Europe Austria With the start of the tendering process for online casino licences, online gambling operators expect an end to the decades-long gambling monopoly and the opening of the online market
Europe Montenegro Over 1.500 weapons have been handed in so far during the weapons amnesty introduced by the government following the mass shooting on New Year's Eve; experts warn that without greater law enforcement, illegal weapons will continue to flourish
Europe Liechtenstein Liechtenstein is urged to improve the identification of victims of human trafficking and to step up efforts to prevent and combat trafficking for labour exploitation; the call comes from the EU Experts Group on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
Europe Malta Leave for urgent family reasons will increase to 32 hours per year starting from the 4 April 2025, which is double the previous allowance of 15 hours
Europe Moldova The European Union will support Moldova with €250 million this year to help strengthen the country's energy security
Europe Poland Poland's largest utility Polska Grupa Energetyczna has signed a €400 million agreement loan with the European Investment Bank for the design and construction of Baltica 2, the EU's largest offshore wind farm
Europe Hungary The average monthly net income of young adults rose to HUF 234.000 (€574) at the end of last year, up from HUF 200.000 the year before, and doubled from 2019
Europe France The country will double its defence budget in the near future, President Emmanuel Macron announced, urging EU leaders to increase military spending
Europe Croatia Croatia's first satellite, CroCube, launched on 21 December 2024, successfully captured and transmitted its first images of Croatia from space
Europe Denmark Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil, candidate for mayor of Copenhagen, has made public her plan over Airbnb's rules in Copenhagen: one would only be allowed to rent the house of the address registered as usual living
Europe Estonia Inequality between the skills of different generations is growing faster in Estonia than in other OECD countries, increasing the risk of marginalisation among the least qualified adults
Europe Iceland Iceland Foods is reintroducing plastic trays in response to consumer dissatisfaction with vacuum-packed minced meat; vacuum-sealed packages were designed to contain 50% less plastic and reduce the retailer's annual consumption by 35 tonnes
Europe Kosovo Extremism in Kosovo remains limited, but conditions for its spread persist, according to a report by the Pristina-based think tank Sbunker