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What’s getting people talking across Europe? Find articles, analysis, background information, graphics and photos on the most important issues facing the EU.

Tourism

Photo: Andrea Pattaro/AFP
Photo: Andrea Pattaro/AFP
A Lufthansa Airbus A350 takes off from Franz-Josef-Strauss airport in Munich, southern Germany, on June 3, 2020. Photo: Christophe Stache / AFP
A Lufthansa Airbus A350 takes off from F […]
Tourists arrive at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca on June 22, 2020 as EU member state citizens and those from the passport-free Schengen zone were allowed freely into Spain, with no 14-day quarantines required following a national lockdown to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)
Tourists arrive at Son Sant Joan airport […]
Aircrafts of German airline Lufthansa are seen at "Franz-Josef-Strauss" airport in Munich, southern Germany, on June 25, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. - German airline Lufthansa was poised to clear a key shareholder vote on its nine billion euro ($10 billion) state rescue on June 25, 2020, boosted by the EU's green light and the last-minute backing of a billionaire investor who had the power to veto the plan. (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP)
Aircrafts of German airline Lufthansa ar […]
Holidays in the coronavirus-era

Coronavirus

Eine Bundespolizistin zieht sich am Grenzübergang zur Schweiz vor einer Kontrolle eine Atemmaske auf. In der Coronavirus-Krise führt Deutschland am Montag umfassende Kontrollen und Einreiseverbote an den Grenzen auch zur Schweiz ein.
Eine Bundespolizistin zieht sich am Gren […]
Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (L) and newly-appointed Prime Minister Jean Castex react as they give a speech during the handover ceremony, in the courtyard of the Matignon Hotel in Paris on July 3, 2020. (Photo by Ludovic Marin / AFP)
Former French Prime Minister Edouard Phi […]
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives for a European Union Summit at the Europa building in Brussels on December 12, 2019. - European Union leaders meet without Britain on December 12, but their departing neighbour's absence will not make agreeing a budget any easier. Inside the chamber, the clash over climate take Brexit's place as the dominant theme of the summit, the first to be chaired by incoming EU Council president Charles Michel. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte a […]
Cranes operate at a construction site on Berlin's Friedrichstrasse on August 21, 2019. - The 25.300 square-meter site in central Berlin, which includes the old Tacheles artist colony (building 2nd from L), is being redeveloped to include retail space, offices and residential units, designed by Swiss architects firm Herzog & De Meuron. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)
Cranes operate at a construction site on […]
Europe put to the test by the pandemic

Transportation and mobility

Foto: Boris Roessler/dpa
Foto: Boris Roessler/dpa
A Lufthansa Airbus A350 takes off from Franz-Josef-Strauss airport in Munich, southern Germany, on June 3, 2020. Photo: Christophe Stache / AFP
A Lufthansa Airbus A350 takes off from F […]
An airliner of India's IndiGo carrier flies over the setting sun in New Delhi on February 10, 2016. AFP PHOTO / Prakash SINGH (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH / AFP)
An airliner of India's IndiGo carrier fl […]
The mayor of the Slovenian town of Nova Gorica Klemen Miklavic (L) and his Italian counterpart, mayor of Gorizia Rodolfo Ziberna, cut a symbolic ribbon to inaugurate the reopening of the border between Slovenia and Italy in Nova Gorica, Slovenia on June 15, 2020. Photo: Jure Makovec / AFP
The mayor of the Slovenian town of Nova […]
The European Union in motion

European election

ARCHIV - ILLUSTRATION - Ein Mann steckt am 20.02.2014 in in Frankfurt (Oder,Brandenburg) eine Europafahne in den Schlitz einer Wahlurne.
ARCHIV - ILLUSTRATION - Ein Mann steckt […]
Former French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (L) and newly-appointed Prime Minister Jean Castex react as they give a speech during the handover ceremony, in the courtyard of the Matignon Hotel in Paris on July 3, 2020. (Photo by Ludovic Marin / AFP)
Former French Prime Minister Edouard Phi […]
Newly elected mayor of Bordeaux, EELV green party's Pierre Hurmic (C), takes part in a meeting with members of his campaign team on June 29, 2020 in Bordeaux, southwestern France, a day after the second round of the French mayoral elections. (Photo by MEHDI FEDOUACH / AFP)
Newly elected mayor of Bordeaux, EELV gr […]
People use hand sanitiser in a polling station in Bordeaux, southwest France set up ahead of the first round of the mayoral elections on March 15, 2020. Photo: Georges Gobet / AFP
People use hand sanitiser in a polling s […]
Where is the EU headed?

