EU Scream

Eric Mamer took over last year as chief spokesperson for the European Commission, an institution he’s served since mid-1990s. When journalists were barred from his press room in March because of coronavirus, the amiable Frenchman had to improvise. His challenge is to put a crisis to good use: by reaffirming the relevance of the Commission’s midday briefing even as member states stretch the rules his institution is meant to enforce to breaking point...

The coronavirus outbreak has been a pretext for government censorship and a crackdown on journalists, who have been exposed to new criminal charges as well as violent attacks. Among those targeted by official smear campaigns is Blaž Zgaga, a best-selling author from Slovenia. To keep tabs on the abuses linked to Covid-19, press freedom organization Reporters sans frontières has created a service called Tracker 19...

Italians were hit hardest when the coronavirus landed in Europe but the European Union was slow to help the country. The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has apologised — twice. The contrition is better late than never, says Marco Zatterin, deputy editor of La Stampa newspaper in Turin. Even so, far-right anti-European forces have been able to exploit the procrastination to regain traction...

Lockdowns in response to the coronavirus mean cities are quieter, skies clearer, and breathing is easier. For many city dwellers the lack of cars tearing through their streets has been a revelation amid the suffering and loss inflicted by Covid-19. Now, as lockdowns ease, some cities are putting plans to keep cars out into hyperdrive. Those moves foretell the kind of Europe where living together more sustainably becomes the norm. But such an outcome is not inevitable...

Standing up to bullies was ingrained in Frans Timmermans from his schooldays. The Dutchman came to prominence six years ago as his country's foreign minister with an emotional speech at the United Nations. Russian-backed separatists had shot down Flight MH17 packed with Dutch nationals, and Timmermans channelled the sentiments of a shocked nation to the world. In his next job as first vice president of the European Commission, he squared off with right-wing populists like the U.K...

Computing known as artificial intelligence sorts vast amounts of data — faces, our web browsing habits, even our gestures — into automated predictions used by companies and governments. The technology holds great promise for applications like diagnosing disease and preventing catastrophes. Yet it can exacerbate discrimination and inequality, and be used to erode democracy...

The European Union has embarked on a push against racism amid protests following the killing of George Floyd. But important questions remain about whether some EU leaders and policies, and the bloc’s broadly federalist priorities, are the best choices for achieving that goal. Mehreen Khan, EU correspondent for the Financial Times, assesses the anti-racism credentials of the European Commission under the leadership of President Ursula von der Leyen. “Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op...

Ylva Johansson is done with drama queen discussions that portray migrants and refugees as an existential threat to Europe. Johansson is the European Commissioner for home affairs and she’d like to make migration a more normal issue. She’d also like to win the approval of all EU member states for a new proposal for a common asylum and migration policy — something her predecessors failed to do...

Bigots and far-right extremists are using online violence to try to silence feminists and LGBT people. It's a cowardly tactic since perpetrators don’t have to meet their targets...

Intersectionality is the concept that overlapping identities — disability, gender, race and sexual orientation for example — create forms of discrimination that can go unaddressed. But many European Union leaders are wary of the kind of identity politics that intersectionality implies. That resistance may be stiffening now that France is promoting traditional republican identities for its citizens so zealously...