Afleveringen
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For months, Europe has been rocked by protests as farmers decry high costs and low prices, in addition to what they call unfair competition from Ukraine, and the constraints of environmental regulations. EU elites are worried that the farmers' movement will boost anti-establishment parties in the European elections this June. The EU Commission has put forward proposals to ease the burden on farmers, but environmental groups say this is a short-term political tactic that undermines elements of the EU's own Green Deal – and will ultimately lead to more climate chaos for everybody, including farmers. We unpick this with the EU's Agriculture Commissioner, Janusz Wojciechowski.
We begin with the recent limitations on certain Ukrainian food imports into the EU – a measure aimed at quelling the farmers' protests, but also one that has led to deep disappointment in Ukraine. We also ask whether EU restrictions on Ukrainian wheat – a key export for the war-torn Ukrainian economy – could be activated in the future. This is something the EU has not ruled out.
"The most effective instrument will be the safeguard clause," Commissioner Wojciechowski answers. "If the import will be too high, it will always be possible to react. A member state, or a group of member states, can give the request to the European Commission, which will be obliged to react within two months and to establish all the necessary measures – if the wheat market will be difficult."
Environmental groups have accused the European Commission of jeopardising the EU's climate goals and its own Green Deal, by proposing to remove four 'GAEC' – 'Good Agricultural And Environmental Conditions' – that farmers up until now had to meet in order to receive EU subsidies.
"I am sure that we achieve more for the environment, for climate, by giving incentives to farmers, instead of mandatory requirements," Wojciechowsk says. "I have very positive observations about [existing] eco-schemes, under which we have directly paid farmers who have voluntarily introduced good practices, and achieved even better results than the minimum environmental standards required by regulations. We believe in [climate] incentives, not forcing farmers."
Despite major concerns expressed by the European Environment Agency, Greenpeace and other bodies, Wojciechowski is adamant that "we are not reducing our climate and environmental ambitions. What we are reducing are the conditionalities on farmers. This is a step towards the reality of farmers, and towards the difficult situation they have faced after the Covid pandemic and the consequences of the war on Ukraine. They are not able to plan their activity in a normal way."
Programme prepared by Sophie Samaille, Agnès Le Cossec and Isabelle Romero
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Talking Europe hosts former Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, who is now dean of one of the top international relations schools in the world – the Paris School of International Affairs. We delve into the EU election campaign, EU competitiveness, transatlantic relations and the fragile political situation in Spain amid rising tensions over the Catalan issue.
Asked about the upcoming European elections, Gonzalez Laya points to polls suggesting that only 44 percent of French people will go to the polls.
"We should be asking ourselves, why is it that 60 percent of the French citizens will not go to vote? Bearing in mind that in the last election in 2019, we managed to increase the participation of French citizens by eight percentage points to reach 50 percent."
Whereas last time climate change was a big factor in people turning out to vote, Gonzalez Laya says that this time "we are debating wokeism and demography. We are debating migration. But we are not debating the economy. We are not debating climate change. We are not debating security and defence issues. We are not."
The former Spanish foreign minister has co-authored an op-ed in Foreign Affairs entitled "Trump-proofing Europe: How the continent can prepare for American abandonment." But will "Trump-proofing" come too late for Ukraine?
"In the longer term the US is becoming more isolationist," Gonzalez Laya responds, "which is one of the reasons why Europe needs to take its destiny into its own hands. That starts with Ukraine, which is a war on European soil. In the short term, we have to meet Ukraine's needs, both economic and military. But we have to do that while we also invest longer-term in the security and in the defence capabilities of Europe."
We then turn to the "new European competitiveness deal" that the April 17-18 EU summit has been calling for. "This matters a lot to businesses across the European Union. It matters a lot to businesses in France," Gonzalez Laya insists.
"There are three areas where the EU is less competitive than its big rivals in the US or China, and this is because Europeans are less integrated. Firstly, energy is too expensive in Europe compared to the US and other jurisdictions. Second is capital markets; our ability to invest the wealth that Europe has. It is not that we don't have wealth, it is that this wealth is invested in the US as opposed to being invested in the European Union. And the third area is technology. We have fragmented technology markets in the EU. So Europe is strong when Europe is integrated. Europe is weak when Europe is too fragmented into little national markets."
