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 Sweden has reached its target of fewer than five percent of the population smoking regularly – and is consequently considered "smoke-free". https://www.thelocal.com/20260525/incredible-milestone-reached-as-sweden-becomes-a-smoke-free-country Mon, 25 May 2026 08:36:36 +0200 incredible-milestone-reached-as-sweden-becomes-a-smoke-free-country A self-driving bus was involved in a crash with a tram on its first day carrying passengers in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. https://www.thelocal.com/20260525/self-driving-bus-in-gothenburg-crashes-with-tram-on-first-day Mon, 25 May 2026 14:15:57 +0200 self-driving-bus-in-gothenburg-crashes-with-tram-on-first-day A two-year-old boy who went missing on Sunday morning at Nyåker, 60 kilometres west of Umeå in northern Sweden, has been found alive. https://www.thelocal.com/20260525/missing-toddler-in-northern-sweden-found-alive-after-over-14-hours Mon, 25 May 2026 08:31:09 +0200 missing-toddler-in-northern-sweden-found-alive-after-over-14-hours France refused entry to 200 British citizens in 2025, latest EU data shows, with most refused because they either did not have the correct paperwork or had previously over-stayed the 90-day limit. https://www.thelocal.com/20260519/france-refuses-entry-to-hundreds-of-brits Tue, 19 May 2026 12:22:13 +0200 france-refuses-entry-to-hundreds-of-brits French authorities suspended the European Union's new digital border check system at Britain's Port of Dover on Saturday, as traffic piled up at the UK ferry terminal at the start of the long weekend. https://www.thelocal.com/20260523/ees-border-system-suspended-at-dover-amid-bank-holiday-chaos Sat, 23 May 2026 16:12:06 +0200 ees-border-system-suspended-at-dover-amid-bank-holiday-chaos Germany's Flix transport company said Friday it intends to double rail services in the country over the next two years, putting more pressure on beleaguered public operator Deutsche Bahn. https://www.thelocal.com/20260523/germanys-flixtrain-to-double-train-services Sat, 23 May 2026 08:23:47 +0200 germanys-flixtrain-to-double-train-services The Talking France podcast returns this week with a look at the major controversy that kicked off at the Cannes Film Festival, a few things you need to know about renovating a French home, and why Britons have been refused entry into the country in recent months. https://www.thelocal.com/20260521/podcast-france-frets-over-contaminated-baguettes-and-how-to-avoid-renovation-nightmares Thu, 21 May 2026 08:20:51 +0200 podcast-france-frets-over-contaminated-baguettes-and-how-to-avoid-renovation-nightmares Staff at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport have issued a strike call for June in a dispute over working conditions and security regulations. https://www.thelocal.com/20260522/paris-airport-staff-call-june-strike Fri, 22 May 2026 12:43:38 +0200 paris-airport-staff-call-june-strike Germany is moving to lower air travel taxes from July of this year. The move could trim a few euros off ticket prices, but will travellers actually notice the difference? https://www.thelocal.com/20260522/will-passengers-really-benefit-after-germany-cut-its-air-travel-tax Fri, 22 May 2026 11:03:58 +0200 will-passengers-really-benefit-after-germany-cut-its-air-travel-tax A Paris appeals court on Thursday found Air France and Airbus guilty of involuntary manslaughter over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight that killed 228 people, the worst disaster in France's aviation history. https://www.thelocal.com/20260521/french-court-finds-air-france-and-airbus-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-over-2009-crash Thu, 21 May 2026 14:47:50 +0200 french-court-finds-air-france-and-airbus-guilty-of-involuntary-manslaughter-over-2009-crash Budget airline Ryanair has repeatedly slashed flights from Berlin citing high taxes and costs. Now Eurowings has announced plans to takeover some of those routes and add others. https://www.thelocal.com/20260521/eurowings-to-takes-over-routes-from-berlin-as-ryanair-pulls-out Thu, 21 May 2026 11:17:59 +0200 eurowings-to-takes-over-routes-from-berlin-as-ryanair-pulls-out In the first six months of operation of the new EU digital border system, the Entry-Exit System (EES), almost 7,000 travellers were denied entry into Europe's border-free Schengen area because they stayed beyond their permitted time limit, a European Commission report has revealed. https://www.thelocal.com/20260520/ees-7000-overstayers-snared-since-launch-of-eus-new-schengen-border-checks Wed, 20 May 2026 14:37:30 +0200 ees-7000-overstayers-snared-since-launch-of-eus-new-schengen-border-checks The launch of an investigation into the awarding of contracts by a French mayor wouldn't normally merit headline news - but this mayor is one of the favourites for France's crucial 2027 presidential election. https://www.thelocal.com/20260520/explained-could-an-embezzlement-probe-cost-french-centrist-philippe-the-election Wed, 20 May 2026 14:14:10 +0200 explained-could-an-embezzlement-probe-cost-french-centrist-philippe-the-election EU lawmakers and member states reached a deal in the early hours of Wednesday to implement the bloc's nearly year-old trade pact with the United States, with President Donald Trump threatening new tariffs unless it is done by July 4th. https://www.thelocal.com/20260520/eu-agrees-to-implement-us-trade-pact-after-trump-threats Wed, 20 May 2026 09:15:17 +0200 eu-agrees-to-implement-us-trade-pact-after-trump-threats Sweden's government is set to buy four new frigates for its navy from France's Naval Group in what it called "a very large international defence-industrial deal". https://www.thelocal.com/20260519/sweden-to-buy-four-new-frigates-from-france-in-major-defence-deal Tue, 19 May 2026 10:38:06 +0200 sweden-to-buy-four-new-frigates-from-france-in-major-defence-deal France and Turkey have the highest levels of prison overcrowding among Council of Europe member states, with 131 inmates for every 100 places, a specially commissioned report said Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.com/20260519/france-and-turkey-have-most-overcrowded-jails-in-europe Tue, 19 May 2026 10:09:25 +0200 france-and-turkey-have-most-overcrowded-jails-in-europe The 2028 Tour de France will embark from Reims in the French champagne region, organisers ASO revealed on Monday. https://www.thelocal.com/20260518/champagne-start-in-reims-for-2028-tour-de-france Mon, 18 May 2026 16:44:05 +0200 champagne-start-in-reims-for-2028-tour-de-france The number of people refused entry to the EU and Schengen area has risen dramatically, according to new statistics, while thousands of US, UK and Indian nationals have been found to be illegally present in EU/Schengen countries. https://www.thelocal.com/20260518/trend-will-continue-number-of-people-refused-entry-to-europe-on-the-rise Mon, 18 May 2026 15:58:26 +0200 trend-will-continue-number-of-people-refused-entry-to-europe-on-the-rise Inter Ikea Group, the holding company that oversees Ikea, is cutting 850 jobs, including 300 in Sweden. https://www.thelocal.com/20260518/ikea-to-cut-more-than-800-jobs-including-300-in-sweden Mon, 18 May 2026 13:03:03 +0200 ikea-to-cut-more-than-800-jobs-including-300-in-sweden Sweden and India are set to double their trade and investment over the next five years, in a new strategic partnership penned during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Gothenburg. https://www.thelocal.com/20260518/sweden-and-india-forge-strategic-partnership-to-double-economic-exchange Mon, 18 May 2026 10:08:06 +0200 sweden-and-india-forge-strategic-partnership-to-double-economic-exchange