Energy

Abendröte schmückt den Himmel am Freitag (11.10.2002) am Kohlekraftwerk Mehrum (Kr. Peine) bei einer Temperatur um drei Grad und scharfem Ostwind. In der Nähe dieser Anlage drehen sich viele Windräder auf den landwirtschaftlichen Flächen. dpa/lni
Abendröte schmückt den Himmel am Freit […]
An airliner of India's IndiGo carrier flies over the setting sun in New Delhi on February 10, 2016. AFP PHOTO / Prakash SINGH (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH / AFP)
An airliner of India's IndiGo carrier fl […]
The journey from a coal union to the energy transition

Health

Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives for a European Union Summit at the Europa building in Brussels on December 12, 2019. - European Union leaders meet without Britain on December 12, but their departing neighbour's absence will not make agreeing a budget any easier. Inside the chamber, the clash over climate take Brexit's place as the dominant theme of the summit, the first to be chaired by incoming EU Council president Charles Michel. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte a […]
Cranes operate at a construction site on Berlin's Friedrichstrasse on August 21, 2019. - The 25.300 square-meter site in central Berlin, which includes the old Tacheles artist colony (building 2nd from L), is being redeveloped to include retail space, offices and residential units, designed by Swiss architects firm Herzog & De Meuron. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)
Cranes operate at a construction site on […]
Employees of German car maker Volkswagen (VW) work on Volkswagen ID.3 electric car models at an assembly line of the Volkswagen car factory in Zwickau, eastern Germany, on February 25, 2020. (Photo by RONNY HARTMANN / AFP)
Employees of German car maker Volkswagen […]
Facing new risks

Environmental pollution

Foto: Sigrid Harms/dpa
Foto: Sigrid Harms/dpa
Newly elected mayor of Bordeaux, EELV green party's Pierre Hurmic (C), takes part in a meeting with members of his campaign team on June 29, 2020 in Bordeaux, southwestern France, a day after the second round of the French mayoral elections. (Photo by MEHDI FEDOUACH / AFP)
Newly elected mayor of Bordeaux, EELV gr […]
Many of the masks and gloves used to protect against COVID-19 contain slow-to-degrade plastics. Photo: Joel Saget / AFP
Many of the masks and gloves used to pro […]
An airliner of India's IndiGo carrier flies over the setting sun in New Delhi on February 10, 2016. AFP PHOTO / Prakash SINGH (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH / AFP)
An airliner of India's IndiGo carrier fl […]
Working towards a cleaner union

EU budget

Foto: dpa
Foto: dpa
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives for a European Union Summit at the Europa building in Brussels on December 12, 2019. - European Union leaders meet without Britain on December 12, but their departing neighbour's absence will not make agreeing a budget any easier. Inside the chamber, the clash over climate take Brexit's place as the dominant theme of the summit, the first to be chaired by incoming EU Council president Charles Michel. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte a […]
EU foreign affairs high representative Josep Borrell gestures during a video press conference on the 10th EU-China Strategic Dialogue, at the European Commission in Brussels on June 9, 2020. Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard / Pool / AFP
EU foreign affairs high representative J […]
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels on May 27, 2020, amid the crisis linked with the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus. Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP
European Commission President Ursula von […]
A new framework for funding the future of Europe

Brexit

Operators store cardboxes containing face masks after a Ukrainian Antonov An-225 Mriya coming from China delivered 8,6 million face masks and 150 tons of sanitary equipment ordered by a private customer, at the Paris-Vatry airport in Bussy Lettree, on April 19, 2020, on the 34th day of a strict lockdown in France to stop the spread of COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus. - The Antonov-225 is a cargo plane designed as part of the former Soviet Union's space programme. The only copy in use can carry up to 250 tonnes up to 4,000 km. (Photo by FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP)
Operators store cardboxes containing fac […]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, during a session to answer MPs questions on July 1, 2020 in Berlin. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks a […]
EU flag and Union flag-themed umbrellas of Brexit activists fly outside the Houses of Parliament in London on October 23, 2019. Photo: Tolga Akmen / AFP
EU flag and Union flag-themed umbrellas […]
Britain’s divorce from the EU

