28 English-language news outlets in Europe to follow

Credit: By Christian Lue on Unsplash

European news goes beyond the EU, and beyond the UK's closest neighbours, so seeking out new perspectives will give you additional context to improve your own reporting.

Perhaps another country has successfully faced a problem that your own community is struggling with, or maybe you will find that a development you are reporting on locally is part of a Europe-wide trend.

Below we have rounded up (in no particular order) a range of publications to follow if you want to stay up to date with what is happening in Europe. Each of them provides local reporting, with many offering analysis, investigations or features alongside news updates and a wide choice of podcasts and newsletters.

Whether you want to learn about one country in detail, follow EU affairs, or add extra nuance to your reporting on cross-border topics such as climate solutions or political polarisation, adding one or more of these outlets to your news diet should help.

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Europe-wide

Politico Europe: Politico's Europe edition is the place to find in-depth political analysis from across the continent, including EU-UK relations but also diving into national affairs with a range of podcasts and newsletters too.

EUObserver: If you want to keep up to date on European Union news, this not-for-profit news organisation covers the EU and its member states with daily updates and a podcast.

Euronews: Available in English as well as over a dozen other languages, Euronews offers short video and text content as well as a range of longer programmes on themes such as climate, culture and tech news.

Are We Europe: Specialising in long-form features and investigations that explore European issues, Are We Europe is an independent membership-based media. This is not the place for your daily news updates, but for slow journalism telling cross-border stories.

The Local: Targeting people living outside their home countries, The Local covers Western Europe (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) with brief news updates published each weekday, as well as features exploring elements of national lifestyle and culture. It offers newsletters from each of its nine countries plus podcasts about French and Swedish news.

Transitions: Independent journalism covering Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, Turkey, and Eurasia with a mix of news, features and analysis and a particular focus on solutions-oriented stories from the region. Transitions also publishes a newsletter, The Beat.

Balkan Insight: The English-language website from the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network is the place to find independent news, analysis and investigations from Southern and Eastern Europe. The BIRN collaborates with other international media so their work is regularly republished by outlets such as The Economist, the BBC or the Guardian.

Sifted: For anyone covering the tech or startup beats, FT-backed Sifted follows news and trends from across Europe.

The Bulletin: Serving Belgium’s international community since 1962, The Bulletin's mission is to keep its readers up-to-date with local news and events, and to provide a platform where they can interact, share information and get the most out of life in Belgium.

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National focus

Deutsche Welle: Germany's multilingual broadcaster is the starting point for your news from Germany in English, with high quality reporting, analysis and features. You can stay updated via the weekly Berlin Briefing (which actually covers national news) or watch its TV programmes online.

France24: Broadcasting in English among other languages, you can follow France24's news online or catch up on the programmes France in Focus or FrancEurope.

Le Monde in English: Describing itself as offering "a French and European vision of current events to the English-speaking world", Le Monde in English is a relatively recent venture from the French national daily, with a particular focus on French politics.

SwissInfo: Switzerland's public broadcaster puts out news content in ten languages including English, allowing you to catch up on daily news, learn about Swiss culture or follow a few different podcasts.

The Brussels Times: Follow Belgium's daily news, including but certainly not limited to EU affairs and the Belgian capital. Also in Belgium, Flemish broadcaster VRT offers an English-language news service.

Dutch News: This is another outlet aimed at foreign residents of the country, and offers regular news as well as cultural and lifestyle explainers on its website and in the daily newsletter.

Kyiv Independent: Only launched in November 2021 (albeit by experienced journalists who were fired from their former newsroom amid attempts to undermine its independence), the Kyiv Independent has already become a go-to source for reporting on the Russian war in Ukraine. The conflict is the main story the outlet currently covers, with news updates, analysis and a podcast.

The Moscow Times and Meduza are among the rare independent news outlets covering Russia. Expect deep dives into the country's biggest problems and meticulous Russia-Ukraine war coverage.

Gazeta Wyborcza: One of the main independent Polish-language news sites, publishes some content in English - you can also sign up to the weekly newsletter 'Democracy at Stake' to get regular news about politics and threats to democracy in the country.

Notes from Poland: This independent publication offers comprehensive coverage of the Polish news in English, plus analysis of the latest events in the country.

ERR News is the English-language website of Estonian Public Broadcasting. Go here for news, analysis and current affairs reporting. LSM+ is a similar service from the public broadcaster in Latvia and you also have LRT.lt in Lithuania if you want a complete picture of what is going on in the Baltic countries.

YLA brings comprehensive English-language coverage about Finland for television, radio and online audiences. Apart from top domestic stories of the day, you can also enjoy their weekly podcasts All Points North, and various radio bulletins.

Radio Sweden focuses on current affairs and other domestic stories and offers a daily and weekly podcast in English if you prefer to get your news in audio format.

Telex: Hungary's Telex was founded in similar circumstances to the Kyiv Independent, when the staff of Index resigned en masse following threats to the newspaper's independence and the firing of its editor. Find engaging news in text and video about Hungary in English, both about political developments and more lighthearted issues such as the origins of goulash.

Kathimerini English Edition is great for following the news from Greece. The first offers daily news and weekly newsletters, with analysis and opinion alongside updates from the region, while Athens Live focuses on investigative storytelling.

This list is not exhaustive, so please let us know if you want to suggest other useful resources for European news in English, either by emailing editor Marcela Kunova at marcela@journalism.co.uk, or tweeting us @journalismnews. We also plan a future article summarising English-language news outlets to follow from beyond Europe's borders, so please send your suggestions. We want to hear from you!

Note: This article was originally published on 1 August 2022 and updated on 15 August 2024 with new publications.

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