Not a babelian yet?
Not a babelian yet?
Rue de Seine, Paris 1952. ‘Never work’ is chalked on a wall. Two words about the philosophy of the 'Situationists' who transformed May 1968 and who still inspire activists today
Dutch MP Pier Anne Nawijn dancing, that Bush-Merkel massage and Finnish MP Alexander Stubb fights for vodka in the European parliament
To shop or be shopped? The EU wants to tighten up the 2004 Intellectual Property Rights Directive. Many member states have already agreed on appropriate measures
Talks of a European anthem were recently dropped, but to some Spaniards, it seems a shame to splice lyrics and lose what makes their country’s anthem unique
The Italian-writing, Paris-dwelling, prize-winning Albanian writer, painter and photographer, 39, describes beauty as disturbing, discusses her inspirations and is hopeful for Kosovo
British exes, banking superheros, Athens and garapos in Cuba - plus the latest Franco-German blog to watch out for
The district in south-west Germany is a pioneering development that puts into action innovative rules for communal living in a unique environment. But this paradise of purity is not without its faults
True or false: younger heads of state have less experience but more liberal policies than older heads of state, who have more experience? Plus an interactive map of Europe's old - and not so old - fogies
Only 55% of Europeans state that they have any confidence in their parliament. On the benches of the French National Assembly, few young MPs are debating. How can the EU attract a new generation?
Temperatures soar as a group of young European journalists get steamed up about the Lisbon Treaty
Plus carnival fever in Venice, cartoons in the south of France and Arab hip hop in Brussels - our guide to the month's best cultural titbits
The scene is set: Place de l’Europe, shops, blocks of flats on the horizon and 'Le bar de l'Europe'. At the heart of this little tarmacked tower of babel, Europe is not the stuff of dreams
The first world forum for the Alliance of Civilizations, launched also by the moderate islamist Turkish PN Erdogan, promotes mutual understanding between different cultures
30-year-old author of the book ‘New Romantic’, the journalist and editor of gay magazine ‘Dik Fagazine’ talks politics, left-wing politics and emotion-drained religion
The lively streets of the capital conceal a sordid reality. In this meat market, they do their best to survive and dream of Europe
A guide to social security the French way (to help avoid a head-ache or heart attack when you check your bank balance)
When Slovenia became part of the Schengen zone on 21 December 2007, the 280km barrier separating it from Italy fell. It had been symbol of the iron curtain and the cold war that have divided Europe for decades
As we celebrate on 21 December 2007, for residents along the Hungarian border, Schengen is a historical event with bittersweet results
Oft dismissed as the childless 'loser generation’, twenty-somethings have unexpected talents. Our German and French correspondents give them a chance to have their say. Part IV of a series from Paris and Berlin
The story of a community's unconventional journey: 'German Russians' return to Berlin and struggle to live in harmony in their adopted country
Despite their reputation, twentysomethings often have more to offer than first meets the eye
Twenty-something baby losers. Often disparaged, yet the 'eighties generation' harbour multiple talents. First part of a series of portraits exchanging Paris and Berlin
We continue our series of articles visiting the streets of Europe which carry the continent’s name. In this episode, shopping and lessons in a non-existent Europeanism at the heart of Eur(ope?)
28% of Portuguese and 45% of Spaniards want to unify Spain and Portugal
The French and Spanish joke goes that Portuguese women have moustaches
General De Gaulle in France, Churchill in the UK. The Portuguese have voted the founder and leader of the authoritarian regime the 'greatest ever figure in Portuguese history'
The world’s highest railway was opened between Peking and Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, in July. It has not only opened the door to modernity, but has aroused new clashes between the Chinese government and the Tibetans
The alternative to Second Life has Europe in its sights, according to Vladlen Koltun, a 27 year old professor from Stanford
Bangkok and its shiny new clinics have become the new capital for medical tourism, particularly for plastic surgery - and sex changes
With its blogs, podcasts, wikis and other so called 'social networks', version 2.0 of the web has propelled the surfer to the crest of the wave. Could this be a virtuous version of globalisation?
