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United Kingdom

Queen speaks of 'deep affection' for Scotland as she opens parliament

The party of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants independence from Britain and, if it is ever secured, it's unclear whether the Queen would remain head of state.

Netherlands

No new government, but Dutch King still opens parliament

Dutch King Willem-Alexander outlined a pared-back government plan for the coming year in his traditional speech opening the new parliamentary term.

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Russians voters express their views

Russians vote in a three-day parliamentary election in which most vocal Kremlin critics have been barred from running following a historic crackdown on the opposition.

Estonia

Estonia fails to elect President after rejecting sole candidate

Estonia’s Parliament on Monday failed to elect a new president to the Baltic country after lawmakers rejected the only candidate in the first round of voting.

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Tunisia

Tunisia grapples with its biggest political crisis in a decade

Two weeks after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze the activities of parliament, Tunisia is still facing its biggest crisis in a decade of democracy.

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South Sudan swears in new parliament vowed under peace deal

Hundreds of legislators were sworn into a newly created national parliament, a long-awaited condition of a fragile peace agreement.

Republic of North Macedonia

Former North Macedonian leaders convicted of 2017 parliament attack

Four ex-senior officials including the former President of the parliament were sentenced to up to six-and-a-half years in prison for organising the attack.

United Kingdom

UK government wins vote for controversial cut to foreign aid budget

The British parliament voted on Tuesday to cut the aid budget, despite some high profile politicians from the ruling Conservative party voting against the move.

Sweden

Stefan Löfven reappointed Swedish Prime Minister after parliament vote

Sweden's parliament voted to approve caretaker prime minister Stefan Löfven to lead a new coalition government.

Poland

Poland's conservatives formally lose majority in parliament

Three rebel lawmakers have left Poland's ruling Law and Justice party, leaving the conservatives two seats short of a majority in parliament.

Malta

Proposal to decriminalise abortion in Malta sparks debate

A proposal to decriminalise abortion in Malta has stirred up a debate in the country with the EU's strictest abortion laws.

Bulgaria

President's ally is Bulgaria's caretaker PM ahead of July election

His temporary appointment brings an end to the tenure of Boyko Borisov, who had dominated Bulgarian politics since 2009.

Belgium

Belgium's parliament and universities hit by cyber attack

Belnet said 200 of their customers were affected, including universities, public administrations, and research institutes.

Germany

Angela Merkel denies lobbying for Wirecard on 2019 trip to China

Wirecard collapsed last June amid a major accounting scandal that left a €1.9 billion hole in its books.

France

France adopts law criminalising sex with children aged under 15

French Parliament adopts a law that sets the age of consent at 15 years old, and 18 years old in the case of incest.

France

French MPs pass controversial law that restricts images of police

The bill will make it an offence to maliciously share images of French police online, where the officer can be identified.

Russia

Russian parliament passes law that could keep Putin in office to 2036

Russia's lower house of parliament has passed a law allowing acting President Vladimir Putin to run for two more terms.

Portugal

Portugal's constitutional court blocks law decriminalising euthanasia

The court said the law is too imprecise in identifying the circumstances under which assisted suicide procedures can occur.

Turkey

Turkey slams Dutch bid to recognise massacre of Armenians as genocide

Turkey has strongly denounced a motion by the Dutch parliament to formally recognise the 1915 massacre of Armenians as genocide.

Germany

Germany charges man with passing Bundestag floor plans to Russia

A German man has been charged with espionage for allegedly passing information on properties used by the German parliament to Russian military intelligence.