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. 9H AGO

    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

  2. 9H AGO

    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

  3. MAR 6

    'We want a new form of government that better serves the Iranian people': EU Commissioner McGrath

    Talking Europe sits down at the EU Commission with a man whose work goes to the very heart of what the EU sees as its core values. Michael McGrath is the Commissioner responsible for democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection. His work concerns not just breaches of the rule of law in EU member states, but also the whole online dimension of democracy, including disinformation and foreign interference. Indeed, he now leads a new European Centre for Democratic Resilience. We start with the war in the Middle East and ask McGrath whether he believes, as France and Spain have said, that the US-Israeli attacks on Iran are outside international law? "Well, ultimately, it is for the international courts to give a definitive determination on that legal question," he answers. "But I think we have to remember here the absolute brutality of the Iranian regime and the brutality that they have perpetrated on their own people over many decades, including in recent weeks and in recent months." "There is an obligation on all parties now to this conflict to behave in a responsible way; to minimise damage and civilian casualties," McGrath goes on. "It is appalling to see innocent lives being lost. And that must be avoided at all costs." On the Iranian political dimension, McGrath states that "the outcome that we want to see here as a European Union is a system of governance in Iran that meets the needs of the Iranian people, and that they can be better served and better supported by a new form of government. Ideally, we would like to see a democratic government, a form of government that meets their needs and treats them in a far better and more humane way than the current Iranian regime has been doing for a long time." On the obvious split between Spain and France on the one hand and Germany on the other when it comes to responding to the US and Israel, McGrath points out that the EU treaties make it clear that the Common Foreign and Security Policy "is determined on the basis of unanimity, at European Council level. So it's not for the European Commission or the External Action Service to arrive at a policy position and represent the European Union. It is led by the member states, and we have to be given a mandate to represent and reflect that body of opinion. Of course, on any significant international issues, it is difficult to achieve unanimity. That is the reality that we face." 'Rule of law is not an optional extra' Turning to rule-of-law issues in Hungary and Slovakia, McGrath reminds us that "the rule of law is not an optional extra within the European Union. It is a binding obligation of EU membership". On Hungary, "a number of significant judgments are expected in the period ahead from the Court of Justice. And we have the Article 7 procedure that was triggered by the European Parliament back in 2018 – but the EU Council remains in ownership of that particular process". When it comes to Slovakia, McGrath says that the Commission has "received responses from the Slovak authorities in relation to our two letters of formal notice, which constitute the initiation of an infringement process. We are considering those replies that we have received. And of course, action and positive movement is what we actually need to see, in order for us to change our position. There is a way back (for the Slovak authorities) to address and repair these issues". With elections coming up in Hungary and in Denmark, we turn to the question online disinformation and election interference. "I'm very pleased that the new European Centre for Democratic Resilience is now up and running and with the full support of the member states of the European Union," McGrath avers. "And its central purpose really is to act as a hub, as a point of coordination, to join together all of the good work that is happening within the (EU) institutions and also at the level of the member states. We know that there has been foreign interference in elections in Europe. We also know that with the power of technology and the extraordinary power of artificial intelligence, the ability to spread disinformation does present real challenges for our democracies." Indeed, aren't existing EU tools falling behind those very rapid advances in AI and deepfakes? "We need guardrails and regulatory parameters, and in particular on AI", McGrath replies. "And we need to keep this under review. If we need to do more, then we have to be willing to make such proposals. But we do have a very strong toolbox, including support for free and independent media, support for civil society and support for independent justice systems. All of these are essential foundations of a free, open and democratic society, and we need to continue to invest in them." Programme prepared by Oihana Almandoz, Aline Bottin, Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Paul Guianvarc'h

