European Union

Several countries are once again reacting to surging Covid infections with drastic restrictions. This is exacerbating social tensions between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, as well as between supporters and opponents of new lockdowns. Commentators from Slovenia, Estonia, Slovakia and Spain, which is unusually united on this issue, have their say.

Several journalists covering the far right are facing intimidation attempts in France. A StreetPress writer received death threats after writing about armed supporters of Eric Zemmour and a Mediapart journalist was attacked several times by far-right Youtubers after reporting on Zemmour's links to the far right. Does Paris need to do more to stop attacks against press freedom?

The trial of 24 aid workers in Greece who worked for a humanitarian NGO on Lesbos has been adjourned only shortly after it began on Thursday. The aid workers are facing charges of human trafficking, money laundering and espionage. The climate in the country has also worsened for other activists such as sea rescue coordinator Iasonas Apostolopoulos.

Citing human rights abuses, the US is considering not sending an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, although US athletes would still be allowed to compete. Europe's press is also alarmed by the disappearance of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai after she made allegations of abuse against a former high-ranking Chinese politician.

The minimum wage directive is a key policy goal for European Social Democrats, but leftist parties and trade unions in Denmark and Sweden see it as a danger for their labour market model. They have collected enough signatures to force a vote in November’s European Parliament plenary, potentially delaying the directive for months.

The Slovenian government has finally decided to nominate two delegated prosecutors for the European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO), but the EPPO still has to decide if they are suitable.