Light comedies and export hits: Czech cinema rides on the wave of success. But in Prague young fresh filmmakers and independent cinemas push against the mainstream

The Czech capital is banishing a young Brit’s project from the city centre after the first Speaker’s Corner in Europe outside of the UK became a hotspot for extremists

In the first of our ‘rock and backpack’ series, we discover Havana - the cultural centre of a Cuba in which everyone has the ability to produce something, but few express themselves

Public opinion in Poland is stirred after the American professor's post-war publication is released

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

Playwright, journalist and Kosovo's answer to Jeremy Paxman - the ‘pushy, irritating’ TV presenter as she describes herself, 29, exposes local politicians in a society she vouches is 'fed-up'

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

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

The Transylvania-born Hungarian author, 34, uses an unconventional narrator to express the horrors of a totalitarian system

The 45–year-old writer and TV journalist from Ljubliana has lived and worked in Düsseldorf, Chicago and London, and published widely

For the first time, an exhibition in Bucharest lifts the veil on Romania’s Communist past

In Cuba, the Castro administration is on the verge of ‘going to a better place’

Winner of the 2002 Prix Fémina for Foreign Writers for his splendid Montedidio – written in 'very Neapolitan Italian' – Erri de Luca reflects on Europe, the Mediterranean and the passing of generations

The German presidency of the EU judged the local elections on January 14 in Belarus ‘undemocratic’. The country’s opposition has already announced its intention of contesting Lukashenko

Fifty years after the 1956 revolution in Hungary, and Budapest's emblematic monuments betray a continuing uncertainty - what exactly did it all mean?

German film director Florian Henckel's feature debut shines in Hollywood with an elegant and assured spy thriller

Last year, on January 27, Mozart Year opened with much celebration. Have we learned anything about the musical genius?

Pierpaolo Koss exclusively reveals what it is like to be one of the few Western artists to have worked in one of the world’s most isolated countries

Fifty years after the Hungarian revolution was crushed, historians maintain that a compromise with Moscow was possible.

In Serbia, Poland and Hungary, nationalists and populists are gaining ground. How have Western European democrats reacted in the past?

The European Commission wants to integrate Romania into the EU on 1 January 2007 – if the country can keep its corruption under control. A feature from Siebenbürgen.

Thousands of Vietnamese are repressed in their home country and are forced to leave Asia and try their luck abroad. For those who choose Poland, the transition is sometimes tough

Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to step up deportations of illegal immigrants to 25,000. A network of teachers fights to defend pupils and their families

February 14th is a special “day of love” in most places in the world. Do we really need it or is it just a marketing scam?

Before long, demolition work will begin on the ‘Palace of the Republic’ in Berlin, a relic from GDR days. In other ex-socialist states there are similar buildings, and every one has its own story.

One of Poland’s best known personalities is the politician, writer and journalist Tadeusz Mazowiecki. In an interview with cafebabel.com, he considers the effect of Polish accession and how Europe can move forward.

In old Europe, people are fearing an influx of cheap Polish labour and the relocation of businesses to Poland. But are these fears justified? We take a look at the facts.

While the Polish trade union ‘Solidarity’ celebrates its 25th anniversary, what has become of Lech Walsea and his fellow freedom fighters?

Politics is not the only thing to have changed in Poland since the fall of communism. Maria Staszkiewicz investigates the underground artists trying to bring a little perspective to Polish lives.

Many Poles have been forced into exile over the centuries, often because of the sufferings endured by their motherland. This has created a veritable diaspora - both multifaceted and influential.

The Csango, ethnic Hungarians of the Moldavian region in Romania, have a history marked with bitter struggles for the recognition of their rights. They boast cultural and religious roots interwoven with those of all Europe.