Trade

Photo: dpa
Photo: dpa
Employees of German car maker Volkswagen (VW) work on Volkswagen ID.3 electric car models at an assembly line of the Volkswagen car factory in Zwickau, eastern Germany, on February 25, 2020. (Photo by RONNY HARTMANN / AFP)
Employees of German car maker Volkswagen […]
A photo taken on February 5, 2013 in Marseille shows credit cards. French police has arrested, early this morning in Paris and in several French and overseas departments, 22 people in connection with the trade of credit cards numbers on internet. AFP PHOTO / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP)
A photo taken on February 5, 2013 in Mar […]
EU flag and Union flag-themed umbrellas of Brexit activists fly outside the Houses of Parliament in London on October 23, 2019. Photo: Tolga Akmen / AFP
EU flag and Union flag-themed umbrellas […]
Internal market flourishes, but protectionism looms

Digitalization

Netzwerkkabel hängen am 14.02.2013 in Jülich (Nordrhein-Westfalen) im Forschungszentrum an der Rückseite des Supercomputers Juqueen. Europas schnellster Rechner, Juqueen, geht offiziell an den Start. Mit einer maximalen Rechenleistung von 5,9 Petaflops kann der Supercomputer sechs Billiarden Rechenoperationen pro Sekunde durchführen. Foto: Oliver Berg/dpa +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++
Netzwerkkabel hängen am 14.02.2013 in J […]
A photo taken on February 5, 2013 in Marseille shows credit cards. French police has arrested, early this morning in Paris and in several French and overseas departments, 22 people in connection with the trade of credit cards numbers on internet. AFP PHOTO / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP)
A photo taken on February 5, 2013 in Mar […]
Picture shows a 5G antenna at Deutsche Telekom stand on the first day of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) on February 26, 2018 in Barcelona. - The Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest mobile fair, is held in Barcelona from February 26 to March 1. (Photo by Pau Barrena / AFP)
Picture shows a 5G antenna at Deutsche T […]
AI (artificial intelligence) security cameras using facial recognition technology are displayed at the 14th China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing on October 24, 2018. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP)
AI (artificial intelligence) security ca […]
A connected continent

Eurozone

ILLUSTRATION - Griechische Euro-Münzen stehen am 07.01.2015 in Köln (Nordrhein-Westfalen) auf einer EU-Fahne. Die Bundesregierung entwickelt einem Medienbericht zufolge konkrete Strategien für einen möglichen Austritt Griechenlands aus der Eurozone. Foto: Oliver Berg/dpa +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++
ILLUSTRATION - Griechische Euro-Münzen […]
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives for a European Union Summit at the Europa building in Brussels on December 12, 2019. - European Union leaders meet without Britain on December 12, but their departing neighbour's absence will not make agreeing a budget any easier. Inside the chamber, the clash over climate take Brexit's place as the dominant theme of the summit, the first to be chaired by incoming EU Council president Charles Michel. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte a […]
Cranes operate at a construction site on Berlin's Friedrichstrasse on August 21, 2019. - The 25.300 square-meter site in central Berlin, which includes the old Tacheles artist colony (building 2nd from L), is being redeveloped to include retail space, offices and residential units, designed by Swiss architects firm Herzog & De Meuron. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP)
Cranes operate at a construction site on […]
A photo taken on February 5, 2013 in Marseille shows credit cards. French police has arrested, early this morning in Paris and in several French and overseas departments, 22 people in connection with the trade of credit cards numbers on internet. AFP PHOTO / ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT (Photo by ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP)
A photo taken on February 5, 2013 in Mar […]
Many states, one currency

Elections

A pedestrian walks past a billboard in west Belfast on December 8, 2017 erected by Republican Party Sinn Fein calling for a special status for Northern Ireland with respect to Brexit and no hard borders in Ireland. Photo: Paul Faith / AFP
A pedestrian walks past a billboard in w […]
Britain's main opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn talks to students at Lancaster University on November 15, 2019 regarding the party's plans to deliver free full fibre broadband if they win the general election. Photo: Peter Byrne / Pool
Britain's main opposition Labour party l […]
The populist challenge

