | 2025-09-30T04:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/*/arbcfebfe0 |
Listen: EU climate watchdog report finds most green targets off track for 2030 | A new flagship report from the European Environment Agency says that the continent is struggling to meet most of its 2030 climate and environmental targets. While Europe has managed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent since 1990, more than the US or China , almost everything else looks grim. With water scarci... | Evi Kiorri | A new flagship report from the European Environment Agency says that the continent is struggling to meet most of its 2030 climate and environmental targets. | [
"Green Economy"
] | green-economy | 2025-09-29T10:50:28.375Z | https://euobserver.com/green-economy/ar2ceb55f9 |
'Temporary protection' leaves Ukraine refugees in limbo and liable to rightwing backlash | Activation of the EU-wide Temporary Protection (TP) mechanism following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was one of the few success stories in the operations of the Common European Asylum System in recent years. Despite earlier concerns regarding the mechanism’s viability, it proved capable of providing millions of... | European University Institute in Florence | In the fourth year of the Ukraine war, the very features of the EU's "temporary protection" that made it such a convenient instrument for tackling rapid, large-scale displacement can now be seen as flaws. The periodic extension mechanism effectively traps Ukrainian refugees in a perpetually ‘temporary’ situation and le... | [
"Migration",
"Ukraine",
"Opinion"
] | migration | 2025-09-29T10:29:31.808Z | https://euobserver.com/migration/ard0f466c0 |
Informal EU summits and deregulation This WEEK | EUobserver's weekly agenda is back, just in time to close 'hard September' and open 'back-to-business October' — where Brussels swaps rentrée receptions for the usual crisis summits. EU heads of state and government will be meeting in Copenhagen on Wednesday (1 October) for an informal discussion on Ukraine, Russia's f... | Elena is EUobserver's editor-in-chief. She is from Spain and has studied journalism and new media in Spanish and Belgian universities. Previously she worked on European affairs at VoteWatch Europe and the Spanish news agency EFE. | An informal EUCO will take place in Copenhagen, where EU leaders will focus on Ukraine, defence, and using Russian frozen assets. Also this week, leaders from all of Europe will gather in Denmark for the summit of the European Political Community. Meanwhile, ministers will meet to discuss the EU budget, startup support... | [
"Agenda"
] | agenda | 2025-09-29T04:30:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/agenda/ar05843125 |
'Biodiversity loss, extreme weather and water scarcity' is Europe's future, report warns | A new report on Monday (29 September) from the European Environment Agency (EEA) starkly warns that the state of the environment in Europe is in "bad or poor condition." The biggest challenges will be extreme weather events catalysed by climate change, biodiversity loss and insecurity in the water and food system. “Mor... | Hannah Kriwak | Europe's environment is in a "bad to poor" state, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency. While there are some positive developments the general situation remains dire. | [
"Green Economy"
] | * | 2025-09-29T04:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/*/arf0e991da |
How the rightwing in Czech Republic and Hungary is targeting Ukrainian refugees | Fuelled by misinformation spread by politicians about Ukrainians exploiting social welfare systems , anti-Ukrainian sentiment is on the rise across Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. This backlash is fuelled by social tensions and nationalist rhetoric, leading to increased polarisation, public hostility, ... | Nicolae Cotruț | Fuelled by misinformation spread by politicians about Ukrainians exploiting social welfare systems , anti-Ukrainian sentiment is on the rise across Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. | [
"Migration",
"Ukraine"
] | migration | 2025-09-26T11:30:48.652Z | https://euobserver.com/migration/arcbd70077 |
European rights court sides with Austria on deporting 19-year old Syrian | Austria will be allowed to deport a 19-year old Syrian after the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights lifted an injunction. The case may lead to similar deportations as Europe clamps down on asylum seekers and refugees. In a statement on Wednesday (24 September), the court said the 19-year old didn’t face a... | Hannah Kriwak | Austria will be allowed to deport a 19-year old Syrian, after the European Court of Human Rights lifted an injunction. The case may lead to similar deportations as Europe clamps down on asylum seekers and refugees. | [
"EU & the World",
"Migration",
"Rule of Law"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-25T13:25:18.653Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arf312ad55 |
EU needs to build 'drone wall' fast - and exclude Hungary and Slovakia for now | On Friday (26 September), a pivotal meeting will take place as ministers of defence from seven EU member states on the eastern border convene with Ukraine and the European Commission. Their agenda is not routine; it is a response to an urgent and escalating threat: the need to build a 'drone wall' to counter continued ... | Globsec | On Friday, a pivotal meeting will take place as ministers of defence from seven eastern EU member states plus Ukraine and the EU Commission for talks on building a 'drone wall'. Initially, Slovakia and Hungary were not invited — a reflection of the risk their participation could pose to a frank discussion about the Rus... | [
