Talking Europe

FRANCE 24 English
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Politicians, activists and researchers debate the issues facing the EU and a 'guest of the week' offers their insight in a long-format interview that gets to the heart of the matter. Saturday at 7:15pm.

  1. 3 HRS AGO

    'Totally unfair' that EU countries making money on energy crunch: Former EU commissioner Breton

    Our guest in this show is known for crossing swords with the Trump administration on the regulation of big tech and, more recently, for actually coming under a US travel ban. Thierry Breton was the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market from 2019 to 2024, when he had a major role in driving forward the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. He and four other figures were hit with US travel bans at the end of last year, prompting Breton to denounce what he called "a wind of McCarthyism blowing again". Breton is a former minister for the economy, finance and industry in France, and a prominent commentator on political and economic matters. He says he "strongly believes" that an agreement will be found between the US and Iran, and that this will be in Europe's interest "especially because of what we see in terms of gasoline prices". "I say that it is totally unfair that EU member states are making money on the increase in energy prices, as most of them have a value-added tax (VAT) on that," Breton says, pointing out that the increase in prices "is artificial". He goes on: "They (member states) have to give back the additional money that they make, and especially for those who need the most support and help. We can think about farmers, we can think about truck drivers, we can think about anyone who is directly impacted." Asked about Peter Magyar's stunning victory in the Hungarian election – and the ouster of Viktor Orban – Breton emphasises Magyar's commitment to restoring the rule of law in Hungary. "The rule of law was a big, big, issue," Breton remarks. "The former administration under Viktor Orban did not respect the rule of law. So the good news is that Peter Magyar is willing to change this. For us, what is important is that all member states follow our rule of law, because this is what makes us stronger together, and it is definitely the core of our project." On the travel ban issued against him by the US authorities, Breton says: "What I understand is that I have, unfortunately, been banned or designated as the mastermind behind the Digital Services Act. You know, I just did my job. What I did was not against anyone. It's not against China, it's not against Singapore, it's not against the US. This is the same for everyone. By the way, the digital act has been voted at 90 percent by our MEPs. It has been voted by 27 countries. This is not about Thierry Breton. This is about Europe. So I understand that behind my case it's Europe, of course, which is being targeted. And I really hope that we will come back to normality because there is a huge misunderstanding about what we have done together in our own European digital space." This edition of Talking Europe also features a report from FRANCE 24's Clovis Casali on the aftermath of the momentous parliamentary election in Hungary. Programme prepared by Oihana Almandoz, Aline Bottin, Isabelle Romero and Perrine Desplats

    12 min

  2. 4 HRS AGO

    EU moves to tighten rules on harmful pollutants: The invisible danger of 'forever chemicals'

    They are known as "forever chemicals": synthetic compounds that resist breakdown in the human body and the environment. Also known as PFAS, there are thousands of them, and you might not even realise that you are being exposed to them while doing simple everyday tasks like cooking. The EU does have a strict rulebook on chemicals, when compared to other parts of the world, but some say that industrial lobbying is holding back more stringent regulation. In this episode we look at how the EU is trying to tighten its rules on these pollutants. Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Oihana Almandoz

    12 min

  3. 27 MAR

    'We need to double down' on energy autonomy: EIB chief Nadia Calviño

    Europe must speed up its push for energy independence and break free from "excessive dependence on fossil fuels" as the continent grapples with a more volatile and hostile global order, the head of the world's largest public bank told FRANCE 24's Douglas Herbert in Talking Europe. Nadia Calviño, the president of the European Investment Bank, and a former deputy prime minister in the Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez, has been named one Europe's top "doers" by the digital news site Politico. She is at the helm of one of the world's largest public lenders – which has set a funding goal of €100 billion this year alone – at a time when defence, security and tech sovereignty have catapulted to the top of the European agenda. Calviño told FRANCE 24 that the green transition is a strategic necessity. "We need to continue on this track… so that we can become more independent and have a stronger voice in this new world." That shift is also visible in the EIB's evolving priorities. While insisting in the past that the bank is "not a defence ministry", Calviño says the shifting global landscape has seen a sharp increase in the bank's support for security and defence-related projects, particularly dual-use technologies. Funding has roughly doubled over the past two years, and could rise further. "I wouldn't exclude that we revise [targets] upwards in the course of the year," she said, pointing to growing demand as Europe seeks to scale up its capabilities. Beyond geopolitics, Calviño highlighted a mounting domestic pressure point: Europe's housing crisis. Housing prices across the EU have surged by around 60 percent since 2015, with rents soaring and supply tightening. "We've had a perfect storm since the pandemic," she said. The EIB plans to invest €6 billion this year in housing, focusing on cheaper construction methods, renovation of existing buildings and new projects as part of a broader push to ease pressure on households and younger generations. On Ukraine, the EIB has emerged as a key financial backer since Russia's full-scale invasion, mobilising €4 billion to rebuild infrastructure, support businesses and keep the economy afloat. Calviño expressed confidence in Ukraine's long-term prospects. "I am quite confident that the Ukrainian economy is going to bounce back very strongly once the war is over," she said, citing the resilience of its people and ongoing cooperation with Kyiv. She also pushed back on the impact of US trade tensions under Donald Trump, arguing that tariffs have hit American companies harder than European ones. EU firms, she said, are benefiting from a vast network of global trade agreements. In a fragmenting world, she insisted, Europe has the tools, and the scale, to act like the global economic superpower it is – if it chooses to use them. Programme prepared by Paul Guianvarc'h, Perrine Desplats, Aline Bottin, Oihana Almandoz and Isabelle Romero

