Talking Europe FRANCE 24 English

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.