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Talking Europe hosts the head of the largest political group in the European Parliament, the centre-right European People's Party. Manfred Weber, a prominent German CSU politician, is hoping that the June 9 EU elections will re-confirm the EPP's pre-eminent position, but he is cautious on the possibility of alliances with the hard-right ECR group. We also touch on the "Russiagate" and "Piepergate" controversies, the EPP's contentious plan to reform the EU's asylum system, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron's "unwise" – according to Weber – remarks about potentially sending French troops to Ukraine.
We begin with the "Russiagate" affair – allegations that some MEPs have been involved in Kremlin-backed media operations to influence public opinion ahead of the European elections on June 9. "Putin's puppets are doing the job for him in Europe, and we have to tell people, 'don't vote for them. Please vote for the democratic centre'," Weber says. "The most important thing is that we have full transparency. As an institution, we have to make sure that no money is involved."
If it comes to light that money was involved, should action be taken against the MEPs? "Absolutely. That must be judged. But at the end, it's also judgment by the voters," Weber answers.
We then discuss the EPP's controversial idea to relocate asylum seekers to third countries while their asylum claims are being processed – something that is not envisioned in the EU's current Asylum and Migration pact. The concept has been compared to the UK's contentious Rwanda scheme. "We have to lower the number [of arrivals into the EU], because the numbers are too high all over Europe, especially the numbers of illegal migrants," Weber says. "We are in favour of asylum. We are in favour of the Geneva Convention. But more than 50 percent of people arriving in Europe are not in this category. They are simply illegal migrants."
However, according to a March 2024 briefing from the European Parliament’s own research service, there are significantly more legal migrants than irregular migrants in the EU.
Nonetheless, "illegal migrants have to be refused. They must leave European territory," Weber affirms. "This is what people from all over Europe are expecting from us. We are not as radical as the extreme right that doesn't accept any kind of foreigner any more. We need foreigners, especially for working places. And we are not naive like the left is, to open the door to everyone. We are the centre-right and we are the balanced approach."
Weber is bullish on the EPP’s prospects in the EU elections.
"I'm quite comfortable in my starting point for the campaign because we won nearly all national elections in the last years. I took over as president of the EPP with only seven prime ministers. Today we have 13 prime ministers in our ranks. Socialists only have four. Liberals under the leadership of Macron have five. EPP has 13. The centre-right is coming back."
Asked about Macron's repeated assertion that he might send French ground troops to Ukraine at some point, Weber says: "I think that was not a wise thing to say, because that was splitting the West. [NATO chief] Stoltenberg had to clarify that we don't send troops; we will not be part of the active war. And the German chancellor did the same with the idea to not send Taurus missiles from Germany to Ukraine. He was splitting his own Berlin government. He was splitting German society. He was splitting the European Union. So both leaders, in Paris and in Berlin, are currently dividing and not unifying. And that's not good for Europe."
We also touch on the "Piepergate" affair that has rocked EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EPP candidate in the upcoming EU elections. Asked about the allegation of nepotism in the appointment of a senior Commission official, Weber says: "There should be full transparency and full openness on this. Ursula von der Leyen will be ready to answer all the questions during the campaign. We are ready to show up with our ideas. Renew is not doing so. Macron is not doing so. I stand for a democratic Europe where we have candidates, where we have a programme, where we have a lively debate about the future. And I would love to see the same from the liberals."
Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Sophie Samaille and Isabelle Romero
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The Nordic model encompasses a strong welfare state, protection of workers through collective bargaining, good pension schemes and low levels of poverty. This system has gone hand-in-hand with a progressive approach to issues like gender equality and maternity or paternity leave. But the social model has come under pressure from the trends affecting Europe as a whole, such as Covid debt, inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, the demands of the green transition and – some would say – pressure from migration. We focus on the Nordic model as part of our series on groups of countries or regions within the EU.
Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Sophie Samaille
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Striking a balance between regulation and letting businesses grow is always a difficult thing for policymakers to do. But has the EU veered into over-regulation? Our guest argues that red tape in some areas is holding back EU-based companies, and is partly responsible for those firms losing ground to their competitors in other parts of the world. But he is adamant that finding a solution to this does not mean having to renege on the EU's key policy initiatives, such as the European Green Deal. Markus Beyrer is the director general of BusinessEurope, which represents national employers' associations and companies.
"We have a problem," Beyrer tells FRANCE 24's Armen Georgian. "Ninety percent of our members say that their business location is worse off than three years before. We see that more investment happens outside Europe than in Europe. We see that we are lagging behind in growth compared to our major competitors," he explains.
"As far as growth is concerned, you know that Europe will grow by 0.5 percent this year, the US by 2.5 and China, of course, even higher," Beyrer goes on. "But more importantly than this, if you look at the last 10 years, in seven out of these 10 years, the US growth was significantly larger than in Europe."
Beyrer admits that the number one reason for the stagnant situation today is high energy prices. But he says that BusinessEurope's members report a "regulatory tsunami" and "too much bureaucracy falling on our members in the last 10 years". As an example, he cites the EU's Corporate Due Diligence Directive (CDDD), which has added reporting requirements on companies.
"On the CDDD, we have always been ready to take up our responsibilities. But we have also said that the solutions need to be workable, and need to work for companies. And what we have on the table now – which is the result of the compromise that has been found in Europe a couple of weeks ago – is simply not workable, and imposes obligations on European companies in a unilateral way. The risk of that is that some companies might leave markets in Asia or in Africa."
So is Beyrer implying that the answer is to push back on the EU's various pieces of legislation aimed at protecting the environment, biodiversity and workers' rights?
"Well, no, the solution is to find a balance in these pieces of legislation," Beyrer says.
"We have always supported the Green Deal. And we have always supported the targets of the Green Deal," he affirms. "But what we are saying is that we are losing out as far as global competitiveness is concerned, and therefore we will need to complement the Green Deal with an Industrial Deal."
Beyrer explains what that Industrial Deal might look like. "We need to not only create the green jobs, but to green the whole industrial value chains, because we will only be successful if we are able to have successful value chains in Europe. So, to bring the windmills as an example, it's very important that we invest in renewable energies. It's important that we produce the technology. And it's also important where the steel to produce these windmills comes from and where the turbines are produced."
Programme prepared by Sophie Samaille, Perrine Desplats, Paul Guianvarc'h and Isabelle Romero
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We dive into the heated EU election campaign in Romania, where the centrist Renew Europe bloc finds itself squeezed by a joint list of the government’s grand coalition on the one hand, and a resurgent far right on the other hand. We also look at Romania’s efforts to become a core member of the European family – something that has not happened yet, as the country was only partially admitted to the border-free Schengen travel area at the end of March.
Produced by Isabelle Romero, Sophie Samaille et Perrine Desplats
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The EU’s proposed defence reforms are not going to make a difference to Ukraine in the short term, warns Camille Grand, NATO's former assistant secretary general for defence investment. Both the European Defence Industrial Strategy (EDIS) and the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) "are going to be very useful in the longer term, provided that the money comes in 2028, which is more or less the cycle that the EU is announcing", Grand tells Talking Europe. He talks about Ukraine's ammunition shortage – a subject on which he put forward a 10-point plan at the European Council on Foreign Relations, where he is distinguished policy fellow. We also discuss how NATO has evolved since the start of the war, and the ways in which, according to Grand, NATO and the EU can – and should – work together more closely.
On EDIS and EDIP, "there is neither the money nor the support of the Member States and industry to allow those initiatives to make a difference today to Ukrainians, or to rebuild our own stockpiles," Grand says.
"According to the EU treaties, defence remains a competency for the member states," he goes on. "As the Commission affirms its intention to become an important player in this domain and hopefully with significant money on the table, there will be a tension with the member states who will want to see what's the added value of the Commission, and how is that going to fit with their own priorities and requirements."
Grand also addresses the recent announcement by France's minister of the armed forces, who said that the French government might force firms to put defence orders before civilian ones if manufacturing does not speed up. "This is really about critical components and subcomponents. If you think of ammunition production or missile production, there are some components which might be microelectronics or very basic things like black powder, that need to be prioritised for defence needs," Grand explains. The French authorities are making "a fair request", Grand says. "You can't say, on the one hand, 'we're in a war economy', and on the other hand say, 'oh, it's a pity that some of the ammunition production is not available because we are competing with civilian needs'."