"EU & the World",
"Ukraine",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-25T11:15:58.276Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar99573647 |
Why are Western Balkans ignoring renewables and locking themselves into gas? | For years, the European Union has invested in fossil gas as a 'bridge fuel'. That gamble has backfired: Europe is still gripped by soaring bills, supply disruptions, and geopolitical risk. To fill the gap left by Russian imports, EU countries have locked themselves into expensive and polluting liquified natural gas (LN... | is southeast Europe energy policy officer at | The Western Balkans are being nudged from one fossil-fuel trap (coal) into another (gas). Why? | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-25T09:26:45.378Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar7a4ff63b |
Labour rights in Europe 'at worst state for a decade' | Workers' rights in Europe are in decline to their worst point in a decade, according to a report from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). Their June report showed the worst conditions for labour in Europe since their Global Rights Index started gathering data back in 2014. “It should be a matter of deep... | Hannah Kriwak | The Global Rights Index for 2025 shows that conditions for European workers are the worst since the index started monitoring labour rights back in 2014. | [
"Labour"
] | labour | 2025-09-24T14:57:44.008Z | https://euobserver.com/labour/ar6cd98898 |
The EUDR has a new opportunity for smallholder inclusion | The European Union's Deforestation Regulation was set to come into force in December . Yet, as it stands, for Indonesia's 2.7 million palm oil smallholder households — who manage 40 percent of the national plantation area — the regulation poses an existential challenge that ongoing delays alone cannot solve. A new prop... | INDEF | The EU’s Deforestation Regulation, which was set to come into force in December, poses steep compliance hurdles for Indonesia’s 2.7 million palm oil smallholders, who manage 40 percent of the country’s plantations. Mapping and documentation costs far exceed household incomes, risking exclusion from EU supply chains des... | [] | stakeholders | 2025-09-24T13:41:08.118Z | https://euobserver.com/stakeholders/arbacbaf06 |
Listen: Nato’s response tested and the EU’s ‘drone wall’ | Over the past two weeks, Russian drones and fighter jets have repeatedly strayed into Nato airspace, from Poland and Romania to Estonia, and possibly Denmark, near Copenhagen airport. Nato chief Mark Rutte has called it a “dangerous pattern,” warning the alliance is ready to defend every inch of its territory. But what... | Evi Kiorri | What is Russia trying to achieve with its incursions into Nato airspace and what options do these violations leave for the West? | [
"EU & the World",
"Digital"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-24T11:15:08.460Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar847e7fde |
I spent 10 days in the West Bank, watching the impunity of Israeli settlers | In August, I spent 10 days in the West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territories. Here is some of what I saw and heard there during my visit. First, the settlers’ violence. Forget about statistics. Forget about the record numbers of incidents. On the face of it, the number of actual fatalities, of Palestinians getting kil... | European Jews for Palestine | In August, I spent ten days in the West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territories. Here is some of what I saw and heard there during my visit. | [
"EU & the World",
"Opinion"
] | * | 2025-09-24T10:14:17.590Z | https://euobserver.com/*/arc2d7dba9 |
Activists lead three-day march on Brussels against EU's 'deregulation wave' | “People over Profits” and "Climate Justice" are painted on shields and written on flags. Protesters gathered on Tuesday (23 September) near Place Schuman in the heart of the European Quarter in Brussels. Right in front of the protesters is the headquarters of the European Commission and the seat of the European Council... | Hannah Kriwak | NGOs and trade unions want to draw attention to what they call a "deregulation wave" in the EU. They have been marching from Maastricht (the Netherlands) to Brussels for the last three days, claiming that the commission is putting the environment as well as social and labour rights at risk by prioritising competitivene... | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy",
"Labour"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-24T06:51:05.364Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar876a94a6 |
Listen: Most of the EU and two-thirds of the UN recognise Palestine. What now? | On Monday night in New York, European Council President António Costa announced that a majority of EU member states, 16 in number, now officially recognise the State of Palestine. The list includes Belgium, Cyprus, Spain, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Portugal, Malta, France and Luxembourg. Cost... | Evi Kiorri | A majority of EU member states, 16 in number, now officially recognise the State of Palestine. But what does this recognition mean for Palestinians, for Israel’s retaliation, and for the EU countries? | [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-23T10:59:52.302Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar28b6b794 |