    13 min

  4. 27 MAR

    Trump administration sidelines, threatens Europe in Iran war: EU flounders in new world order

    After Greenland and trade tariffs, US President Donald Trump is threatening European countries once again. If they fail to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, "it will be very bad for the future of NATO", Trump has said. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made it clear that the US will make its own security decisions, whatever Europe thinks. Admittedly, Europe's own standing has been diminished by its inability to speak with one clear voice on this crisis, as on previous ones. Our guests evaluate the EU's response as US-Israeli strikes on Iran continue. Programme prepared by Oihana Almandoz, Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Paul Guianvarc'h

    13 min

  5. 20 MAR

    'Polish populists have decided to turn anti-European': Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski

    Talking Europe travels to Warsaw to meet the mayor of the city and former presidential candidate Rafal Trzaskowski, just as the political temperature rises ahead of high-stakes parliamentary elections scheduled for next year. Trzaskowski argues that a long-standing consensus in Polish politics – being pro-European and pro-Ukraine – has been broken, as populist forces try to outdo each other in an effort to attract voters. Trzaskowski is an ally of Prime Minister Donald Tusk and was Civic Coalition's candidate in the June 2025 presidential election. He was elected mayor of Warsaw in October 2018. Trzaskowski rounds on the conservative president of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, for opposing the EU Commission's flagship SAFE programme aimed at boosting European defence. Trzaskowski says SAFE "is the best programme to strengthen our defence industry", and calls the president's veto "incredible", noting that "for years we had an agreement between us and all the other political forces when it came to strengthening Polish defence and security, helping Ukraine, and so on and so forth. That has been completely dismantled by President Nawrocki." For Trzaskowski, "it seems that the president is much more interested in making the life of the current government more difficult, and in jostling for power with other populist parties, than in promoting the Polish national interest."  Our guest places the president's decision on SAFE in the context of next year's parliamentary elections, with an eye to being "the most Eurosceptic in order to get the vote of the conservative electorate". "The populists have decided to turn anti-European," he added.  For Trzaskowski, that same competition between forces on the right is the reason why populists are "playing the anti-Ukrainian card. And unfortunately, this has some resonance among the people, not in Warsaw, because in Warsaw and in the big cities, people resoundingly keep on supporting Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, but in some other places, yes, there are some people who are either tired with war or who unfortunately listen to the populists who are stoking up those anti-Ukrainian feelings". But we put it to Trzaskowski that it is the current pro-EU government, which he is allied with, that has ended some free medical services that had been available to Ukrainians in Poland – not the conservative opposition. "You know, we were the country which helped the Ukrainians the most", Trzaskowski responds. "And we had 400,000 refugees staying in Warsaw alone, staying in our houses. And we've granted them almost citizen-like treatment here when it comes to education and healthcare. But, after four years, the European Union as a whole has decided to limit some of those services, especially when it comes to long-term treatment of cancer and so forth." Poland has long been seen as a very pro-Atlanticist country, but recent opinion polls suggest that Poles do not view Donald Trump nearly as favourably as they viewed other US presidents. Is that a reason for Poland to get on board with French President Emmanuel Macron's plans for European defence, and particularly with the possible extension of France's nuclear umbrella to other EU member states? "Our position is that NATO is the the cornerstone of our security", Trzaskowski replies. "Of course, we should have the best possible relations with the Americans and try to do everything to make sure that they stay in Europe. But at the same time, we should do absolutely everything to invest in our defence and in European capabilities. And, by the way, that's exactly what Trump told us – that we should take it more seriously and take more responsibility. So yes, we should strengthen NATO guarantees but we should also consider the plans of President Macron and analyse them very seriously because, quite simply, you are going to be more secure in this part of Europe when you have strong transatlantic capabilities and strong Polish and European capabilities." Programme prepared by Charlotte Prudhomme, Luke Brown, Paul Guianvarc'h and Perrine Desplats

    13 min

  6. 20 MAR

    Europe's housing crisis: Is the EU plan up to the job?