On the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House and Europeans "Trump-proofing" their security, Grand says: "We have to prepare for a whole range of scenarios. And we have to be serious about defence over a decade. So that is being able to act with possibly less American commitment, but also, simply, to face a degraded security environment no matter who is in the White House. I think this is within reach. The Europeans have already increased their defence expenditure quite significantly. We had only three allies at 2 percent [of GDP spending on defence] in 2014 at NATO. Now we have close to 20 this year. European allies have turned the corner on this. But it now needs to be sustained."
Grand argues that there is still a lot of room for NATO and the EU to cooperate more closely. "There is institutional competition, which is absolutely not useful in today's environment. Both organisations need to turn to each other and see what they can bring to the table and how they can support each other. It's a good thing that the EU is more active, but the EU needs to work more closely with NATO. Both the EU and NATO need to be much more relaxed about how they work together."
Programme prepared by Sophie Samaille, Perrine Desplats and Paul Guianvarc'h
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The war in Ukraine is well into its third year, and Russia’s advances on the battlefield have caused jitters across the EU, particularly in the countries bordering Russia that used to be part of the Soviet bloc. Security-related themes – not just military questions, but energy security too – are high on the agenda in the EU election campaign in the Baltic states. We discuss what's at stake with three MEPs.
Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Sophie Samaille and Isabelle Romero
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Estonia's prime minister insists there is a crisis in European defence that needs to be solved now. Kaja Kallas tells Talking Europe that private funding for the acquisition of lethal weapons is blocked, which means the "vibrant" tech sector cannot be engaged. She also urges EU members to consider jointly raising capital on the markets to help Ukraine, which she says will be cheaper than doing so individually. We also discuss Russia putting Kallas on a "wanted" list over the removal or destruction of Soviet-era monuments in Estonia. By invoking Russian domestic laws that don't apply in Estonia, the Kremlin is signalling that "Estonia is not a real country", Kallas says.
Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Agnès Le Cossec and Sophie Samaille (Footage: Luke Brown and Alix Le Bourdon)
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Disinformation is a central concern for the EU, as it swings into full campaign mode for the European elections of June 6-9. There's no shortage of threats: from cyberattacks to fake news aimed at sowing confusion in the minds of EU citizens and voters. In this episode we look at the various disinformation techniques being used, as well as who the most vulnerable targets are, and what is being done to counter such attacks – not just by the European institutions, but also by non-governmental bodies and civil society.
Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Sophie Samaille and Isabelle Romero
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Talking Europe interviews the chair of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, David McAllister. He believes the European Union has been too cautious for too long, and has not proactively defined and defended its interests in the world. He argues that one way to achieve that is to move to a fully-fledged Defence Union over the coming years. McAllister is a German Christian Democrat and a staunch supporter of European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who is hoping to lead the Commission for a second five-year term.
"What we will see in the next years in the European Union is that we will take concrete steps towards a European Defence Union," McAllister says. "That means ramping up our defence industry production in Europe. We have to do more research together. We need to purchase much more together. We need to spend our taxpayers' money more efficiently. Let's try and do as much as possible at a European level. At the moment, 80 percent of defence procurement is still taking place at a purely national level. I think there's a lot of room for improvement. That's why I also welcome proposals which have now been made by different political parties in Europe, for a European Commissioner with a dedicated portfolio for security and defence. We also need a defence ministers' format. At the EU level, the main focus should be on establishing a European single market for the defence industry."
McAllister elaborates on the role that a future EU Security and Defence Commissioner would play. "The fields this man or this woman would be dealing with are shared on the one hand with the High Representative [for foreign and security policy] and, on the other hand, with the Commissioner who holds the industrial portfolio," McAllister explains. "It's about bringing the 27 EU member states together. Planning activities and also coordinating closely with NATO. The European Defence Union, which we are working on, is like a puzzle with 5,000 pieces. The frame has been set in recent years with a permanent structured cooperation with the European Defence Agency, and with the European Defence Fund. But now we need to have more pieces and put them together in an intelligent way."