    13 min

  4. MAR 6

    Pay gaps, bullying, violence: Challenges for women's rights in the EU

    On March 8, 2026, the world marks International Women's Day, to celebrate women's achievements and reinforce commitment to gender equality. In fact, this year denotes 115 years of collective action and advocacy. On a global scale, Europe is actually very progressive. If one looks at the World Economic Forum's latest Gender Gap Index, European countries take eight spots out of the world's top 10. In this show we explore areas that are still problematic in Europe when it comes to equality, particularly AI deepfakes and cyberbullying targeting women and girls – something that our guests are addressing at the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats, Oihana Almandoz, Aline Bottin and Paul Guianvarc'h

    12 min

  5. FEB 27

    Cancer rates rise amid inequalities between EU members

    European countries have some of the best public health systems in the world. And yet cancer rates have been going up, according to the European Commission. For instance, in 2022, there was a 2.3 percent increase on the year 2020. The International Agency for Research on Cancer says it expects cases in Europe to keep increasing over the next two decades. That may be part of a global trend, but it still leads us to the question: why do Europeans account for around 25 percent of global cancer cases when they represent less than 10 percent of the world's population? Have Europeans become too comfortable in the way they live? Find out more with the Intergroup on Cancer and Rare Diseases at the European Parliament. Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero, Oihana Almandoz and Agnès Le Cossec

    12 min

  6. FEB 20

    Macron's readiness to talk to Putin "a very good idea": EU Council former president Charles Michel

    As FRANCE 24 covers another grim milestone in Ukraine – four years of full-scale war – Talking Europe hosts the former president of the EU Council, Charles Michel, who was in the job when that geopolitical earthquake struck the European continent on February 24, 2022. We also bring you a special feature, “Ukraine: Europe on the front line”, about the EU’s wide-ranging support for Ukraine, by our reporter Mélina Huet. Speaking of February 24, 2022, Charles Michel remembers, “The night when this full-scale invasion started, I had a phone call with Zelensky. He told me that there were (Russian) attacks everywhere. A few hours later, we had a meeting in Brussels with the 27 heads of state and government. And I managed to have Volodymyr Zelensky with us by video conference. It was a terrible moment because, in fact, we didn't need to talk to each other. Every leader around the table, we all had the same feelings. We all understood that this moment was a game changer for the future of the European continent. And we were also aware that it was extremely important to make bold decisions to support Ukraine.” What does Charles Michel think of President Macron’s recent remark that it would be “useful” for him and the Europeans to start talking directly to President Putin again? “That's a very good idea, because what is going on today is a real problem for the EU,” Michel answers.  “It's not normal that the European Union is not at the table. And if you are not at the table, you are on the menu. It means that no-one is defending our interest. We have observed that President Trump, very rapidly after his inauguration, made the choice to give legitimacy to Vladimir Putin and to launch those talks with Putin. We have to do more to be masters of our destiny. That's about security. That's about defence. That's about the decades to come. We must be at the table.” We ask Charles Michel who should be put forward as an EU envoy in any potential direct talks with the Kremlin. “There are various options, but I think that the most powerful option would be for the European Council to give a mandate, because it's the body with the highest legitimacy, with the 27 heads of state government,” Michel replies. “It could be a mandate to Antonio Costa, the president of the European Council, to be in the talks – with a strong mission; the defence of the European interest. You know, it’s very strange; we are powerful from the economic point of view. We are powerful from the military point of view. It’s very clear today that we are the most important supporter of Ukraine in terms of financial support, and in terms of military support. We must be more self-confident, I think.”   Programme prepared by Oihana Almandoz, Perrine Desplats and Isabelle Romero

    12 min

  7. FEB 20

    'We will be able to defend Ukraine' thanks to EU loan: Ambassador Vsevolod Chentsov

