Romania and Bulgaria finally fully entered Schengen on January 1. What will residents of the countries get and how will this affect migration problems in Europe? Bucharest Airport on the first day after Romania joined the Schengen zone, Otopeni, March 31, 2024. Photo: Robert Ghement/EPA From January 1, 2025, the Schengen zone was replenished with two new full members - Romania and Bulgaria. From a technical point of view, both countries were ready to abolish border controls back in 2011.

“New Europe” recalls the main memes of 2024 (many of them are especially relevant and touching during the war) Illustration: Alisa Krasnikova / Novaya Gazeta Europe Boo, scared? Don't be afraid. This is just material that you usually don’t expect from Novaya Gazeta Europe - about the most memorable memes in the Russian-speaking space over the year. Let's remember the chill guy, brat summer, the sad hamster, the antidepressant man Nikolai Vasilenko - and more.

Russian émigrés and the new social contract Storm clouds gather over the Russian Embassy in Berlin, Germany, 17 March 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE Two decades ago, Alexander Auzan, the head of Moscow State University’s Economics Faculty, described Russia’s social contract as one in which the state permitted its citizens to enrich themselves as long as they accepted having no role whatsoever in political decision-making.

The story of a repeat offender who robbed luxury apartments in a New Year's costume Illustrations: “Novaya Gazeta Europe” In the early 80s of the last century, recidivist thief Evgeny Krivosheev, nicknamed “Artist,” was a true legend of the criminal world. Fantastic embellished stories about his adventures circulated throughout all the colonies of the Soviet Union. Dressed as Santa Claus, in December 1978 he committed several daring robberies of “guild workers,” officials and party workers.

There is no heat in Transnistria. Slovak Prime Minister warns of consequences for the entire EU A worker turns on a valve at a gas compressor station in the village of Grin, about 130 km from Kyiv, Ukraine, October 15, 2015. Photo: Roman Pilipey/EPA Ukraine and Russia's Gazprom announced a halt to gas transit to Europe via Ukrainian pipelines after a five-year agreement between the countries expired on January 1.

At least 10 people were killed, 30 injured At least 10 people were killed after an unknown person crashed a car into a crowd of people celebrating New Year. The New York Post and CBS write about this. Another 30 victims were taken to hospitals. The incident occurred at three a.m. local time in the French Quarter on Bourbon Street, a popular tourist spot. After driving into the crowd, the driver jumped out of the truck and began firing a weapon, CBS News reported.

The aftermath of a drone strike on Kyiv, 1 January 2025. Photo: Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office A woman’s body has been found under the rubble of a house in Kyiv that was damaged in a Russian drone strike in the early hours of New Year’s Day, the city authorities announced on Wednesday. Seven others were injured in overnight drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office said , with rescue efforts ongoing.

A Gazprom pipe in Domodedovo, outside Moscow, Russia, 20 July 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/MAXIM SHIPENKOV Both the Ukrainian government and Russian energy giant Gazprom announced that the company’s natural gas exports to Europe via Ukrainian pipelines had come to an end on Wednesday after a five-year transit deal between the countries expired at midnight.

In Kyiv, two people were killed in a Russian drone strike on the morning of January 1. This was reported by the city military administration. Seven more people were injured, the Prosecutor General’s office said . The search and rescue operation is ongoing. According to the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitaliy Klitschko, most of the wounded are from the Pechersky district (city center), where the top two floors of a residential building were partially destroyed.

Five books we recommend reading with your children during the New Year holidays Illustration: “New-Europe” New Year is a time to take stock and make wishes. And also spend time with family. We offer you our “Book Hit Parade” - five books that can be read with children of different ages during the holidays. What new products for children in 2024 have become real events?

12 most unusual New Year and Christmas traditions from around the world Residents celebrate New Year's Eve by waving fireballs overhead in Stonehaven on the northeast coast of Scotland, January 1, 2018. Photo: Andy Buchanan / AFP / Scanpix / LETA Not all over the world, the New Year is a holiday of Christmas trees, Santa Claus, tangerines and the “Irony of Fate.” Let's talk about the traditions of different countries that may seem funny, curious, or, to put it mildly, strange.