We put it to McAllister that, ideals aside, the EU does not speak with one voice – as the Gaza crisis has shown. "Well, the European Union is a family of 27 sovereign nations," he answers. "And on certain fields we have different views. For instance, on the Israel-Palestine conflict or on Serbia and Kosovo. But we also need the tools to implement our common foreign and security policy. The soft power tools are already there. They are available. But we need to have more hard power tools. The aim is for us as the European Union to become a real global player. We are a global payer. For instance, we give by far the most for development cooperation. But we are not a global player. We do not have the same level and eyesight as other players like the United States or China."
We ask for McAllister's reaction to EU Commissioner Thierry Breton criticising his own boss, President von der Leyen, and questioning whether she has the support of her own political party, the EPP.
"I was quite surprised about Mr. Breton's tweet," McAllister responds. "Ursula von der Leyen got more than 80 percent in a secret ballot. Look, the big difference with the Socialists is that they nominated their lead candidate in an open vote. I mean, it's easy to get 100 percent if it's by acclamation. We had a secret ballot, and she got an honest result. At the party congress in Bucharest, very few national delegations said that they were sceptical. The huge majority is carrying her, and I'm very convinced that she will be the European Commission president for another five years, because she's done a good job the first five years," he concludes.
Programme prepared by Sophie Samaille, Perrine Desplats and Isabelle Romero
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The Legal Affairs committee (JURI) of the European Parliament has just voted to sue the European Commission for unfreezing billions of euros in funding for Hungary late last year. They say it's high time to protect European taxpayers' money from misuse. Meanwhile, Warsaw and the European Commission have unveiled an action plan that involves legal reforms in Poland and ending the EU's infringement procedures against the country, which date back to the previous conservative government. We discuss these issues with two MEPs.
Programme produced by Sophie Samaille, Perrine Desplats and Isabelle Romero
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In the spotlight this week in our whistle-stop debate series featuring each of the EU’s 27 member states ahead of June’s European elections: Italy. Europe’s third-biggest economic power has seen a growing rivalry between the right-wing Brothers of Italy party, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and her even further right coalition partner, Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, who heads the far-right League party. When Meloni led a hard-right coalition to power in October 2022 – becoming Italy’s first female premier – most headlines were about her party’s rise from neo-fascist roots, and her record of bashing the European Union and migrants. Since then, she has sought to fashion herself as a more mainstream conservative, working with fellow EU leaders, and staunchly supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Today, Italy – and Meloni – are front and centre ahead of European elections in which right-wing parties are poised to see big gains.
Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Sophie Samaille and Isabelle Romero
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Just days after French President Emmanuel Macron provoked a backlash among allies by declaring he could not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine, a senior minister has doubled down on the message, saying Europe must thwart Vladimir Putin before he presses his military drive further into Europe. “Vladimir Putin will not stop in Ukraine, so this is the reason why we need to make him fail,” Jean-Noël Barrot, the newly appointed French Minister Delegate for Europe told FRANCE 24.
Macron blindsided many allies late last month when, speaking after a Ukraine-focused meeting of European leaders in Paris, he said all options should be on the table if Europe was serious about achieving its goal of helping Ukraine win the war – even if that meant sending European troops to bolster Kyiv’s hard-pressed forces. Several allies, including the US, UK, Germany and Poland, bristled at the unexpected statement. They said they feared a dangerous escalation with Russia of the kind they have sought to avoid since Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Macron has since sought to clarify his remarks, telling journalists during a visit to Prague this week that there will be no French troops in Ukraine “in the near future”.
Macron's about-face?Macron’s comments on sending troops seemed to mark a stunning about-face in the French president’s attitude towards Vladimir Putin. On the eve of the war, Macron became the butt of a viral meme campaign on social media, when he met with Putin across a long table at the Kremlin in a bid to persuade the Kremlin leader to pull back his troops from Ukraine’s border. Later, Macron vexed many of Ukraine’s allies when he insisted that “we must not humiliate Russia”, and repeatedly phoned up Putin in a last-ditch diplomatic gambit. Macron’s more assertive posture towards Putin came after the French president had exhausted every diplomatic means at his disposal, according to Barrot. He said Macron had tried to “reason with Putin, and to prevent him from [pressing ahead with] his projects, which are basically to violate the borders of the neighbouring country and, more broadly, to create a new international order based on brute force rather than on the rule of law and the respect of national borders”. “It turns out that two years later, Russia is still being extremely aggressive in Ukraine”, Barrot added.