Migrants

An asylum seeker is waiting to take a ferry from the port of Mitilini to Athens in Greece. Photo: Socrates Baltagiannis/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++
An asylum seeker is waiting to take a fe […]
Some of the 67 migrants rescued by members of French NGO SOS Mediterranee chartered-boat Ocean Viking off the coast of Lampedusa island are helped off a speedboat on June 25, 2020. Photo: Shahzad Abdul / AFP
Some of the 67 migrants rescued by membe […]
A Bulgarian seasonal worker picks nectarines near the village of Fraga in northeast Spain, on June 25, 2020. Photo: Pau Barrena / AFP
A Bulgarian seasonal worker picks nectar […]
A new home in Europe?

Europe's youth

Schüler der Edith-Stein-Schule präsentieren am 06.09.2017 in Erfurt (Thüringen) die selbstgestalteten Wahlplakate für die U18-Bundestagswahl. Foto: Martin Schutt/dpa
Schüler der Edith-Stein-Schule präsent […]
A woman wears a mask reading "I can¥t breathe" in Madrid, on June 7, 2020, during a demonstration against racism and in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP)
A woman wears a mask reading "I can¥t b […]
Children prepare to enter their classroom at the Saint Germain de Charonne school in Paris on May 14, 2020 as primary schools in France re-open this week and the country eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus). (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Children prepare to enter their classroo […]
Endless opportunities or no future?

EU enlargement

ARCHIV - Zwei Männer feiern am 01.01.2007 vor einer EU-Fahne den EU-Beitritt Rumäniens in Bukarest. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT (zu dpa Berichterstattung vor dem EU-Gipfel) +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++
ARCHIV - Zwei Männer feiern am 01.01.2 […]
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to members of staff and contractors as she tours the NHS Louisa Jordan field hospital, set up at the Scottish Events Campus (SEC) in Glasgow on April 10, 2020, to potentially help with extra patients caused by the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. - The disease has struck at the heart of the British government, infected more than 60,000 people nationwide and killed over 8,000, with a daily death toll in England of 866 reported on April 10. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / POOL / AFP)
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeo […]
A health employee wearing a protective jumpsuit disinfects a local tram in Zagreb as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19 caused by novel coronavirus on March 13, 2020. - Since the novel coronavirus first emerged in late December 2019, more than 135,640 cases have been recorded in 122 countries and territories, killing 5,043 people, according to an AFP tally compiled on March 13, 2020 based on official sources. (Photo by Damir SENCAR / AFP)
A health employee wearing a protective j […]
European flags are waving in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. Two days before Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, the European Parliament also ratified the EU withdrawal agreement at a meeting in Brussels and finally sealed the brexit.
European flags are waving in front of th […]
The Union is growing

Defence and security

25.04.2018, Brandenburg, Schönefeld: Das zweistrahliges Mehrzweckkampfflugzeug Dassault Rafale aus Frankreich ist bei der Raumfahrtausstellung (ILA) ausgestellt. Bis Sonntag präsentierten 1100 Aussteller aus 41 Ländern ihre Neuheiten von Flugzeugen über Drohnen und Flugtaxis bis hin zu Raketentechnik. (zu dpa "Ein Kampfjet für Europa - Berlin und Paris gehen in Rüstungsoffensive" am 26.04.2018)
25.04.2018, Brandenburg, Schönefeld: Da […]
AI (artificial intelligence) security cameras using facial recognition technology are displayed at the 14th China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing on October 24, 2018. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP)
AI (artificial intelligence) security ca […]
EUforeign policy chief Josep Borrell takes part in an online press conference with European Commissioner for Values and Transparency at EU headquarters in Brussels, on June 10, 2020. Photo: Francisco Seco / Pool / AFP
EUforeign policy chief Josep Borrell tak […]
EU foreign affairs high representative Josep Borrell gestures during a video press conference on the 10th EU-China Strategic Dialogue, at the European Commission in Brussels on June 9, 2020. Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard / Pool / AFP
EU foreign affairs high representative J […]
A continent's preparations for a world of challenges

