Displaying items by tag: Europe

On 23 January, riots began in many Dutch towns and cities against a night-time curfew to slow the spread of Covid. Protesters burned down a Covid testing station, burned vehicles, threw knives at police, looted businesses, threw fireworks, dynamite, gasoline, and bricks. The police detained hundreds. By 27 January conspiracy theorists and far-right sympathisers were sending invitations to join the protests, using every type of social media. The invitations were alarming and very aggressive. The country had begun tough lockdown measures in October, and by December schools and non-essential shops were shut down. The decision to restrict people further came in the middle of a political crisis after prime minister Mark Rutte resigned over a corruption scandal involving child tax benefits. His cabinet will continue to govern until the 17 March elections, which have now taken on a greater significance.

Greece and Turkey were on the verge of military confrontation last August, after Turkey launched its seismic survey ship and a small naval fleet to explore for undersea oil and gas in Eastern Mediterranean waters which Greece claims as part of its exclusion zone, but Turkey disputes this. Although these zones do not entail the absolute sovereignty that territorial waters do, they give countries rights of exploration and exploitation of mineral and living resources. Last week, Greece doubled the extent of its western territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to twelve nautical miles - the maximum allowed by the UN. The possibility of conflict has alarmed both NATO, of which Greece and Turkey are members, and the EU. However, on 25 January Greece and Turkey announced they will begin exploratory talks in Istanbul, with the aim of setting maritime boundaries.

Large numbers of Irish trucks have begun transporting goods via ferries to France, to avoid delays on the more traditional route to continental Europe via Britain, which withdrew from EU trading rules on 1 January. Ireland's transport minister said that France may now require rapid Covid tests from Irish truck drivers operating on this route. The new measures would target the more infectious variant of the coronavirus first discovered in England but now widespread in Ireland. The PCR Covid test can take several days. However, a much quicker antigen test can give results in minutes. Whichever test the French decide on, the truckers will have to manage it and ensure they do it without disrupting supply chains. (France’s demand for Covid tests from British drivers in December caused significant delays and disruption.)

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a centre-right party, has elected Armin Laschet, the pragmatic governor of Germany's most populous state, as its new leader - sending a signal of continuity before the 26 September election. The vote is not the final word on who will be the centre-right candidate for Chancellor, but Laschet will either run himself or will have a big say in who does. He is viewed as more in line with Merkel's pragmatic centrism, and spoke of the value of continuity and moderation. ‘We must speak clearly but not polarise. We must be able to integrate, hold society together.’ The decision ends an 11-month leadership limbo in the CDU. Angela Merkel, who has been Chancellor since 2005, is not seeking a fifth term.

Caskets are stacked three high in the crematorium, piled up in empty offices, and stored in hallways. Many are sealed with plastic, others labelled ‘infection risk,’ ‘urgent’, or ‘Covid’. A surge of coronavirus deaths has boosted crematorium businesses but nobody is celebrating. There are 300 bodies waiting to be cremated, and dozens more arrive every day. Schaldach, the crematorium owner, said comments on social media are saying reports of bodies piling up at his crematorium are fake news. Franziska Schlieter. who runs a food store,feels easing the lockdown over Christmas was a mistake. She said, ‘In the Bible, God sent people plagues when they didn’t behave. Sometimes I have to think of that.’ Officials hope that stricter rules, and people obeying them, will bring infection rates and the death toll down. See

Deep snow left by Storm Filomena turned to ice, disrupting transport and lowering temperatures to -25C (-13F). The elderly are warned to stay at home. At least seven people have died due to the weather. ‘We are going to have this cold for a few more days, but we all pull together’, Yoli Asensio said, ‘Day-to-day life is difficult, access to homes and roads are blocked.’ There were 1,200 fracture cases in one day, caused by accidents on the ice - an average of fifty an hour. 1,300 snow-clearing vehicles managed to push snow off 12,100km of roads, to keep them ice-free. In contrast, Greece is basking in unusually warm weather, with Athens recording temperatures of 23C (73.4F) - the average January temperature is 10C.

Days after a ‘mutant’ coronavirus strain ruined Christmas plans of holidaymakers on both sides of the Channel, red tape and confusion have raised hurdles for Britons attempting to return to their homes in several European countries. They are now regarded as ‘third-country nationals’, and some were barred from boarding flights bound for the countries where they live. Others have complained of difficulties accessing the social benefits to which they are entitled. Most complaints involved flights to Spain, home to the largest number of registered Britons in Europe, though the Spanish authorities claimed that the issue had been resolved by mid-Sunday. Italy, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands all experienced travel problems for UK residents trying to return home, and there were reports of violations of the withdrawal agreement guaranteeing their rights.

Russian aggression has taken on many different forms. The most glaring example remains the undeclared and ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, which has cost over 14,000 lives and displaced millions. President Putin has also deployed hybrid Russian forces around the world, unleashed teams of assassins, and attempted at least one coup in the Balkans. Russian hackers have set new standards in cyberwarfare, targeting everything from political parties to essential infrastructure. Meanwhile, Moscow has funnelled support to political extremists and separatist movements throughout the EU and beyond, aided and abetted at every turn by a vast Kremlin-backed disinformation machine that has succeeded in comprehensively polluting the internet. The aim is not to defeat the West, but to secure its own position by undermining the allure of the liberal traditions and democratic institutions that allow the Western world to dominate the global imagination.

Across Europe there will be further lockdowns, curfews and travel bans as the number of people infected with Covid has increased. Italy’s prime minister Giuseppe Conte summed it up when he told Italians to expect a ‘more sober Christmas, without Christmas Eve gatherings, hugs and kisses’. We can pray for people to honour the various restrictions on public gatherings and to obey curfews where they have been imposed. Pray particularly for friends and families to exercise restraint on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Pray also for countries which will be easing restrictions prior to Christmas; may the public act wisely to avoid any further unnecessary sickness and deaths. See The EU drug regulator will meet on 21 December to decide whether to authorise the jab after desperate EU countries said the agency risked losing the trust of EU citizens if it did not act fast.

'Christmas reminds us that Jesus is our peace, our joy, our strength, our comfort’, Pope Francis said at the Vatican’s traditional lighting ceremony: ‘Let there be light.’ A 30-metre-tall spruce was placed just off-centre in St Peter’s Square. It was lit during a small and socially distanced ceremony as prelates invoked a spirit of peace and encounter after a year marked by the Covid pandemic. Across Europe there have been public unveiling of nativity scenes, lighted trees, angels, and other Christian symbols. We can pray that all who see these artistic creations will be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.