Cyberattacks and disinformationBarrot also noted what he saw as a wider-ranging agenda at work, saying the aggression was not limited to Ukraine. “We’ve been seeing over the past few months aggressivity towards European countries through cyberattacks, through disinformation, misinformation campaigns,” Barrot said. “And this suggests that we need in Europe to display unity and strength and send this signal to Vladimir Putin that we will support Ukraine whatever it takes, and that we will stand alongside the Ukrainian resistance." Echoing one of Macron’s favourite themes, Barrot insisted on the need for Europe to build up its “strategic autonomy” and provide for its own defence amid growing uncertainty about US security guarantees. Barrot downplayed concerns, voiced by many defence analysts, that Donald Trump would make good on hints that he might pull the US out of NATO if he returned to the White House next November.
Far right looming?“Retraction from NATO?” Barrot said. “No, he has had strong statements saying that the Europeans should now sort of build up their military bases, which is what we are currently doing. What we see as Europeans is that we need two policies: One is NATO, and the other is the building up of our own European technological defence bases.” Looking ahead to June’s EU-wide parliamentary elections, in which voters will head to polls in 27 member states to elect 720 deputies, Barrot said he did not see a rightward shift in public opinion at the hands of far-right populist parties pandering to voters’ fears. But he alluded to the tough challenges ahead. “I think that centre or centrist parties like the one I belong to, both at the national and European level, need to provide our citizens with the right answers.”
Programme produced by Sophie Samaille, Céline Schmitt, Johan Bodin, Luke Brown and Perrine Desplats
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Alarmed by a recent series of maritime emergencies involving migrants trying to reach European shores, Europe's top ethics watchdog is calling on the EU’s authorities to open a public investigation into thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean Sea. European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly demanded an independent commission of inquiry as part of a newly released report into the tragic capsizing and sinking of the Adriana migrant ship off the coast of Greece last June. She spoke to FRANCE 24's Douglas Herbert in Talking Europe.
More than 600 people were killed in the Adriana tragedy – a humanitarian disaster that dozens of officials and coast guard crews watched unfold over 15 hours, but failed to prevent. The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, described the incident as "one of the worst shipwrecks in this century worldwide".
More than 27,000 people have lost their lives since 2014 trying to make the treacherous Mediterranean crossing to Europe in shoddy boats, mostly from Northern African ports, according to the International Office of Migration. Fatalities are reported on a near-daily basis, as migrants continue to entrust their lives to ruthless smugglers in a bid to reach Europe, braving a gauntlet of ever-tighter European policies aimed at deterring them.
O'Reilly's inquiry took aim at what it described as conflicting impulses at the heart of the mission of Europe's border security agency, Frontex. "There is obvious tension between Frontex's fundamental rights obligations and its duty to support Member States in border management control," the report said. "Cooperating with national authorities when there are concerns about them fulfilling their search and rescue obligations risks making the EU complicit in actions that violate fundamental rights and cost lives."
'Saving lives is not optional'O’Reilly told FRANCE 24 that the Adriana tragedy had sparked a broader reflection on the EU's commitment to preventing maritime disasters. She recalled the words of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, during a September 2020 address to the European Parliament, that "saving lives at sea is not optional". "On a wider level," O'Reilly said, "we are asking for a public inquiry not into the Adriana as such, but into all of the deaths, the thousands of deaths, that have happened in the Mediterranean over the last number of years."
O'Reilly also had questions about a recent deal in which the European Union paid Tunisia over €100 million to prevent migrants from reaching Europe. Tunisia has become one of the most popular launching points for smugglers trafficking people to Italy. The country's president, Kais Saed, has denied allegations of human rights abuses against sub-Saharan migrants. O'Reilly said she had sought to determine whether EU officials had done a human rights assessment prior to signing the deal with Tunisia. "If not, why not? And now, what do they do to remedy that?"
