European Union

Danish police confirmed on Thursday morning that eight people were killed and 16 injured in the worst train accident in 30 years in the country. The accident happened on the Great Belt Bridge when debris from a freight train operated by DB Cargo, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, hit a commuter train during a heavy storm. Identification of the dead was still ongoing more than 24 hours after the accident.

Estonians spent most on alcohol per household in the EU (5.2 percent), followed by the other Baltic member states, Latvia (4.9 percent) and Lithuania (4.0 percent), according to 2017 figures from Eurostat. Spain (0.8 percent), Greece and Italy (both 0.9 percent) spent the least. In total, Europeans spent €130bn on alcohol, equivalent to 0.9 percent of EU GDP or over €300 per EU inhabitant.

A wave of protectionism and obstacles to free trade hit the global economy in 2018, and threaten economic growth in 2019. Although more disputes are expected, there is some cause for hope too. 

Nearly three out of four members of the British Labour Party want their leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to back a second referendum on Brexit, a new survey has found.

As China's growth seems to be slowing, some observers see the country amid what the New York Times called a "severe downturn". As they mistake China's secular deceleration with cyclical fluctuations, they miss the rapid increase in Chinese living standards.

Supervisors at the European Central Bank (ECB) said on Wednesday (2 January) they had ordered temporary administrators to take over floundering Italian lender Banca Carige after most of its board resigned.

An eventful year has begun for Europe: Britain is planning to leave the EU in March and a new European Parliament will be elected in May. Commentators offer their predictions and describe 2019 as a year that could decide the fate of the European Union.

On New Year's Day Romania took over the EU presidency from Austria. Bucharest has been under fire since introducing controversial legal reforms several months ago. Most recently, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker voiced doubts about the country in an interview. What does the presidency mean for problem child Romania?

Twenty years ago the euro was introduced as bank money and three years later people could pay with it in cash. Europe's debt crisis put the euro to the test. Commentators look to the future of the common currency with mixed feelings.