Poland Leads a New Struggle for Freedom

Last weekend saw tens of thousands of people across Europe taking to the streets in protest against the international treaty to enforce intellectual property rights. European politicians are gradually distancing themselves from the treaty, largely as a result of citizen mobilisation initiated in Central Europe.

SPAIN: Conservative Government’s Reforms Draw Fire

In its less than two months in office, Spain’s new conservative government has begun to introduce sweeping educational and reproductive health reforms, prompting protests from the opposition and from civil society groups, which see them as a throwback to an earlier era.

Can Europe Derail the Shale Gas Express?

Following numerous warnings issued by geologists, health scientists and environmental experts throughout the United States, Europe is now well aware of the high ecological and health risks associated with the exploitation of shale gas fields.

Spain’s Green Groups Slam Rollback of Conservation Policies

Spain's new conservative government has announced changes in environmental policy that are a significant step backwards for environmental protection in the country, provoking an immediate, harsh reaction from the opposition and civil society.

EUROPE-DEVELOPMENT: The “Indignados” Still Have Wind in Their Sails

Months of protest across the European Union, sparked by ‘indignant’ youth demanding an end to the brand of free market capitalism that has blighted the continent with an unemployment epidemic, finally bore fruit on Jan. 30 when Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, proposed an ambitious jobs scheme.

EUROPE-DEVELOPMENT: Mapping Out the EU’s Harmful Projects

Dozens of European Union-funded projects across several countries are ‘environmentally or socially unsound’, according to a map created by a joint effort between CEE Bankwatch Network and Friends of the Earth Europe.

Finnish Contest No More Between Right and Left

In an uncharacteristically lively election campaign in this nation of five million people, Finns head for the polls in a second round of voting Sunday to elect a new president.

RUSSIA: Putin Remains Leading Candidate in Presidential Elections

Election season in Russia promises to be stormy, as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin emerges as the leading candidate in the presidential race scheduled for March 4 and unresolved issues of voting fraud and voter manipulation spark massive protests amongst opposition groups.

BALKANS-SOCIETY: First Abused, Then Imprisoned

The women languishing in Serbia’s Pozarevac Penal Correctional Institution are victims twice over: survivors of decades of domestic violence, they have been imprisoned for killing their partners and often spend up to 15 years in jail.

PORTUGAL: Going Underground in Hard Times

The underground economy in Portugal is booming thanks to the steep increases in taxation and prices demanded by a "troika" of international creditors to address the country's economic crisis.

ICELAND: Recovering Dubiously From the Crash

Three years ago, thousands of Icelanders were standing outside Iceland’s parliament building chanting "incompetent government" in an attempt to bring down the conservative government that had been seen as responsible for the collapse of the country’s banking system.

SWITZERLAND: Resistance Rises to Asylum Seekers

Switzerland saw a 45 percent increase in asylum requests compared in 2011 to the year before. The country struggles to accommodate the new asylum seekers while efforts to put up new centres face fierce resistance by local people.

BELARUS: Political Prisoners Facing Oppression

"I had to fight to be treated like a human, not animal," dissident Nikolai Avtukhovich wrote from prison. Last month Avtukhovich, Belarusian political activist and entrepreneur, convicted to five years in the penal colony for illegal storage of five cartridges for a hunting rifle, cut his veins.

Romanians Discover Street Protest

For more than a week, thousands have been demonstrating in cities across Romania. Participants from all walks of life bring to the fore the broadest array of demands in what looks like a celebratory discovery of street protest. The main call is against lack of transparency and accountability in decision-making.

CZECH REPUBLIC: Castration for Sex Offenders Triumphs

The Czech government has defied calls from international human rights groups to stop the "degrading" practice of surgically castrating sex offenders.

RUSSIA: ‘Repression May Lead to Revolt’

The Russian opposition movement which has risen to prominence since the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections has not said its last word, says 35-year-old Sergey Udaltsov, one of its most visible figures.

GERMANY: While Some Waste, Others Feast

Shortly before midnight last Saturday, Alexander, a 24-year-old law student, stepped out of his small apartment in Hamburg and set off for a jaunt around the local supermarkets to pilfer their garbage containers.

GREECE: Austerity Plan Breaches Last Line of Defence of Greek Workers

As the Eurozone falls deeper into its sovereign debt crisis, the labour movement in Greece is being cudgelled to its knees by an austerity programme that has so far failed to bring any positive change for the crumbling Mediterranean country.

EUROPE: Unrest Spreads Eastwards

Protests in Hungary and Romania are the first signs of anti-systemic mobilisation in the Eastern half of the continent. While protests in both countries indicate dissatisfaction with their governments’ authoritarian turn, their origins differ, as does the European Union’s reaction to them.

BALKANS: The Dark Side of Serbia’s Oil Shale Fairy Tale

According to an old Serbian fairy tale, God tells a poor man who enters a gold mine that no matter what he chooses to do inside, he'll be sorry when he leaves. If he takes some gold, he'll be sorry for not taking more; if he doesn't, he'll be sorry for not taking any at all.

EUROPE: Separate Schools for Roma Challenged

A school in Slovakia has defended its decision to segregate Roma children from other students after a court ruled the practice breached equal rights laws.