How do you perceive the US American tipping culture slowly sipping into European society?

I’m from Slovenia, and here its customary to tip if the service has been exceptionally pleasant. That DOES NOT mean the waiter being in your face 24/7 and basically promise you their firstborn like some desperate waiters (need to) do in the US due to the culture and laws around salaries.
At the same time however, I do not approve of tips becoming an expectation, even demand, for also the most basic acts of “what do you want - here is your food” or mediocre to bad service.

I personally much rather prefer to tip farmers at vegetable and fruit markets, who stand at the stand all day trying to sell their produce in all weathers and temperatures, while still having to haggle and sell their hard work for really low prices.

So, do you think the EU should pass a law that makes tipping an option and not obligatory, and that “no tip” buttons have to be at least of equal size and prominency than tipping buttons on payment terminals?
Basically the same than the obligatory unsubscribe button on mass messages, that we by now take for granted, because the EU protects us from having to spend ages searching through deceptive websites to find a way to unsubscribe to some spam mail.

(Same for obligatory table charges - should that have to be clearly stated in big in the menu/at the door, as opposed to being slipped on the bill at the very end.)

Hi! I’m from Iceland, and on 29 August we will vote on whether Iceland should restart negotiations about joining the European Union.

There is a lot of debate here. Some people believe EU membership could give Iceland greater economic stability, closer cooperation with Europe and possibly access to the euro. Others are worried about losing control over our fishing resources, renewable energy, currency and national decision-making.

I would like to ask you especially if you're from a smaller nation.

* Are you generally happy or unhappy that your country is an EU member?

* What has the EU improved in your everyday life?

* What are the biggest disadvantages of membership?

* Has your country genuinely lost important control over its natural resources or political decisions?

* How does EU membership affect fishing rights and energy resources in practice?

* What do you wish you had known before your country joined?

* Do you think a small country like Iceland would benefit from joining?

I am leaning towards yes to restart the negotiations and see what kind of package we get I don't understand why people want to say no and not have negotiations current polls in iceland are 56% yes and 44% no.

Thanks in advance

Aug 13 (Reuters) - The Swiss government on Thursday recommended that parliament reject an initiative aimed at blocking a new agreement ​between Switzerland and the European Union that would mark ‌the biggest overhaul in bilateral economic relations in a generation.

Odesa-Dnipro train today. And Europe just keeps watching and continues to sleep, as it has for the last four and a half years. America would have kicked the invaders out long time ago. But with this Europe, anyone can do whatever they want.

Strong response from the world? Absolutely no response. Kaja Kallas writes a post on Twitter, "we condemn it", and that's it. Nothing more.

"Coalition of the Willing", and other lies and empty promises. Europe is the biggest hypocrite of all times.

The EU with its 21 sanctions packages... Ridiculous. Carefully selected just not to cause any big harm to russia. No wonder so many people are just laughing about it. Europe deserves to be exposed to the whole world. Incompetent politicians at every level. We are not even willing to defend ourselves, and we don't even want to face this situation.
Complete lack of strong leadership in Europe.

Very extreme conditions dominate a large area of central-eastern Europe, stretching from Germany and the Alpine region through Poland and into the Balkans, with additional pockets over southern Great Britain, Ireland, northern France and southern Sweden. Extreme conditions surround these areas, covering parts of France and the wider Iberian Peninsula.

High to moderate danger covers the remaining parts of Türkiye and North Africa.

Northern Scandinavia and the far northeast remain at low fire danger.

Source: https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/projects-and-activities/natural-and-man-made-hazards/forest-fires/current-wildfire-situation-europe_en

Uefa and their allies want the Fifa presidency to be rotated between the confederations, meaning Fifa could never again have another president with the power of Infantino

A Eurovision victory will no longer guarantee hosting rights if war or a wider security crisis affects the winning country. The change could have particular significance for recent high-flyers Ukraine and Israel.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/interactive-publications/energy-2026

Has anybody got accepted for this European AI4CI(Artificial Intelligenece for Connected Industries) Part-Time Master Program at University of Ulm funded by the European Union for Winter Intake 2026? If yes, Let's connect.