Across Europe, billions vanish each year into the grey economy – income from legal but undeclared work that escapes taxation. It includes everything from off-the-books construction jobs to cash-in-hand childcare, side gigs, and small business deals that never make it onto the books.

Fresh evidence about Hitler’s illness—let’s just say his health wasn’t the only thing that came up short.

Slovakia’s new “walking speed limit” caused a wave of viral confusion, but the rule doesn’t target pedestrians at all. Instead, it sets a benchmark to slow down e-scooters and bikes on crowded sidewalks. Traffic experts say it’s about clarifying responsibility, not enforcing radar checks on walkers.

Germany’s fire protection relies on a vast volunteer force, a system rooted in community life but increasingly strained by dwindling recruits and rising climate-driven emergencies. Read the full piece by Toyah Höher on our website: buff.ly/udNVqeW

Everything begins with sand. It’s the foundation of modern life – we need it to create concrete and glass, to reclaim land and to build roads. In recent decades, the global demand for sand and gravel has tripled, driven by urbanisation and the desire to claim ever more land from the seas.

It's quite easy, actually.

Ireland just proved that investing in creativity pays off — literally. Its basic income pilot for artists boosted wellbeing and returned €1.39 for every euro spent. Freed from financial pressure, creatives made more art, earned more, and relied less on welfare support.

From energy to the internet, Europe’s undersea infrastructure is its most critical — and most exposed — network. Oil, gas, electricity, and data cables form the hidden lifelines keeping the continent connected.

Urban agriculture is reshaping European cities, turning unused spaces into hubs of community, culture and inclusion. From Trento to Cascais, local gardens are proving that growing food can also grow connection, empowerment and a new sense of democracy.

Europe's livestock industry is booming. Beyond its one billion-strong chicken population, the EU counts 134 million pigs, 75 million cattle, and about 70 million sheep and goats.

Finland is betting on dirt to boost children’s health and early results are remarkable. By replacing asphalt with forest soil, researchers found kids developed stronger immune systems in just weeks. As Europe faces rising autoimmune diseases, this simple return to nature could be a game-changer.

In the tech sector, Europe lags behind the United States. Some European companies, such as Finland’s Nokia and Sweden’s Spotify, have achieved global recognition. However, they remain far less valuable than their American counterparts.

As more young Russians turn to Orthodox Christianity, the Church’s tight alignment with the Kremlin raises new questions about faith, power, and identity. Behind the revival lies a search for stability and a growing struggle between spiritual refuge and political pressure.

Night trains are really having a moment right now. Every year, a few more routes appear, offering travellers real alternatives to short-haul flights across Europe. Next time, swap the airport for the train station and wake up somewhere new. A data story by Sebastian Gräff.

We heard it twice and decided to take it as a compliment. slurp.

What Zohran Mamdani pulled off in New York is already reshaping strategy on Europe’s left. From affordability to optimism to grassroots power: his surprise victory shows what happens when politics gets practical, joyful, and rooted in community.

Send this to your crush ;)

Gene editing just took a major leap forward: a Hungarian team has made DNA repair safer and far more precise. Their new proPE method fixes genetic “typos” with unprecedented accuracy. It could one day correct countless disease-causing mutations.

On this month's CTRL + EU, Ellen Morgan guides you through Europe’s top stories this month, and TEC's Health Editor Amalie Holmgaard Mersh reveals the unseen sway of alcohol lobbying over EU decision-making.

Our little guilty pleasures, ooops!

On my morning commute, I’ve started noticing these small black lockboxes mounted beside doorbells or hanging from fences. They’re easy to miss, but once you spot one, you start seeing them everywhere.

We have kicked off an experiment: The European Correspondent is now available not only in English but also in German, as a newsletter, on the website, and on all social media platforms. Rumour has it, other languages may soon follow...

Spain was the first country in Europe to introduce paid menstrual leave, a historic step for women’s rights. But two years later, very few women actually use it. Fear of stigma and professional backlash still keeps many working through pain.

Across the Dutch-German border, price gaps make cross-border shopping a practical choice. The differences are so large that even shoppers from deeper within the Netherlands can save a significant amount, even after accounting for fuel costs.

What began over 2,000 years ago as Samhain, a Celtic fire festival marking the end of summer, slowly transformed into Halloween. The Church renamed it All Hallows’ Eve, American immigrants turned it into trick-or-treat, and global brands made it big business.