Mind the right-wing driftWith far-right and right-wing parties poised to make gains in June's European elections, O'Reilly also voiced concern about a trend that has seen mainstream politicians adopting hardline policies to win votes. "Politicians have to be mindful that they don't drift in a way that might ultimately be damaging to citizens in the short, medium and long term simply because they are afraid that they might be outclassed or outvoted at election time by far-right and other groupings." She suggested such strategies are likely to backfire. "As somebody said, 'Why go for the fake, when you can have the real thing?’'"
For all the challenges of her job, in a difficult political climate, O'Reilly insisted the European Union can – and should – lead by ethical example. "People sort of dismiss soft power as not being as powerful as executive power," she said. "But Europe can be a huge force for good globally. Part of my job, even if we're a little office, is to try and keep the good guys good."
Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Sophie Samaille and Perrine Desplats
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The spectre of a second Donald Trump presidency is stalking America. Depending on whom you believe, the world’s biggest superpower is either sleepwalking into dictatorship, or everyone just needs to chill out. Eight months before the US presidential election, there are many unknowns. But America is rife with dystopian warnings that Trump's return would spell the last rites of American democracy. Europeans, meanwhile, are bracing for the impact of a President Trump "2.0". Trump's hints that he might pull the US out of NATO – or encourage Russia to attack allies who don't pay their fair share to the alliance – have led some to ask "is Europe ready?" So is it? Can Europe "Trump-proof" itself? And does it need to? We delve into these questions with two MEPs.
Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero, Sophie Samaille and Agnès Le Cossec
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The man who might be back in the White House next year, Donald Trump, has caused huge alarm in Europe by saying that he might let Russia "do whatever the hell they want" against NATO allies that do not contribute enough to collective defence. Our guest says that Trump’s comments should galvanise Europe into strategic autonomy and energy independence. Teresa Ribera is Spain's minister for ecological transition, and a former secretary of state for climate change. She is a confidant of Spain's socialist prime minister, Pedro Sanchez.
"I don't think that any of the member states of the European Union could work sufficiently well alone, without their colleagues, when the Putins and the Trumps of the world are surrounding Europe," Ribera says. "We need more Europe against Trump."
But what does "more Europe" mean? Ribera gives the example of the H2Med project, launched by Spain, Portugal and France in late 2022, which is set to be the first major green corridor that will link the Iberian peninsula with the rest of Europe.
"What we have done is to identify who may be interested in being part of this project to produce and export hydrogen, to be used for industrial or transportation purposes. We see huge interest in the north of Europe. We need to design the infrastructures and invest in them in the most sustainable and secure way. By providing an energy alternative like this we are making the whole European Union more resilient."
On the recent farmers' protests, which have spread to Spain, Ribera says that her government is looking into more efficient implementation of a law that aims to make sure that supermarkets pay Spanish farmers fair prices for their products.
"I think that we need to be much more serious and engage in the conversation with the farming sector," she states. But she insists this should not mean compromising on the EU's Green Deal. "It is important to show to what extent the Green Deal is a safeguard for farming," she says. "Agriculture is the primary sector impacted by climate change. The fact is that this will be the third year [in a row] with terrible crops." For Ribera, the Green Deal is about "energy transition and just transition, working with companies, workers and farmers. This work should be done at the local level, at the national level, and at the European level."
We also touch on Spanish politics, and the standoff between the government and the Catalan separatist party Junts, over a proposed amnesty law for those involved in the 2017 attempt by pro-independence activists in Catalonia to secede from Spain. If Junts withdraws its support for Prime Minister Sanchez, "that would be a political mistake", Ribera says.
"We have a very sincere proposal to find a much more united way to overcome the conflict that we had to suffer in 2017. We are trying to build this reconciliation in Catalonia," she says. But Ribera rules out new elections. "Our intention is to keep on governing. I don't think there is an alternative today. I mean, there is contestation from the far right and right but with no proposal; just making noise and saying 'no' to everything. So it's true that we don't like the polarisation, but for the time being there is no alternative in the parliament, and not even an intention to convene new elections."
