32 h. ago Skaters hit Central Europe's largest frozen lake despite safety warnings

People in Hungary have flocked to Lake Balaton after it froze deep enough in parts for skating.

Events

33 h. ago Germany’s access all areas pass allows unlimited train travel and public transport – for under £2 a day

Hamburg to Munich and Cologne to Berlin: £48 buys a month of travel in central Europe’s largest nation

Economics

41 h. ago Moscow considers central bank’s huge $232B lawsuit against Euroclear over seized assets

Russia's Central Bank has condemned the use of frozen assets to aid Ukraine

Economics

7 d. ago Top central bankers express 'full solidarity' with Fed Chair Powell in clash with Trump

Eleven central bankers from around the world have expressed full support for U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

Politics

7 d. ago Travellers stranded as icy conditions close airports across central Europe

Budapest airport announced it would temporarily close due to ‘increased safety risks’ caused by black ice

Transport

7 d. ago Global central banks show ‘full solidarity’ to US Fed chairman after threats

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey was among the 11 central bank leaders to sign the statement of support.

Politics

2 w. ago Weather tracker: Arctic air grips Europe as severe winds batter Corsica

Subzero temperatures, heavy snowfall and powerful gusts mark a harsh start to 2026 for manyIt has been a cold start to the year across much of Europe, particularly in central regions, where temperatures dropped to double-digit negatives. Heavy snowfall hit parts of eastern and central Europe on New Year’s Eve, notably in Poland and Ukraine, with similar conditions across the Alps on the first few days of the year.The cold is likely to continue this week as an Arctic air mass sinks south across Europe, pulling temperatures well below the seasonal average outside south-east Europe. Temperatures are expected to fall widely by about 5C (41F) below average, with some areas – such as parts of central and north-eastern Europe – up to 10C lower than the norm. When wind chill is taken into account, it will feel even colder. Continue reading...

Society

2 w. ago Bulgaria is joining the euro. Here's what it means for consumers and businesses

Bulgaria is welcoming a new year and a new currency

Politics

2 w. ago Why I needed fireproof underwear for a leisurely spin through the Bavarian countryside

I was lucky enough to have been invited to sit alongside former World Rally Champion Ott Tanak during a shakedown session on the first day of the WRC's Central European Rally in Bavaria.

Events

3 w. ago Pensions timebomb: why Europe’s social contract is becoming unsustainable

Ageing populations and falling birthrates have left ever fewer workers to support growing number of retireesIt has played a starring role in one of the worst periods of political turmoil in France since the 1960s. In Germany, it threatens the future of the coalition government. In Spain, thousands have taken to the streets to demand change.The right to a decent state pension has been a central plank of the European social contract for decades, but people are living longer, birthrates are falling, and the continent’s pension systems are, increasingly, unsustainable. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Hungary's 'water guardian' farmers fight back against desertification

Southern Hungary landowner Oszkár Nagyapáti has been battling severe drought on his land

Politics

3 w. ago Falling price of cocaine forces drug traffickers to reuse narco

Previously vessels would be sunk once they had completed their cargo runs from South America to EuropeThe plummeting price of cocaine is forcing drug-traffickers to reuse the “narco-submarines” they would previously have scuttled once the custom-built vessels had completed their cargo runs from South America to Europe, according to a senior Spanish police officer.While semi-submersible vehicles have been used regularly in Colombia and other parts of South and Central America since the 1980s, they were not detected in European waters until 2006, when an abandoned sub was found in an estuary in the north-west Spanish region of Galicia. Continue reading...

Events

last month Friedrich Merz wants Berlin to be a geopolitical hub. Will German voters reward him?

The chancellor is pursuing a risky quest for European leadership, and last week’s setback over Russian reparations is unlikely to knock him off courseFriedrich Merz’s three-month bid to catapult Germany into the role of undisputed leader of Europe has come unstuck.His call for Europe to hand Ukraine access to €201bn (£176bn) in frozen Russian central bank assets via a reparations loan was rejected at a decisive European Council meeting in Brussels. Continue reading...

Politics