Halloween isn’t the true scary season. For Europeans, the true fears lie elsewhere, and they vary widely across borders. While Germans worry most about online disinformation and least about infectious diseases, Turks fear terrorism and disease far more than anyone else.

From “harm reduction” to “job losses”. Big Tobacco’s lines haven’t changed. But Europe’s patience has. New bans, higher taxes, and tighter rules are reshaping how the continent deals with nicotine.

The Netherlands is turning a page after a chaotic year under the far right. Geert Wilders’ PVV has lost ground in snap elections, while moderates like D66 are regaining strength, yet the far right’s influence still lingers.

Booking a cross-border train in Europe just got easier. Austria’s ÖBB, Germany’s DB, and Switzerland’s SBB have linked their systems, so you can now buy one ticket for the whole journey. It’s not the full “EU single ticket” yet, but it’s a big step in that direction.

Ireland just chose a new president — and she could shake up how Europe talks about peace, neutrality, and defence.

Recently, we posed the question, "Where is Europe?" But in everyday conversations, I more often find myself talking about which part of Europe I or someone else is from, or where they’ve travelled.

Across Europe, more than 100 drug consumption rooms quietly save lives every day. These spaces offer safety, supervision, and care, taking drug use off the streets and into a place of dignity. Still, stigma and politics make opening new rooms a constant struggle.

Happy Monday!

From underground raves to global stages, the Netherlands turned dance music into a worldwide industry. Born in Chicago’s house scene in the 1980s, the sound found its second home in Dutch clubs and warehouses, nurtured by a mix of creativity and tolerance.

We stream and scroll as if the digital world floats above us, but it runs through the sea. Beneath Europe’s waters lies a hidden web of cables and pipelines carrying our data, power, and fuel. Since the Nord Stream explosions, that network has become a new frontline in Europe’s standoff with Russia.

Solar power generated almost a quarter of the EU's electricity in June 2025 – more than any other source. At least thirteen EU countries recorded their highest-ever month of solar generation that summer. How did they achieve it?

Between 1980 and 2023, storms, floods, and heatwaves caused a staggering €738 billion in economic losses across Europe, €162 billion of that in just the past three years.

More than half of Europe’s climate-related losses are uninsured — in many countries, up to 90 percent.

For decades, a dark chapter of Germany’s postwar history went unspoken. Between the 1940s and 1980s, millions of children were sent to so-called health retreats, places meant to strengthen the weak and heal the sick. Instead, many faced neglect, violence, and abuse.

The secret is out!

- Promoted opinion by @eeb.org - Poisoned by unchecked pollution, weakened by delayed climate action, and exhausted by short-term thinking – Europe is unwell.

Germany’s Cannabis Act was meant to curb the black market, protect young people, and ensure safer products. Eighteen months later, the results are mixed: most cannabis still comes from illegal sources, prescription loopholes are booming, and cannabis clubs struggle to get off the ground.

Across Europe, more and more people are turning to tiny houses, not just as a lifestyle trend, but as a response to a broken housing system. Jiří, a handyman from Prague, built his own 15 m² home after rising rents left him with few options.

Turns out the stereotype is true, the cloudiest spots in Europe are in the UK. But if you look beyond land, the real champion of cloudy skies lies somewhere over the the Atlantic, somewhere between northern Norway and Greenland. A data story by Sebastian Gräff.

4,500 lost items were recorded by the Oktoberfest lost and found office this year. That's a 10% increase in the number of items collected last year, even though the Bavarian folk festival saw 200 thousand fewer visitors than the previous year.

On the first weekend of October, Lithuania’s skies turned into a smuggling route as 25 weather balloons crossed the border from Belarus, carrying thousands of cigarette packs.

Europe once defined fine wool craftsmanship, but today most of its raw fleece is shipped to China for processing. Backed by state investment and low production costs, China now controls both the manufacturing and much of the global wool supply.

The impact of Repair Cafés across Europe is impressive: over 340 locations and 13 6,000 items brought in since 2015, of which 84,000 were saved from the landfill.

The Turkish government has intensified its crackdown on opposition figures and elected officials. From Istanbul to the smallest municipalities, opposition mayors are being replaced with loyal trustees, technocrats with close affiliation to the government.

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