With one login in and a few clicks, virtual communities are promising many marvellous things. Meet kindred spirits, find a job or customise your universe
10 million Europeans have their own profiles on booming social exchange websites such as Facebook. The most active European web users have not wasted any time create groups of their own
TCK. Three letters that stand for a phenomenon: tecktonik. Similar in style to electro, it has been a sensation amongst teenagers in France, Belgium and Holland over the last six months - and is also a registered trademark
From Prishtina to Kiev with our new reporters project, via Istanbul and the US along the comic soundtrack of Europe - by Groucho Marx and Tim Burton
For the fourth year in a row, demonstrators spend a night in a metro station underground passage to highlight their solidarity with the capital's nearly 30, 000 Hungarian homeless
From September 2007, the Russian minority have to officially learn Estonian in secondary schools - Irene Kaosaar, the head of linguistic minorities, on a 'transition' not a 'reform'
Poland has been an official EU country since 1 May 2004. While Poles have the right to move freely around France, things get a lot more complicated when it comes to getting a job
Call a plumber for leaking Balkan and Turkey progress reports, bye-bye Bosnians! aka Lidija Topic's 'total recall' and EU Wining and Dining Day
The educational system has changed as many times as the capital of Vilnius has changed hands – the current system is as young as the independent country, and much criticised
Since achieving independence in 1990, it has strived to walk steadily on its own. On the eve of reaching adulthood as a self-governing country, Vilnius is like a little girl who has been picked on too many times by her bigger neighbours
Vilnius’ landscape is defined by the number of houses of worship scattered throughout it. This reflects the rich heritage Vilnius has with the number of religions that have co-existed together for hundreds of years
Controversy brews because competition announcements for the European Personnel Selection Office were published in only three languages. Officials blow the whistle on the apparently chaotic management of translations
The French capital has been enjoying the success of the Vélib’ adventure since summer 2007, and the urban rent-a-bicycle-for-next-to-nothing fever has caught the rest of Europe
Having come 'en masse' to our planet, the metrosexuals, uebersexuals and retrosexuals have replaced man, the real thing, which from now on will be classified as an endangered species
Long a part of the mainstream, but women have not gained ground since the eighties. Many dismiss the feminist concept completely, others see 'new feminism' taking a step backwards
Not overly handsome, but wickedly sophisticated. Neither being excessively ribbed in the torso department, nor metro-sexual in the feminine sense, here is a whistle stop tour of five 'vintage' men, all of who are ‘made in Europe’
On 26 October, the EU-Russia summit in Mafra, Portugal could reveal the Tsar's energy policy or Kremlin successor ambitions. Poet and art critic Dmitry Golinko provides a Russian reaction
Yasmin, Cihan, Mani and Christian document their parents through the lens in Franco-German film 'Mon monde - meine Welt', a bitter-sweet reality bite that there is no quick-fix solution to the immigration issue
A conflict of interest is poisoning the apparent honeymoon between the French and German leaders, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, as they work on the EU constitution
From investments in the Costa del Sol to French suburbs – the second part of an interview with the author of ‘Gomorra’
The vocalist and drummer for kitsch pop duet 'Stereo Total', 43, evokes Franco-German bilingualism applied to masculinity-femininity, Gainsbourg and modern frustrations
Belonging to the homeland, the importance of education for immigration and Turkey's entry into the European Union are converging themes in 'The Edge of Heaven', the latest film by the German director
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
Between live kidney donors in Holland, Model Mosque 2007 in the UK and racism over German garden fences, the precipices of European reality TV formats
More Brits (14.2 million votes, 2002) dialled a premium-rate phone number to voice their opinion in a 'Big Brother' series than voted for the governing Labour Party at the 2005 general election (9.5 million labour voters). The vox populi asserts that reality TV is here to stay
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
The author of 'Gomorra', currently keeping a low profile in Paris, on the Italian mafia and Europe, the Camorra paradox and 'white oil'
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
Europe is the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. But does strengthening the EU’s own channels threaten its commitment to international peacekeeping?
The facts speak for themselves in southern Europe, where 'disciplined' soldiers are forced to shut up and sign their contracts
We talk to Bad CO, a serving officer in the British Army, who administers the unofficial community website along with Good CO, a former infantry officer
Widespread traffic-jams throughout European cities and the rest of the world show that without publicity campaigns, World Car Free Day is just a fantasy
On 9 September the controversial German TV personality was sacked after a comment praising Nazi family policy. Moscow is astonished