    MEPs recently approved a key report on housing, with the stated aim of securing decent, sustainable and affordable housing. They are responding to an EU-wide crisis in which property prices jumped by 15.5 percent between 2021 and 2024, according to Eurostat. That has frozen out millions of people looking to get onto the property ladder. Rental prices have continued to go up as well. Housing is a competence of member states, but there has been a push to do more at the EU level. We debate just how much Brussels should get involved, and whether the solutions it is proposing are workable. Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Oihana Almandoz, Aline Bottin and Isabelle Romero

    12 min

  7. 13 MAR

    Middle East war having 'huge impact' on EU economy: Commissioner Christophe Hansen

    It’s no secret that farmers across the EU have grown increasingly frustrated with the state of their industry. Profitability is falling, competition from abroad is fierce, and worries about paperwork and bureaucracy continue to mount. Fewer young people are taking over the family farm, opting for other careers instead. On top of these long-standing challenges, the war in Iran is adding new pressures, particularly with rising fertiliser costs. We sat down to discuss these issues with the EU’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen. "The war going on in the Middle East is having a huge impact on our economy," Hansen tells us. "We have trade flows going through these lanes. We are dependent on imports from there when it comes to oil and LNG (liquefied natural gas). But also, fertilisers are going through the affected region. Production sites (for fertilisers) are halted. So, this is creating problems for the agricultural sector. And generally speaking, our economy will have issues to cope with the situation."  For Hansen, the war highlights the EU’s vulnerability when it comes to supply chains. "One of our weaknesses is that we are heavily dependent on imports from third countries, on fertilisers and on energy," Hansen says. "Fertilizer prices were going up by 60% since 2020. So, this was already putting cereal producers really on edge. This is not a sustainable situation. We need to find solutions. We have the agricultural reserve, but this is of course not nearly sufficient. So, we have to find other possibilities to help farmers to cope with this situation."  We ask Hansen if the Commission has made a risky political gamble by provisionally applying the controversial EU-Mercosur trade agreement (with Latin American countries), despite opposition from farmers, trade unions, and MEPs in the EU Parliament.  "Well, it would not be the first time that a trade agreement is provisionally applied," Hansen answers. "There are precedents for that. And there was a very clear mandate from the (EU) Council side to go for this provisional application. The Parliament decided not to immediately vote on the consent. It is of course free to do so." Hansen is adamant that "many sectors are really wishing for this agreement. The wine and spirits sector; the dairy sector; the olive oil sector; the ham sector of Italy and Spain as well. This is the economic reality."  Christophe Hansen insists that the Commission’s simplification agenda does not mean a watering down of environmental standards in agriculture, particularly when it comes to pesticides. This despite major concerns flagged up by the likes of the European Environmental Bureau and the Pesticides Action Network Europe.  "The approval of products is currently a very long procedure which, unfortunately, is blocking, for example, the marketing of new biopesticides that are low-risk substances. Those (new products) have the same approval time - 7 to 8 to 10 years. This is too slow. And when I speak to the manufacturers of these new alternatives to the classic chemical products, they say, ‘well, we are going to move to the United States’. We funded the research, and then they go elsewhere because our procedures are too slow. That has to change. Otherwise, we will not be competitive with anybody in the world anymore."

    12 min

  8. 13 MAR

    Iran conflict: EU walks diplomatic tightrope between rule of law and support for democracy

    The EU is in a bind. EU institutions and many member states have condemned the Iranian government’s waves of repression against its own population. At the same time, the EU has said it would welcome a more democratic form of government in Iran. At the same time, it does not want to appear too closely aligned with the US‑Israeli strikes on Iran, which some EU member states — particularly Spain — have said are outside international law. So how should the EU walk this tightrope? And how can it support the Iranian people in this very difficult military, economic and humanitarian context? Our MEPs discuss.  Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Aline Bottin, Oihana Almandoz, Paul Guianvarc'h and Isabelle Romero

    12 min
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About

Politicians, activists and researchers debate the issues facing the EU and a 'guest of the week' offers their insight in a long-format interview that gets to the heart of the matter. Saturday at 7:15pm.

Information

  • Channel
    FRANCE 24 English
  • Creator
    FRANCE 24 English
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © France Médias Monde
  • Show Website
    Talking Europe

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