    As part of FRANCE 24’s and Talking Europe’s coverage of the fourth anniversary of the war in Ukraine, we host veteran diplomat Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine’s ambassador to the European Union. He highlights the critical assistance the EU is providing for the country’s military, budgetary, and energy needs, saying that the solidarity shown by Ukraine’s European allies "cannot be underestimated". On the fourth anniversary of full-scale war, Chentsov says that Ukrainians "again feel this feeling of strong support and solidarity with Ukraine. The unity of Europe is there. The role of European institutions and member states cannot be underestimated." Faced with a particularly harsh winter and Russian missile attacks, Chentsov points to the EU’s crucial help in the energy sector. "The EU has managed to mobilise more than €3 billion for energy support since February 2022; emergency purchases, generators, transformers and so on." Chentsov highlights that Ukraine now faces "a very difficult combination of very low temperatures and depleted stocks of missiles to hit Russian ballistic missiles and drones". On the landmark EU loan for Ukraine that was agreed at the end of last year, Chentsov says, "the 90-billion-euro loan launched new instruments to cover our needs in 2026 and 2027. Around 60 billion from this loan will be allocated to support Ukrainian defence, both for the Ukrainian defence industry and the European defence industry. What is very important is that Ukraine will be able to use the instrument in quite a flexible way, which means that we will be able to defend Ukraine." Referring to Ukraine’s funding shortfall even after taking the EU loan into account, Chentsov remarks; "the EU is covering a significant part of our needs, but definitely other partners are supposed to chip in, and we are working hard with the rest of our G7 partners. There were quite successful meetings recently in Brussels." We ask if the Ukrainian authorities feel abandoned by the Trump administration, given the latter’s drastic reduction in financial aid to Ukraine over the past year. "I hope that transatlantic unity will remain," Chentsov responds. "These days, our colleagues in the EU institutions and member states are talking to the US administration, for instance, about how to coordinate additional sanctions pressure on the Russian shadow fleet. And we are talking about a total ban on maritime transportation. So there is coordination between the EU and the US. And we definitely try to encourage our US partners put the pressure on Russia." On Ukraine’s EU membership process, Chentsov says that "it’s important to find a way out” of the impasse caused by the Hungarian government blocking the formal opening of the first cluster in the EU accession negotiations. He adds, "We managed to find a way to move forward with the European Commission and the EU Council Secretariat and to do basically all the technical work, not only on the first cluster, but also on other clusters, in order to be ready to double down as soon as we will be able to overcome this political blockage. We are moving fast and we try not to lose any momentum." Programme prepared by Oihana Almandoz, Perrine Desplats and Isabelle Romero

    12 min

  8. FEB 13

    'Keep Europe strong from the inside': Kata Tütto, president of the Committee of the Regions

    Europe's regions are in danger of being squeezed as the EU considers sweeping changes to the way its 27 member states spend their money, warns the European official tasked with reducing inequalities among the bloc's hundreds of towns and regions. Kata Tütto, a Hungarian socialist, and president of the European Committee of the Regions, tells Talking Europe's Douglas Herbert that the EU's next long-term budget, which runs from 2028 to 2034, risks quietly shrinking the money that underpins local investment under the EU's region-focused Cohesion Policy. At the centre of the controversy is a proposed "mega-fund" worth roughly €865 billion, which would pool money for farmers and poorer regions in a single pot. That may sound vast. But spread across seven years and 260 regions, the reality is far less impressive, Tütto says. Under the current proposals, funding for regions would fall to roughly half of today's level. It's a shift that could hollow out the EU's cohesion policy, the main tool designed to reduce economic gaps between Europe's cities and regions. The timing, Tüttő argues, could hardly be worse. Every region – rich or poor – is undergoing a demographic, climate and technological transition. In a world of constant crisis and mounting threats, she warns, governments are tempted to sacrifice long-term investment for short-term fixes, centralising decisions and draining attention and money away from the local level. While Tüttő accepts that defence and security now dominate the political agenda, she challenges the definition of what security means. It is not only about tanks, borders or drones, she says, but also about safe drinking water, affordable housing, clean energy and resilient infrastructure – the everyday needs that allow societies to function when shocks hit. Tütto's message to Brussels is blunt: Europe cannot project strength abroad if it allows inequality and instability to grow at home. Undermining Cohesion Policy, she warns, would weaken the very base that allows the European Union to act together economically, politically and strategically. Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, 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
    26
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © France Médias Monde
  • Show Website
    Talking Europe

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