https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Europe in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed The EU laid out plans Thursday for strict age limits for children to access social media, games and AI assistants -- and on forcing companies to make platforms safe before minors use them. https://www.thelocal.com/20260917/explained-what-would-change-for-kids-and-social-media-under-new-eu-law Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:15:32 +0200 explained-what-would-change-for-kids-and-social-media-under-new-eu-law The European Union will ban social media for children under 13 and allow only limited, supervised access until the age of 15 under plans unveiled Wednesday by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. https://www.thelocal.com/20260916/europe-has-power-to-act-eu-to-ban-social-media-for-under-13s Wed, 16 Sep 2026 11:27:10 +0200 europe-has-power-to-act-eu-to-ban-social-media-for-under-13s Spain is a fantastic country to bring up kids thanks to the weather, the safety and Spaniards' overall love of children, but that doesn't mean there aren't aspects of Spanish child-rearing that surprise foreigners. https://www.thelocal.com/20240919/the-strange-things-spanish-parents-do-raising-their-children Thu, 19 Sep 2024 13:02:03 +0200 the-strange-things-spanish-parents-do-raising-their-children So you want to get hitched in Sweden? Here's how. https://www.thelocal.com/20190805/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-getting-married-in-sweden Mon, 05 Aug 2019 16:44:37 +0200 heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-getting-married-in-sweden Living in Austria doesn’t necessarily mean that every part of an international inheritance will be handled under Austrian rules. https://www.thelocal.com/20260805/which-countrys-inheritance-law-applies-if-you-live-in-austria Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:59:45 +0200 which-countrys-inheritance-law-applies-if-you-live-in-austria Shima and Bijan left the UK for Sweden seven years ago with their young daughter. If they knew then what they know now about Sweden's approach to family immigration, they say they would never have come. https://www.thelocal.com/20260820/dividing-families-iranian-academics-slam-swedens-medieval-family-immigration-laws Thu, 20 Aug 2026 07:58:26 +0200 dividing-families-iranian-academics-slam-swedens-medieval-family-immigration-laws Lawmakers in France are scheduled to vote on Tuesday to ban social media for under-15s -- one of 20 countries worldwide to have proposed or introduced such measures, with many of them in Europe. https://www.thelocal.com/20260713/eu-to-limit-childrens-access-to-social-media Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:02:47 +0200 eu-to-limit-childrens-access-to-social-media Raising a child is expensive, but in Germany parents also get supportive benefits, as well as affordable childcare and health insurance. Here's a look at how much it really costs to raise a family here. https://www.thelocal.com/20260318/how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children-in-germany Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:13:46 +0100 how-much-does-it-cost-to-raise-children-in-germany Sweden's Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari brought her baby to an EU meeting, in a barrier-breaking move she said showed it was possible to be both "a present minister and a present mother". https://www.thelocal.com/20260625/present-minister-and-mother-swedens-environment-minister-brings-baby-to-eu-meeting Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:52:37 +0200 present-minister-and-mother-swedens-environment-minister-brings-baby-to-eu-meeting The Swedish government plans to push ahead with proposals for a mandatory language preschool, despite its own official investigator warning against the move. https://www.thelocal.com/20260616/swedish-government-to-push-ahead-with-mandatory-language-preschool-despite-legal-warnings Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:19:10 +0200 swedish-government-to-push-ahead-with-mandatory-language-preschool-despite-legal-warnings When I moved to Umeå with my Swedish husband, our two-year-old understood Swedish but spoke only in English. After a month of preschool in Sweden, that flipped – long before I could follow along, writes The Local's Mandy Pipher. https://www.thelocal.com/20260529/the-hardest-part-of-moving-to-sweden-suddenly-not-understanding-my-own-child Fri, 29 May 2026 09:52:09 +0200 the-hardest-part-of-moving-to-sweden-suddenly-not-understanding-my-own-child Sweden's public health agency announced it was recommending that parents not give children their own smartphones before the age of 13, citing several risks associated with their use. https://www.thelocal.com/20260612/swedish-public-health-agency-recommends-no-smartphones-for-children-under-13 Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:46:01 +0200 swedish-public-health-agency-recommends-no-smartphones-for-children-under-13 Sweden's government tasked the public health agency last autumn to compile research on how parental screen use affects children. Now the results are in and the recommendations are clear: parents should stay off their phones around their kids. https://www.thelocal.com/20260602/public-health-agency-of-sweden-tells-parents-to-put-away-their-phones Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:27:59 +0200 public-health-agency-of-sweden-tells-parents-to-put-away-their-phones From where to stay, what to do and how to travel, Berlin-based journalist and mom Rachel Stern lays out some tested tips on going on a family holiday in and around Germany. https://www.thelocal.com/20240710/10-tips-for-travelling-with-kids-in-germany Wed, 10 Jul 2024 14:19:08 +0200 10-tips-for-travelling-with-kids-in-germany The number of babies born in Spain rose slightly for the first time in more than a decade in 2025, official data showed Wednesday, a boost for a country facing one of Europe's most serious demographic crises. https://www.thelocal.com/20260218/births-in-spain-rise-for-first-time-in-over-a-decade Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:59:06 +0100 births-in-spain-rise-for-first-time-in-over-a-decade Germany is known for having a substantial support system, especially for families with kids. So how much do parents tend to spend on childcare and how does it stack up against other countries in Europe? https://www.thelocal.com/20260127/how-does-the-price-of-childcare-in-germany-compare-to-countries-in-europe Tue, 27 Jan 2026 10:51:18 +0100 how-does-the-price-of-childcare-in-germany-compare-to-countries-in-europe In this week's Inside Spain, we look at how attitudes towards relationships, marriage and childbearing are changing quickly in a country where "structural infertility" is rife. https://www.thelocal.com/20251213/inside-spain-a-country-of-singletons-old-mums-and-frozen-eggs Sat, 13 Dec 2025 11:34:47 +0100 inside-spain-a-country-of-singletons-old-mums-and-frozen-eggs Germany's Bundestag on Friday approved a landmark military service law as thousands of school students walked out of classrooms to protest against the return of compulsory assessments for 18-year-olds. https://www.thelocal.com/20251205/german-parliament-passes-military-service-law-as-school-students-protest Fri, 05 Dec 2025 13:48:53 +0100 german-parliament-passes-military-service-law-as-school-students-protest Getting divorced or separating in Sweden is much simpler than in most readers' home countries, and men and women are treated much more equally, according to the readers who answered our survey. But not everyone welcomed these differences. https://www.thelocal.com/20251104/not-seen-as-a-taboo-or-failure-what-its-like-getting-divorced-in-sweden Tue, 04 Nov 2025 15:43:32 +0100 not-seen-as-a-taboo-or-failure-what-its-like-getting-divorced-in-sweden Across Sweden, children are starting or returning to school after the summer holidays. Here are the crucial pieces of Swedish vocabulary that will help international families navigate the school year. https://www.thelocal.com/20190816/the-swedish-words-parents-need-to-know-for-back-to-school-season Fri, 16 Aug 2019 15:58:33 +0200 the-swedish-words-parents-need-to-know-for-back-to-school-season