Moldova's progress is real but fragile — this weekend's election could reverse that | As Moldova heads into parliamentary elections this Sunday (28 September), the political stakes could not be higher. The country stands at a critical juncture, with its democratic trajectory and European aspirations under sustained pressure from pro-Russian actors , both domestic and foreign. And yet, despite these chal... | Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum | Moldova has made real, measurable reform progress. According to the Eastern Partnership Index 2025, Moldova now ranks at the top of the region — a direct contradiction to the Kremlin’s persistent narrative that nothing has changed for the better. | [
"EU & the World",
"Rule of Law",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-23T10:43:18.616Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar55d8b0c3 |
Brussels protest against Belgium's LNG imports funding Russia's war | Blue and yellow flags fluttered in the Brussels wind, as around 40 people gathered at the Place de la Liberté in the Belgian capital on Monday (22 September). The Ukrainian national anthem sounded through the streets as people held up signs demanding “Hit Russia Where It Hurts: Their Wallet“ or "Full Embargo On Russian... | Hannah Kriwak | Ukrainian activists from Razom We Stand protested on Monday in Brussels to demand Belgium bans Russian LNG and gas. | [
"EU & the World",
"Green Economy",
"Ukraine"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-22T14:06:48.050Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arc7c33a5e |
Russia's post-imperial self-image holds key to peace in Europe | In contrast to the former colonial powers of Western Europe, Russia has maintained a deep attachment to its imperial tradition into the 21st century. Restoring long-term stability to the European continent will require Russia to develop a robust sense of nationhood — one that respects the independence and sovereignty o... | EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy | Ultimately, peace and stability in Europe can only be sustained when Russia accepts the loss of its empire and consolidates a clearly-defined set of national interests as a post-imperial country. | [
"EU & the World",
"Ukraine",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-22T12:38:11.164Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/ar450b22e1 |
Listen: Can Macron’s UN Assembly push for Palestinian statehood be a diplomatic win? | This week, the spotlight is on the United Nations General Assembly and it isn’t just on global crises like climate change, war in Ukraine, or artificial intelligence. It’s also firmly on France’s Emmanuel Macron, who is pushing for formal recognition of a Palestinian state. But will this move, backed by a handful of We... | Evi Kiorri | This week, the spotlight is on the United Nations General Assembly and France’s push for formal recognition of a Palestinian state. But will this move, backed by a handful of Western countries, actually change the political reality on the ground? | [
"EU & the World"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-22T11:14:45.140Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arec34c030 |
How Serbia could use EU Digital Services Act for state censorship | Two weeks ago, a leaked audio recording obtained by the Organized Crime and Reporting Project and Serbian investigative outlet KRIK confirmed that the CEOs of the state-owned Telekom Srbija and the Netherlands-based United Group discussed plans to remove the chief executive of United Media, a subsidiary of United Group... | Partners Serbia | The implementation of the EU's Digital Services Act in Serbia and other countries lacking an independent digital services coordinator risks becoming an EU-based tool for state repression, enabling ruling parties to suppress dissent under the guise of compliance. | [
"EU & the World",
"Digital",
"EU Political",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | eu-and-the-world | 2025-09-22T10:34:50.493Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-and-the-world/arf48ebc3d |
EU Commission sued over lack of environmental transparency | On Monday (22 September), the London-based NGO ClientEarth is expected to sue the European Commission for what it says is an anti-transparency push which will weaken public scrutiny of EU decision-making. “With this legal case, we want to defend citizens’ fundamental right to know – what pesticides end up in our food, ... | Hannah Kriwak | According to NGO ClientEarth, the EU Commission is illegally holding back information which should be public on health and the environment — and they are suing at the European General Court in Luxembourg for a change in transparency rules. | [
"Rule of Law",
"Green Economy",
"Health & Society"
] | rule-of-law | 2025-09-22T05:01:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/rule-of-law/ara284d07a |
The European Parliament rapporteur is wrong about the digital euro | The European Parliament’s rapporteur on the digital euro file, centre-right MEP Fernando Navarrete, in a recent article , claimed to offer a “rational common ground” to discuss the proposal for a European Central Bank digital currency (CBDC). However, his approach reflects a fear of transition: warning of financial ins... | Positive Money EU | The European Parliament’s rapporteur on the digital euro file is parroting the banking lobby’s claim that a digital euro would trigger bank runs and cripple lending — this is just not the case. | [
"EU Political",
"Health & Society",
"Opinion"
] | eu-political | 2025-09-20T06:00:00.000Z | https://euobserver.com/eu-political/ar65be9a5c |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.