Rob Schmitz

Cancellation of the presidential election by Poland's ruling party on May 10 and plans for a new all-postal ballot are raising concerns about the state of Polish democracy.

Less than a month after President Trump vowed to stop U.S. funding, Germany promised to give more than half a billion dollars and France pledged $100 million to a WHO research center in Lyon.

Staff in over 400 call centers in Germany work around the clock to notify people if they've been exposed to a positive coronavirus case. The country aims to have one contact tracer per 4,000 people.

Since the very start of the pandemic Germany has had armies of tracers following the contacts of every confirmed coronavirus case, keeping the number of deaths there relatively low.

President Trump said Monday that U.S. troop deployment in Germany will drop significantly because Germany is "delinquent in their payments to NATO." What are the implications of this threat?

Reports that the White House wants to pull 9,500 troops out of Germany have raised concerns among current and former officials. Russia welcomed the possible move.

People across Europe have been gathering to protest the killing of George Floyd and denounce police brutality in the U.S. Artist Eme Freethinker has painted Floyd's portrait on the Berlin Wall.

Eme Freethinker wanted to commemorate George Floyd alive, rather than show his killing. "Some guy told me, 'You have to do it with the police over his neck,' and I was like: 'No, man. Not like that.'"

The measure bars police and other public authorities from discriminating against anyone based on factors including skin color, religion, disabilities, worldview, age and sexual identity.

NPR received a letter from a government spokesman late Tuesday saying "Hungary has been subjected to a barrage of attacks" and requesting an apology from American news organizations and think tanks.

"This is Europe's moment," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday. All 27 EU member states must approve the plan, a mix of grants and loans, before it can go forward.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel present different visions of leadership during the coronavirus pandemic.

The government flew in thousands of seasonal workers from Romania and Poland, but that may not be enough. Some farmers are looking to hire Germans for the harvest.

NPR Correspondents Rob Schmitz and Scott Horsley talk about stimulus efforts in the U.S. and Europe and how governments are dealing with sharp and sudden economic downturns during the pandemic.

German farmers are facing challenges during the coronavirus pandemic, as the country is experiencing a shortage of seasonal farmworkers who typically come from Eastern European countries.

Protesters — including citizens against restrictions, extremists and anti-vaccination groups — have taken to the streets in cities across Germany.

Germany has seen its biggest quarterly contraction since 2009 when the global financial crisis ravaged the country's economy. Economists expect an even deeper slump in the second quarter.

Europe starts to loosen up the quarantine restrictions and reopen economies. But some countries are expecting — even planning for — the next wave of the coronavirus outbreaks.

"The league wants to continue because it still has a potential revenue stream. But to do so when we still know so little about this virus is wrong," says German sports journalist Tim Jürgens.

Lesson No. 1: Have "proper precautions in place," says historian Richard Evans. And don't "try to hush it up." Thousands died in Hamburg after the government failed to acknowledge a cholera outbreak.