English remains the world's international language of communication, yet new research shows that EU citizens' reading and listening skills are better than their speaking and writing.

Berlin

The Netherlands has the highest English proficiency in the European Union, despite a recent decrease in its global score. Croatia and Austria follow, with both countries showing notable improvements in their English proficiency scores over the past year. In contrast, Italy, Cyprus, and France rank lowest among EU countries, falling into the moderate proficiency category.

The EF English Proficiency Index, based on tests from over 2 million adults worldwide, also reveals that reading and listening are the strongest English skills across the EU. However, proficiency among adults aged 18 to 20 has declined over the past decade, with more countries seeing decreases than improvements in this age group since the COVID pandemic.

Which EU country speaks the best English as a second language?

which EU country speaks the best English as a second language? English remains the world's international language of communication, despite tensions and doubts about stability of the world order. People in the Netherlands are the most proficient in English in the EU, although its global score has fallen 12 points since 2024. Croatia and Austria follow the top three, seeing their score rise by 10 and 16 points since last year, respectively. By contrast, Italy, Cyprus and France rank the lowest among EU countries, falling into the moderate proficiency category. This is according to the EF English Proficiency Index, based on test results of more than 2 million adults in 123 countries and regions. Between 2014 and 2025, English proficiency in Europe increased 40 points for men and 20 points for women. Reading and listening are the strongest language skills among all EU countries compared to speaking and writing. Proficiency among the youngest adults remains lower than before the COVID pandemic, however, and in 2025, more countries saw further declines in this group than those that saw improvements. In the past 10 years, only Europeans aged between 18 and 20 have seen a decrease in their level of English. However, European countries with relatively high proficiency have among the widest gaps between receptive and productive English skills in the world.

The New York Times has sued the U.S. Defence Department and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in an effort to force the Pentagon to abandon its restrictive new press policy. The Times alleges that the policy, rejected by at least 30 news organizations, violates its rights to free speech and due process.

New York

New York Times sues Pentagon, Hegseth over press restrictions

President Trump weighed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has more.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Trump insists Putin wants to end Ukraine war after Witkoff's trip

Democrats have released never-before-seen images in the Jeffrey Epstein case. They were taken at his private island estate. It comes as the Trump administration faces a deadline to release the full Epstein case files in two weeks.

Newly released images and videos show Epstein's private island estate

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, more than five times more than the United States.

Caracas

Maduro accuses U.S. of pushing for regime change to get Venezuela’s oil

Australia starts enforcing a landmark ban requiring social media platforms to take down accounts belonging to under-16s

Canberra

Australia under-16s social media accounts to be taken down

European Union lawmakers and member states reached a deal to ban all imports of Russian gas before the end of 2027, as the bloc seeks to choke off key funds feeding Moscow's war chest. Aimed at breaking a reliance the bloc has struggled to end despite the invasion of Ukraine, the accord marks a compromise between EU capitals and the European Parliament, which wanted the ban to hit sooner.

Brussels

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President Trump pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife on Wednesday. The couple was indicted in 2024 on more than a dozen federal charges. Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing.

Washington

Trump pardons Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife

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Watchdog found Hegseth jeopardized sensitive military information

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Never-before-seen images of Jeffrey Epstein's island released

The doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the actor's overdose death has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Los Angeles

Doctor who sold Matthew Perry ketamine sentenced to 30 months in prison

Google subsidiary YouTube has criticized an Australian law banning social media accounts for under-16s, arguing the legislation set to start Dec 10 makes young users of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube less safe.

YouTube attacks Australia's underage social media ban

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Trump targets Somali immigrants amid reports of Minneapolis raids

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Tennessee

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OpenAI has declared a "code red" as Google threatens to unseat the AI industry's early leader, according to the Wall Street Journal. Technology journalist Jacob Ward joins CBS News to discuss.

California

OpenAI declares 'code red' as Google threatens its AI lead

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Hegseth defends boat strikes near Venezuela during Cabinet meeting

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Pokrovsk

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Major rescue and recovery efforts are underway across Southeast Asia after a series of severe storms battered the region displacing millions and killing more than 1,100 people.

Nuwara Eliya

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Tegucigalpa

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Airbus must inspect hundreds of its A320 jets for potential quality flaws in the plane's body as a total of 628 aircraft contain panels that may be too thick or too thin due to a manufacturing issue at a supplier.

Blagnac

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Damascus

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Monday is World AIDS Day. It has been recognized globally since 1988, but this year, the U.S. government is not commemorating it for the first time.

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New Orleans

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Breakdown