European Union

Fining countries for refusing to comply with EU law is one of the little-used sticks at the European Commission’s disposal. The success in using it so far has been mixed. There are numerous cases when the country in question has simply refused to pay up.

The European Commission proposed before the summer an EU-wide framework to enable all EU citizens to have a digital identity but it did not urge countries to use blockchain in the process, although the technology seems quite fitting

In a highly unusual move in its ongoing legal spat with Poland, the European Commission asked the top EU court on Tuesday (8 September) to impose a daily financial penalty for Warsaw's non-compliance with temporary measures European judges put in place in July.

The Europe Union needs to put more pressure on the Western Balkans to decarbonise their coal-fuelled energy system as pollution levels remain well above compliance thresholds, according to a report published on Tuesday (7 September).

Open source software boosted the European Union’s GDP by between €65 to €95 bn in 2018, a new report published by the European Commission on Monday (6 September) has shown, but warned that the EU should do more to actively promote open technologies.

Somehow bicycles, which are relatively cheap and cost virtually nothing to run, have come to symbolise an eco-conscious elite, while cars, which are expensive and cost a lot to run, are seen as the choice of the people.

In a trial that was closed to the public, the Belarusian civil rights activist Maria Kolesnikova has been sentenced to eleven years in prison and her defence lawyer Maxim Znak to ten years. The opposition, the EU and Amnesty International have sharply criticised the sentence and called for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus. Commentators are dismayed but voice hope that the Belarusian opposition will win out in the end.

In Romania, the three-party governing coalition consisting of the national liberal PNL, the conservative USR Plus and the ethnic Hungarians' party UDMR has collapsed. The six ministers of USR Plus announced their resignation on Monday after Prime Minister Florin Cîțu sacked his justice minister Stelian Ion last week over disputes about EU funding and judicial reforms. USR Plus is now considering submitting a motion of no-confidence together with the ultra-nationalist AUR party.

Three women and six children arrived in Sweden from IS detention centres in Syria on Monday. Two of the women have now been arrested. There are reports of other women and children of Swedish origin in the camps. Terror experts warn that those brought back could be further radicalised in Sweden. The national press reflects just how thorny this issue is.

French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo died on Monday aged 88. After starting out in theatre, Belmondo rose to fame in the late 1950s through Jean-Luc Godard's Nouvelle Vague films. Later, he turned to comedies and action films that topped box office charts all over Europe. Commentators pay tribute above all to the versatility of the man known and loved as "Bébel".