
Far right to double support in east German election
One in four Germans hold antisemitic views, amid a surge in popularity by the far-right AfD party, whose leader once demanded a "180-degree U-turn" on Germany's WW2 guilt.
Monday
28th Oct 2019

One in four Germans hold antisemitic views, amid a surge in popularity by the far-right AfD party, whose leader once demanded a "180-degree U-turn" on Germany's WW2 guilt.

Football clubs today invest huge sums of money in youth development and court talented young players from an early age. Children are the future – not only where football is concerned, but also for society in general.

The knock-on affects from a 'war on drugs' in Europe is creating problems in Albania - and as far afield as Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Some 60 of Romania's public hospitals are refusing to provide women with legal abortions - as a result of doctors invoking a "conscience clause".
After 60 years of silent activity from its Luxembourg headquarters, the European Investment Bank needs to open up and become a more accessible, democratic institution.
Proportionally, more men vote in the European elections than women - in a trend that has widened since 2009. Yet the European parliament's outreach strategy to voters targets only young people, students and "people who exert a certain influence".

Support for democracy was particularly low in Poland with only 19 percent consistently supporting democracy - only Hungary and Bulgaria scored lower.

Time is running out for chlorpyrifos, the pesticide which is a cause of brain damage to human fetuses and newly-born children. The EU Commission and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have both stated approval should not be renewed.

While our politics is dominated by old and bullying alpha males and the negativity they have injected into our times, there is at least one day of hope - and it is through unleashing the power of young girls.

A new report from Oxfam reveals that many of the people producing the food on sale in European supermarkets are victims of poverty pay, harsh working conditions, gender discrimination, and human rights abuses.
Environmental activists of the group 'Extinction Rebellion' and NGOs on Monday demanded government action in support of the climate emergency, and a commitment to reducing the impact of climate change.
As Josep Borrell faces questions from MEPs, a report from Amnesty International finds the EU's commitment to protect and support human rights defenders in its foreign policy is not consistently upheld - not between nor even within countries.
Malta's nominee for EU commissioner for the new equality portfolio, Helena Dalli, promised on Wednesday (2 October) an ambitious programme to fight all types of discrimination, stereotypes, and gender-related issues across Europe.
Helena Dall's biggest challenge as equality commissioner will be securing EU accession to the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, while Dubravka Suica as demography commissioner must reassure on abortion and contraceptives.
New technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, have the potential "to displace some workers from their tasks, even causing some jobs to disappear entirely", affecting the work nature of millions of jobs in Europe, according to a new report.
EU law requires us to give two days' notice to get the assistance we need, even for our daily commutes. We can't travel like everyone else. It is frustrating, annoying and time-consuming. In short, it is unacceptable.
Luxembourg will be the first European country to legally regulate the production, sale and consumption of cannabis (the Netherlands has a policy of de facto regulation of sale and consumption only), with all the implications this holds.
Europeans still drink more alcohol than the rest of the word, according to a recently-released report of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Germany, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania are the heaviest-drinking EU countries.
Including the competence for animal welfare explicitly in the job title of the relevant commissioner would respond the demands of the vast majority of EU citizens.

Ursula von der Leyen's in-tray must include those European executives on trial for systematic workplace harassment, the break-up of European slavery rings, and allegations of European companies' abuse in palm oil, including child labour, land grabs, and deforestation.

Why are more women from Poland and Croatia seeking pregnancy terminations abroad?
In the last decade, we have begun to witness a visible and organised backlash in gender equality and human rights across Europe.
In February - for the first time - the European parliament considered seized property in reviewing Bosnia's membership application to the European Union. But more work has to be done.

Current challenges to the rule of law, an independent civil society, and the equal treatment of minorities are just as much in need of tackling as are the challenges of globalisation, migration, and digitalisation.

European Court of Auditors report says the European Commission "underestimated difficulties involved in deploying an EU-wide eHealth infrastructure".
MEPs backed an EU law to protect whistleblowers from retaliation in both the public and private sectors. EU states will have two years to transpose the directive.
We should not forget about the first round of presidential elections, which revealed the uglier side of Slovak politics.

Suicide rates per 10,000 inmates in 2017 in France stood at 12.6, higher than any other European country. The latest figures are part of a much bigger report out Tuesday by the Strasbourg-based human rights watchdog, the Council of Europe.

A ministerial vote will determine the seat of the new European Labour Authority - leaving MEPs excluded from the selection process. Infamously, the new HQs for the European Medicines Agency and European Banking Authority were only decided by drawing lots.
We need a more meaningful representation of women in EU institutions and on EU's negotiation tables abroad. The most successful EU deal in the last years, the Iran deal, was brokered by women – Frederica Mogherini and Helga Schmid.
Face-to-face interviews with 15,179 women reveal that beliefs in female subservience and marital obedience continue to persist in south-eastern and eastern Europe.

The European Commission will start looking at how EU states determine genders - as part of an effort to make it easier for people to determine their own identities.

Romania is due to join the single currency in 2024 - despite currently only meeting one of the four criteria. Now the government in Bucharest is enlisting an unlikely ally to promote the euro to the public: the clergy.