Europe
The Sacrificed Mountains
Under the banner of a “green transition,” the EU is rushing to revive mining to secure critical raw materials. Plans to build large, open-pit mines in northeastern Portugal have been met with strong opposition from local communities, who are contesting the state’s authority to grant mining licenses without their consent.
The Farmers Who Beat the EU
Faced with angry demonstrations from farmers who say EU environmental policies are destroying their ability to make a living, Brussels canceled a plan to reduce agricultural emissions significantly by 2040. The reason: farmers are lending their influence to far-right politicians like Geert Wilders, whose party won the most seats in the last Dutch election.
How a Priest’s Accusation May Crush Georgia’s EU Dreams
Georgia’s bid to join the European Union involves a story of cloak-and-dagger intrigue that has seen one of the world’s oldest churches engulfed in accusations of political sabotage, factional backstabbing and secret sex affairs.
The Struggle for a Reckoning With Soviet Crimes
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, condemnation of the crimes committed by its autocratic government could have allowed for “history [to] develop in some other ways,” Tomak says. This might have given Russia and Belarus the opportunity to transform their political structures. Instead, “Putin is like a successor to the USSR.”
The Human Toll of Europe’s ‘War on Smuggling’
All over Europe, thousands of migrants languish in jail on dubious charges of association with smugglers. A New Lines investigation sheds light on how the continent’s anti-smuggling laws punish innocent migrants and asylum seekers.
The Rise of the House of Osman — with Marc David Baer
For this third installment in our series on the fall of the Ottomans, historian Marc David Baer joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai to look back at the 600 years of history that preceded their ultimate collapse.
Even After Decades, Europe’s Turkish Diaspora Struggles for Recognition
Today, Turkish diaspora communities encompassing roughly 5.5 million people are spread across Europe, forming one of the continent’s largest migrant groups and the largest Muslim-majority community. But 60 years and at least four generations later, many people from the Turkish diaspora still feel like second-class citizens in Europe.