The vocalist and drummer for kitsch pop duet 'Stereo Total', 43, evokes Franco-German bilingualism applied to masculinity-femininity, Gainsbourg and modern frustrations

European audience figures are exploding for so-called 'Emotainment' programmes, devoted to the daily lives of the average person

In her new novel 'Sulphuric Acid' the Belgian author takes a popular TV craze to new heights by reducing the hell of a World War II concentration camp to the banality of a docu-soap

Almost three months after the Belgian legislative elections, negotiations with a view to forming a government are still in deadlock. The country hopes for better days

First part of an exclusive interview with the author of 'Gomorra', investigating the Neapolitan mafia. From Scottish tourism to Spanish drug trade, the Italian empire stretches throughout Europe and the world

From the deserts of Dubai to French rugby fields, sliding from rural land to urban city, smashing crossroads and borders - babelblogs are everywhere

Whilst Dutch 'Party for Animals' may have seen its first representative enter parliament last June, other European politicians resist making animals their leitmotif

If your cat has gone off its food, your dog is chasing its tail and your horse is scared of umbrellas, it’s time for a home visit to an animal therapist

Roberto Bennati, vice-president of the Italian anti-vivisection league, on a new European legislation

Pets are now an integral part of society. Even the competitive European markets are being flooded with dog and cat accessories

'Islamist' threats to power or positive signs of integration? A Ramadan special

The facts speak for themselves in southern Europe, where 'disciplined' soldiers are forced to shut up and sign their contracts

Europe is the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. But does strengthening the EU’s own channels threaten its commitment to international peacekeeping?

On 9 September the controversial German TV personality was sacked after a comment praising Nazi family policy. Moscow is astonished

The Spanish government is set to introduce compulsory classes in citizenship. The law has been blighted by controversy and critics even before some schools have incorporated the subject into their curriculum

Go back to work, have more children, and we'll look after every third child, says the new daycare reform in Germany, a country with one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. But conservatives aren't happy

While France and Finland are miles ahead in childcare in Europe, Germany is still struggling against old role models

On 19th September 1946, British Wartime leader Winston Churchill called for a ‘United States of Europe’ during a speech in Zurich. Sixty years later, the British still do not want to join a federalist project – time for reflection?

On 17 September the European Union's second highest court slaps Microsoft with a 500 million euro fine for violating antitrust regulations and abusing its monopoly of the market - they have two months to appeal

A toy airport, a medieval city centre with little wood houses and a maritime city which is completely internet savvy

Liberal reforms over the past decade have catapulted Estonia into one of the fastest-growing market economies of the European Union. But can the Baltic tiger keep up on the social agenda?

A modern, progressive EU member state divided by the linguistic, cultural and educational differences between the Estonians and the Russian minority

The fifth and last in our ‘taxi’ series. In Brussels, you catch them from taxi locations specifically created to this end, at different spots in town

Insular for a long time, Albania has not always been a prime destination for travel agents. The current tourist craze for the Adriatic could benefit this little country on the Yugoslav peninsula

As the region of Catalunya celebrates its national day on 11 September, a sidelook at a revitalised minority language

Appears only the name of the six-member US production courted the real controversy in Edinburgh this August

With new stories, new audiences and the latest in technology, the musical is back with a bang in Europe’s big cities

'Whatever happened to people launching into song for no reason?' 'They stopped doing it: it was ridiculous'

Russian magistrates, politicians and media are concealing more and more racist attacks on foreigners

Last May, the German daily newspaper Tagesspeigel warned that in Berlin one child in three lives off 'Hartz IV' (government aid). This is a new high for Germany and is more than twice the national average. Is it an avatar of reunification?

The German capital is a real paradise for gays and lesbians. Despite the high level of general tolerance, the reality is that discrimination in the workplace and violent attacks still continue

The Poles have made up the second largest national minority in Berlin for years, but the eternal stereotype of Polish migrant workers has been disappearing of late. New blood is coming into the city - bringing students, artists and businessmen

In line with World Water Week, Hamburg has been observing 2007's 'Days of Water' since 22 August. A vitally serious issue is at the core of this series of remarkable events

This week we look at parades, journalism, amputations and isolated communities living in the woods... Only on babelblogs

Having finally awoken to the danger faced by our planet due to global warming, politicians and citizens are working to build green and sustainable living spaces. From ecologically-friendly homes to ‘eco-neighbourhoods’, Europe is going greener by the day.

Let's talk about sex, politics, and licking European commissioners on cafebabel.com's newly launched community pages and first multilingual blogging platform

In northern Europe, one out of two women uses a mechanical sex toy and 'Tupper-dildo' parties are increasingly popular

EU Commission uses sexy film scenes to show how it supports European cinema

Study reveals men not only prefer blonds but those with small brains

Organised via the internet, orgey offers often help sell holidays. A quick overview of the history of the old continent via this ancient practice which is present in almost all societies

Belgian politician offers one blowjob for every vote in her favour

Restrictive adoption law drives French lesbian couples across Belgian and Dutch borders to be artificially inseminated

Only 2% of Greeks aren't Orthodox. Somewhere amongst this low percentile, the polytheist movement who worship twelve Gods fight the state for recognition as a religion

At the crossroads of East and West, Athens has become the terminus of many migration routes. The Albanian community, the most numerous, is also the most stigmatised in Greece. It all stems from a misunderstanding

The Greek government has approved a series of reforms intended to modernise its university system, including the opening of private institutions and placing a limit on the maximum study period. However, the students are protesting

With its throngs of bars and canal boat clubs portrayed in an Emir Kusturica film, the Serbian capital is still the alternative tourist destination

The latest right-wing French government has appointed three top politicans with immigrant backgrounds. But the nation’s political personnel still accounts less and less for the products of immigration, says Karim Zéribi, former advisor to French Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement

Ethnic quotas, 'positive discrimination' – terms which often trigger teeth-grinding. French opinion usually differs from that of the other side of the Channel

From 1 July, Portugal assume the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, taking over a job well done from Germany

Three years on, a 23-year-old key figure in the youth movement during the Orange Revolution considers his country's latest stalemate

As Ukraine faces a political crisis, Europe follows its neighbour's events with interest, conscious of the former Soviet Republic’s strategic importance for her energy supply

Over 200,000 people flooded Independence Square on 16 June to see British singer Elton John's AIDS-awareness free concert - publicising a dark aspect of Ukrainian society, with estimated adult HIV prevalence of 1.4%

Some 4,000 people live in poor conditions in shanty towns on the outskirts of Paris. But an integration programme plans to lift 30 Roma families out of misery

A MySpace for backpackers, ‘The Hospitality Club’ allows its members to host and connect with each other and exchange free accommodation all over Europe

The construction of Europe’s biggest mosque is thrown into limbo two weeks after fresh elections in Seville city council

Europe’s youth follow the cog: university, a first job, building a future. But Seville’s brood of ‘1000-Euro-a-month-ers’ are finding even that hard

World Environment Day is on 5 June - a day which has drawn attention to certain ecological imbroglio since 1972. Too many institutions, not enough time

Online radio waves are making a splash from French neighbourhoods to the European institutions in Brussels

The Czech capital's tourism flow reached full capacity in 1999, having experienced its boom after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1991. Some are unhappy at what they and their city has been left with