Food and agriculture

A Bulgarian seasonal worker picks nectarines near the village of Fraga in northeast Spain, on June 25, 2020. Photo: Pau Barrena / AFP
A Bulgarian seasonal worker picks nectar […]
EU flag and Union flag-themed umbrellas of Brexit activists fly outside the Houses of Parliament in London on October 23, 2019. Photo: Tolga Akmen / AFP
EU flag and Union flag-themed umbrellas […]
Many of the masks and gloves used to protect against COVID-19 contain slow-to-degrade plastics. Photo: Joel Saget / AFP
Many of the masks and gloves used to pro […]
Feeding a continent

Europe's Workforce

Photo: dpa
Photo: dpa
Employees of German car maker Volkswagen (VW) work on Volkswagen ID.3 electric car models at an assembly line of the Volkswagen car factory in Zwickau, eastern Germany, on February 25, 2020. (Photo by RONNY HARTMANN / AFP)
Employees of German car maker Volkswagen […]
(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 01, 2020 A sign is seen in the window of a shop explaining to customers that it has temporarily closed due to the coronavirus outbreak in Portobello Market in west London, following the easing of the lockdown restrictions during the novel coronavirus pandemic. - Britain's economy shrank by more than a fifth in April from March, official data showed on June 12, 2020, as the first full month of coronavirus lockdown ravaged activity. Gross domestic product nosedived by a record 20.4 percent from the previous month, after a 5.8-percent contraction in March, the Office for National Statistics said. (Photo by Tolga AKMEN / AFP)
(FILES) In this file photo taken on June […]
Aircrafts of German airline Lufthansa are seen at "Franz-Josef-Strauss" airport in Munich, southern Germany, on June 25, 2020, amid the novel coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. - German airline Lufthansa was poised to clear a key shareholder vote on its nine billion euro ($10 billion) state rescue on June 25, 2020, boosted by the EU's green light and the last-minute backing of a billionaire investor who had the power to veto the plan. (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP)
Aircrafts of German airline Lufthansa ar […]
Tensions between the poor and the rich

Populism

Foto: dpa
Foto: dpa
Italian Lega party leader Matteo Salvini addresses the Senate in Rome on February 12, 2020. Photo: Filippo Monteforte / AFP
Italian Lega party leader Matteo Salvini […]
Italian PM Giuseppe Conte (C), flanked by Deputy PM and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini (L) and by Deputy PM and Minister of Economic Development Luigi Di Maio (R), delivers a speech at the Italian Senate, in Rome, on August 20, 2019
Italian PM Giuseppe Conte (C), flanked b […]
Simple answers to complex questions

Climate change

(FILES) This file photo taken on January 15, 2019 shows pine trunks piled near Brocas, in the Landes area, southwestern France, 10 years after Klaus storm devastated the forest. - Climate change, with drier summers, endanger the young pine trees and the renewal of the forest, a highly significant economic product for the region, AFP reports on June 2, 2020. (Photo by GEORGES GOBET / AFP)
(FILES) This file photo taken on January […]
Newly elected mayor of Bordeaux, EELV green party's Pierre Hurmic (C), takes part in a meeting with members of his campaign team on June 29, 2020 in Bordeaux, southwestern France, a day after the second round of the French mayoral elections. (Photo by MEHDI FEDOUACH / AFP)
Newly elected mayor of Bordeaux, EELV gr […]
People enjoy a sunny afternoon at the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in Paris during a heatwave on June 23, 2020. Photo: Christophe Archambault / AFP
People enjoy a sunny afternoon at the Pa […]
Tackling global warming

Terrorism and security

AI (artificial intelligence) security cameras using facial recognition technology are displayed at the 14th China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing on October 24, 2018. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP)
AI (artificial intelligence) security ca […]
Anti-IS group fighters stand next to a wall bearing the Islamic State (IS) group flag in the city of al-Qaim, western Anbar province on November 3, 2017. Photo: Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP
Anti-IS group fighters stand next to a w […]
Telecom network cables pictured in Paris on June 30, 2013. Photo: Thomas Coex / AFP
Telecom network cables pictured in Paris […]
The EU's fight against terror