This archive covers progress stories and milestones from across Europe, spanning health, climate policy, social equity, and scientific research. From small-nation experiments to E.U.-wide initiatives, these reports highlight what is working and why.
Sainsbury’s in the U.K., Lidl in the Netherlands, and the Dutch retailer Alhold Delhaize were among the companies saying they would move away from stocking Brazilian beef.
So far this year, renewable sources have contributed almost 47% of the country’s total consumption needs compared to less than 30% a decade ago.
Conversion therapy practitioners can face prison time and fines because “homosexuality and trans identity aren’t sicknesses that can be cured.”
Malta has become the first European Union country to legalize personal cannabis cultivation and use, with parliament passing the bill 36 to 27. Adults can now grow up to four plants at home and carry small amounts without facing criminal charges, while regulated nonprofit associations will handle distribution. Minors found with cannabis will be referred to care or treatment rather than arrested — a quiet but meaningful shift toward treating drug use as a health matter, not a crime. With Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland moving in similar directions, Malta’s vote signals that laws once considered politically untouchable are being reimagined across Europe, opening space for more humane approaches to drug policy worldwide.
Scotland has marked the end of its coal-powered history by demolishing the huge chimney at its last remaining coal plant at Longannet in Fife.
The 500 million acres of forests may be the last significant land-based tropical carbon sink in the world, making the forests vitally important in the global fight against climate change.
Animals will no longer be able to be seized, abandoned, mistreated, or separated from one of their owners, without having their well-being and protection taken into account.
Since 2015, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, Colombia, Germany, Austria, Portugal, five Australian states, ten American states, and D.C. have legalized assisted dying.
Milan is the world’s first major city to enforce a citywide food waste policy, relying on the wide-ranging cooperation of public agencies, food banks, charities, NGOs, universities, and private businesses.
The Pego plant located 90 miles northeast of Lisbon stopped generating over the weekend, as Portugal became the fourth E.U. country to stop burning coal to produce electricity.
