Multilingualism is one of the founding principles of the European Union, but only one in five Europeans can speak two languages other than their own – even though the picture is improving. What really makes the difference is the effectiveness of language teaching and exposure to foreign languages.
In order to increase security, capacity and competitiveness of European railways, the European Commission is encouraging the adoption of a common railway signage system throughout the entire EU, which is called ERTMS. Its implementation is much more expensive and slow than anticipated however.
Greece takes the bloody lead in terms of deaths and injuries in rail accidents in the EU, with about 25 victims per year. Problems are mainly caused by unsafe level crossings, poor infrastructure and traffic management systems, and understaffed companies.
There are almost 2000 species of bees in Europe, and at least 9% of them are threatened. What can be done by the EU institutions?
Greece has a new center-right government since summer 2019. Its approach to migration differs sharply from its predecessor’s, as more controls and constraints are imposed on asylum seekers. The government claims that the system will become more efficient, but some organisations are unconvinced.
While it may seem that the refugee-migration crisis is over, more than 100,000 migrants and refugees are still present in Greece. Many of them live in refugee camps, which are not appropriate accommodation solutions because of their location in faraway, poorly connected areas.
Passenger train services are heavily subsidised in Greece, taking advantage of loopholes and delays allowed by EU law. A new memorandum signed by the government keeps state aid and TrainOSE’s monopoly in place, despite the fact that many routes are not operated and citizens are not happy with the service they receive.
After the abolition of direct public funding of politics in 2013, Italy intended to increase private donations. However, the numbers tell a different story: little funding comes from “big donors”, while a lot comes from elected representatives. Meanwhile, the absence of direct public funding in Italy remains a European anomaly.
EDJNet's large investigation on trains in Europe compared the accessibility of train stations, the price of tickets and the speed of train travel. Slovenia performs well in terms of accessibility and price, and much worse in average speed.
The number of individuals under 19 living in EU member states other than their place of birth has risen by nearly half a million in the past five years. Overall, they account for 7 per cent of all minors in the EU: most of them come Asia and the Middle East, but inter-EU migrations are also strong.