Programme produced by Perrine Desplats, Johan Bodin, Isabelle Romero, Sophie Samaille, Emma Guillaume and Anaïs Lavielle
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With our eyes on this June's European elections, we hold the second debate in our series on countries or groups of EU countries. We look at three founding members of the European Economic Community in 1957, which became the European Union in 1993: Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, known as the Benelux states. They see themselves as frontrunners in European integration, having pioneered a customs union 80 years ago, which showed their neighbours the benefits of trading without tariffs. Benelux prime ministers hold yearly summits and there are numerous ministerial and parliamentary contacts. But while the three countries have given impetus to key EU issues, their record on tax and financial matters has been seen as mixed. We discuss this with three MEPs.
Programme produced by Sophie Samaille, Perrine Desplats and Isabelle Romero
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Horizon Europe is the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation. Yet the EU has just agreed to cut the programme’s budget by €2.1 billion, as part of the re-negotiation of the EU’s long-term budget, and continuing aid to Ukraine. Paradoxically, the cut comes as the EU says it wants to boost its competitiveness in the world. “I cannot be happy about that,” Iliana Ivanova tells Talking Europe. The EU’s commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, speaks to Armen Georgian about the future of Horizon, as well as about efforts to boost educational performance, and to fight disinformation in the education system across the EU. Ivanova is about to visit London and Edinburgh as the UK joins Horizon Europe under a new deal, which she calls “a win for both sides.”
On Horizon losing €2.1 billion out of its €95.5 billion budget, Ivanova laments that “we are reducing the most important investment for the future, which is research and innovation. €95.5 billion is a big number, but it is actually not that much compared to our competitors.” Ivanova says the current cut (which has been agreed by EU member states) is “a red flag. We badly need to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the current spending, and to secure the financial support for the next framework programme. I’m in discussions with (EU) ministers, especially the finance ministers, and I hope it's realised soon that this is a strategically important investment to make.”
Ivanova admits she is concerned about educational performance in the EU. “I'm worried for the whole of Europe. If we speak about education and the level of basic skills, and if you look at the latest PISA (OECD) results, you can see that there is no improvement in any member state. I was recently in Sweden and we discussed that even there, they are worried about the level of reading and writing skills, and mathematics comprehension. So this is something I'm very concerned about. And obviously we have limited competence at the European level but we will be working very hard with the member states to address that issue.”
Also related to education, Ivanova addresses the issue of disinformation, which she considers “crucial” in an EU election year. Countering disinformation “should start from a very early age,” she says. “It should start from the family with us as parents. It is our responsibility to educate our children, to give them the tools to make the difference between good and bad. And then, of course, the role of the school and education is essential here. We are providing teachers with a number of instruments to help them build the necessary knowledge. Things are evolving very fast and fake news are spreading with much more innovative methods daily. So teachers need to have that constant training that we are providing, while also updating the school curricula to improve the digital literacy of the young kids.”
On the UK joining the Horizon Europe programme three years after Brexit, Ivanova states, “I'm going to London to officially launch the association of the UK to Horizon Europe. I'm very happy because I think it's a renaissance in our relationship. I’m looking forward to a real win-win for both sides, as we know the many success stories throughout the years. With that cooperation, I'm also visiting Scotland; the University of Edinburgh. 177 countries have been participating in Horizon Europe, and I cannot think of another programme in the world that has offered so many opportunities for researchers.”
Programme produced by Sophie Samaille, Yi Song, Perrine Desplats and Agnès Le Cossec
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In the scope of our coverage of the European elections, we will broadcast a series of programs in which we will be taking a closer look at a specific country or group of member states to determine what issues voters care about. We start with the Eurozone's largest economy: Germany. With its strong industry, a population of 84 million and 96 seats at the European Parliament, the country is the leading political and economic force in the EU. But it is also facing a crisis: Germany is in recession as its GDP dropped 0.3 percent in 2023. In turn, fear has kicked in, with many voters blaming the EU for its regulations and the Afd far right party floating the idea of a “Dexit” and rising in the polls. Can the German economy recover? What impact does its shrinking economy have on the rest of the Union? And how does this situation affect votes?
Programme produced by Perrine Desplats, Sophie Samaille and Agnès Le Cossec
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