They are diligently stoking thousands of bonfires on the ground close to their crops, but the French winemakers are fighting a losing battle. An above-average warm spell at the end of March has been followed by days of extreme frost, destroying the vines with losses amounting to 90 percent above average. The image of the struggle may well be the most depressingly beautiful illustration of the complexities and unpredictability of global climate warming. It is also an agricultural disaster from Bordeaux to Champagne.

Germany’s largest trade union, IG Metall, agreed a 2.3% wage increase, to be paid either in full or as part of a switch to a four-day week, in a key industrial region, setting the benchmark for 3.9 million metal and engineering workers nationwide.

Europe’s lawmakers have a message for “gig-economy” companies—get negotiating with unions and other workers’ representatives, or face new EU-wide legislation. On Wednesday, the European Commission launched an initial consultation on improving working conditions for people who provide services through digital platforms such as Uber and Deliveroo. It said the COVID-19 pandemic had highlighted both the value of such services and the “vulnerable situation” of those offering them, putting the health and safety of delivery people, for instance, at risk.

Google is facing a 'very large investigation' into its advertising business, the EU's competition commissioner has said. Margrethe Vestager issued the warning during an online event on Friday which was reported by Bloomburg.

A fire destroyed some servers and temporarily shutdown others at OVHcloud on Wednesday, just two days after the French cloud computing firm kicked off plans for an initial public offering.

Swiss voters approved a proposition Sunday banning facial coverings in public. Niqabs and burqas, worn by almost no one even among the country's Muslim population, will be banned outside of religious institutions. The new law doesn't apply to facial coverings for health reasons.

In the late 1700s, a large percentage of Europeans feared the tomato. A nickname for the fruit was the “poison apple” because it was thought that aristocrats got sick and died after eating them, but the truth of the matter was that wealthy Europeans used pewter plates, which were high in lead content. Because tomatoes are so high in acidity, when placed on this particular tableware, the fruit would leach lead from the plate, resulting in many deaths from lead poisoning.

Oatly CMO John Schoolcraft and Mintel analyst Ed Bergen explain why the plant-based food market is booming in Europe.

Three Polish women have been found not guilty of offending religious feelings over posters depicting the Virgin Mary with a rainbow halo. The activists displayed the images in 2019 in response to an Easter display describing "gender" and "LGBT" as sins. The icon used in the artwork, "Our Lady of Czestochowa", is revered by many Polish Catholics.

Poland’s government is seeking to introduce retirement benefits for dogs and horses that have served in the police force. Currently, service animals receive no support from the state after finishing work. In practice, this means that retired police dogs are usually adopted by their handlers, who look after them at their own expense, reports Polsat News.

The European Food Safety Agency has found that the yellow mealworm is safe for human consumption, paving the way for EU-wide sales.

Germany, Poland and Sweden have each expelled a Russian diplomat in a coordinated act of retaliation over the expulsion of three EU officials by Moscow while the bloc’s foreign policy chief was visiting last week.

The protesters who marched through the Polish capital's icy streets on Friday night had a clear message for the government over its imposition this week of a near-total ban on abortions: We will stand up for women's rights. It was the third day of protests since the ruling came into effect -- and marked 100 days of protests since Poland's constitutional tribunal court first handed down its controversial ruling, sparking weeks of mass demonstrations.

Germany s economy minister says the country beat its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 40% last year compared to 1990 levels. Peter Altmaier said figures show Germany's emissions of planet-heating gases were 42% lower in 2020 than three decades ago, confounding warnings that the country couldn't meet its goal

A Belgian ban on kosher and halal slaughter of animals without being stunned has been backed by the European Court of Justice, which rejected objections by religious groups. The EU's highest court backed a Flemish decision to require the use of stunning for livestock on animal rights grounds.

EU antitrust regulators will decide by March 5 whether to clear Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the U.S. tech giant’s biggest gaming acquisition to better compete with Sony Corp’s PlayStation. Microsoft requested European Commission approval for the deal on Jan. 29, a filing on the EU executive’s website showed.

Shoppers tell of shock at unexpected bills for VAT or customs declarations as some retailers stop shipping to continent

A church bell that dates back to 1555 will be returned to its home in Poland, 77 years after it was plundered by the Nazis in World War Two. Parishioners at Slawiecice in southern Poland began searching for the church's old bell two years ago. They were in luck because, as the Münster diocese in Germany explained, the Nazis melted down some 80,000 bells to make weapons or ammunition.

The European Union has banned all non-recyclable plastic waste being shipped to developing nations from 1 January. The large quantity of plastic sent to the Global South is often not being properly treated. A lot of this waste ends up either in landfill, the ocean, or being incinerated because these countries often don’t have the capacity to sustainably treat the waste.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny duped a Russian FSB state agent into revealing details of an attack on him with the nerve agent Novichok, the investigative group Bellingcat reports. Mr Navalny reportedly impersonated a security official to call the agent. The agent, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, told him the Novichok had been placed in a pair of Mr Navalny's underpants.