What 1.2 million Europeans are demanding (and why I care so much)

When I was in an abortion clinic in Utrecht in 2021, I didn't hear any Dutch. The nurse spoke six languages, as all the patients were from other countries: Poland, Italy, Austria, and others. These women had to cross European borders for basic healthcare.

Living in Malta, I know what it's like. We have one of the strictest abortion bans in the world. Abortion is illegal, even in cases of rape, health risks, or your life being at risk (unless three doctors sign). At least two women are currently under investigation for taking abortion pills.

One story I've covered that still haunts me is of a girl who was raped at 17. She thought she couldn't see a gynaecologist without her parents. She bled alone, tried to self-induce, and starved herself, hoping not to ovulate. Her story is just one of many: annually, 600 abortion pills are ordered to Malta, while an estimated 400 women travel abroad.

Millions of women in Europe do not have access to safe abortion. Now, the European Citizens' Initiative 'My Voice, My Choice' aims to end that. It demands that the EU financially supports countries providing abortions, and reimburse those forced to travel.

The aim is to ensure that reproductive rights are not determined by where someone happens to live, but guaranteed throughout the Union. Over 1.2 million people across the EU signed My Voice, My Choice, surpassing the required thresholds in 18 countries.

The next phase moves from grassroots to institutional. The organisers will now present their demands to the European Commission and the European Parliament: to establish a solidarity mechanism that ensures access to abortion is not a privilege of geography.

Happy baby news: gay vulture couple has become parents

At Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, a pair of male vultures has successfully hatched an egg, making them the proud parents of a vulture chick. Zookeepers decided to move the egg from a heterosexual vulture couple that was not taking care of it to the same-sex pair, who have been together since 2018.

When Haitians paid France half a billion euros for independence

To mark the 200th anniversary of Haiti's independence, the French president has pledged to "look history in the face", creating a commission to study the impact of the "double debt" imposed on Haiti in 1825. In 1804, Haiti defeated Napoleon and became the first independent black republic. But in 1825, French King Charles X demanded reparations for lost colonial profit. Haitians became the first slaves having to repay their oppressors.

Though the original debt was paid off by 1883, Haiti continued repaying high-interest loans to French and American banks until 1952, hence the "double" debt. In 1900, 80% of the Haitian state budget was still devoted to debt repayment, while banks were making a profit out of it.

Experts estimate that, without this financial stranglehold, Haiti might now have been on par with the Dominican Republic – its neighbour with public schools, a metro system, and subsidised healthcare – not one of the poorest countries in the world. A 2022 New York Times investigation estimated for the first time the real cost of the debt. The $560 million (€494 million) Haiti paid could have grown into $21 billion if invested domestically.

Indonesia and Brazil were also burdened with high bills for their independence. Both Indonesia and Brazil were burdened with financial penalties as the price of their independence. During negotiations with the Netherlands, Indonesia was forced to take on 4.3 billion guilders of Dutch colonial debt – equivalent to about $103 billion (€90 billion) today. Similarly, Brazil paid Portugal £2 million in 1825 to have its independence officially recognised. It had to borrow that sum from Britain, starting its post-colonial era indebted to a new imperial power.

The money spent on legally defining women by their genitals

Elsie Haldane

"This doesn't come cheap," a BBC journalist noted about the campaign to legally define women by their biological sex rather than gender by the organisation For Women Scotland. She's right: "The entire cost of this judicial review was over £400,000," the organisation's director Susan Smith said.

That amount was collected through donations, among which a £70,000 donation from Harry Potter author JK Rowling, renowned for her anti-trans stances. But that doesn't take into account the public cost of the court case.

The Scottish government has had to spend over £60,000 of taxpayers' money in order to defend their legislation. Back in 2022, the Scottish government had to pay out £147,500 after losing a case over the definition of 'woman'. This is the third major legal challenge that For Women Scotland has initiated over the definition of 'woman' in law and policy.

While the UK Government’s legal costs in the Supreme Court case involving For Women Scotland aren’t public, similar cases suggest they’re likely comparable to those of the Scottish Government.

For Women Scotland cites male violence to justify excluding some women from women's spaces, yet funding to tackle violence from cisgender men remains scarce. In England and Wales, 98% of prosecuted sexual assaults are by men, and one in four women faces domestic abuse. Five British organisations have urged the UK government to commit to support such services more.

These cuts are getting real

Julianne van Pelt

The Netherlands is cutting its higher education budget. In the coming years, €1.2 billion will be cut, with scientific research as the biggest loser. The first rounds of layoffs at universities have already begun, and at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the entire Geosciences programme has even been scrapped.

The right-wing government wants to especially reduce international students, of which it has many: 14% of bachelor students and 27% of masters' students have both a foreign nationality and education. (Fun fact: a significant part of The European Correspondent's team studied there!)

The University of Amsterdam announced it will scrap its English-language psychology programme, which was one of the most highly ranked in the world. The policy also affects universities near the borders, which heavily rely on international students.

Major companies have voiced their concerns about the cuts, considering the future of the Dutch economy. They warn of declining innovation, pointing to the Netherlands' drop from 2nd to 7th place on the WIPO innovation index over the past five years.

The cuts and the fear of stalling innovation reflect a wider trend across Europe, particularly under (far-)right wing leaders. In February, France agreed to cut €930 million from its research budget and Italy's Meloni government slashed university funding by around €500 million. Under Trump, the US is defunding many educational programmes and similar budget reductions have also sparked discontent in Germany and Hungary.