Europe Rendezvous

It is both the smallest and most densely populated country in the European Union, a group of islands in the central Mediterranean. Malta has been spared the worst of the financial crisis with unemployment at just 5%, well below the EU average. Mandy Borg, a young foreign language teacher, shows us around her Malta, taking us to the former capital and traditional fishing villages. Mandy also interviews MEP Alfred Sant and asks him if he is still as big a Eurosceptic as he seemed to be while Prime Minister of Malta.

Chief editor: Caroline de Camaret

Presenter: Eve Irvine

Production: Alix Le Bourdon

Reports: Alix Le Bourdon

Camera operators: Stéphane Bodenne and Luke Brown

In 2015, France 24 has travelled across Europe to take a look at the continent’s challenges: European identity, refugee crisis, global warming, economy… From Hungary to Malta, France and Croatia, here's a selection of this year's best reports. Chief editor: Caroline de Camaret

Presenter: Eve Irvine

Production and reports: Alix Le Bourdon

Hungary is a landlocked nation surrounded by seven other countries. It made the headlines recently for its harsh stance on the migrant crisis - it erected a wire fence along its border with Serbia and gave police more powers when dealing with people crossing into the country. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban took office in 2010, he has regularly clashed with other European leaders. FRANCE 24 travels to Budapest to get a better understanding of the Hungarian position. Chief editor: Caroline de Camaret

Presenter: Eve Irvine

Production and reports: Alix Le Bourdon

Camera operators: Stéphane Bodenne and Claire Williams

Watch part one

Since taking office in 2010, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban has come under fire from other European leaders for his increasing authoritarian stance, notably in relation to press freedom and most recently because of the migrant crisis. In September, Hungary erected a wire fence along its border with Serbia and gave police the right to arrest anyone crossing into the country. FRANCE 24 travels to Hungary and meets with young Hungarians to see what they make of it all. Chief editor: Caroline de Camaret

Presenter: Eve Irvine

Production: Alix Le Bourdon

Reports: Alix Le Bourdon and Claire Williams

Camera operators: Stéphane Bodenne and Claire Williams

Watch part two

In the second part of Europe Now we stay in France where we travel to the city of Lyon to meet Nadir, a young French rapper. Nadir and his band, the "Bavoog Avers", don't believe in social and ethnic determinism. He confronts Arnaud Danjean, a member of the European Parliament from the European People's Party, with the issue of the EU and its efforts to try to set itself apart from the rest of the world. Chief editor : Caroline de Camaret

Presenter : Christophe Robeet

Production : Alix Le Bourdon

Reports : Alix Le Bourdon and Jonathan Walsh

Camera operators : Alix Le Bourdon, Sylvain Rousseau and Stéphane Bodenne

Watch part one

In this first part of Europe Now, we meet 30-year-old French entrepreneur Benjamin. A family man and an extreme sports lover, he has joined his father in running the family business, a small delicatessen company. In the show, he travels to Strasbourg to meet José Bové, a green party member of the European Parliament. Chief editor : Caroline de Camaret

Presenter : Christophe Robeet

Production : Alix Le Bourdon

Reports : Alix Le Bourdon

Camera operators : Alix Le Bourdon, Sylvain Rousseau and Stéphane Bodenne

Watch part two

In the second part of the show, we meet 25-year-old mother and lawyer Karla Ressler in the capital Zagreb. She’s an activist for the main conservative party and we find out how she’s preparing their campaign ahead of parliamentary elections due later this year. We introduce her to MEP Davor Skrlec of the Greens. She asks him if he thinks it's more important to deal with environmental concerns or with unemployment. We also report on the brain drain of doctors leaving Croatia for greener pastures across the EU.

Chief editor: Caroline de Camaret

Presenter: Christophe Robeet

Production: Alix Le Bourdon

Reports: Alix Le Bourdon and Claire Williams

Camera operators: Stéphane Bodenne and Claire Williams

Editing: J. Procope, G. Terrier and F. Hernandez

Watch part one

We're in Croatia for the first show of our new season to find out what young people have to say about the European Union. We meet Franco-Croatian Adrian Radovic, a patisserie maker who’s left Marseille to work the summer tourist season on the Dalmatian Coast. The 25-year-old has found a job in his father’s hometown of Orebic and his all-butter French croissants are a big hit. We follow Adrian on his trip to the capital Zagreb where he meets MEP Andrej Plenkovic, from the EPP Group. And don’t miss our special report on how the EU’s youngest member is finding being part of the union, two years after it joined. 

 

Chief editor: Caroline de Camaret

Presenter: Christophe Robeet

Production: Alix Le Bourdon

Reports: Alix Le Bourdon and Claire Williams

Camera operators : Stéphane Bodenne and Claire Williams

Editing: J. Procope, G. Terrier and F. Hernandez

Watch part two

In September 2013, Sweden became the first European country to offer permanent residency to any Syrian who manages to arrive in Sweden, taking in an average of 500 refugees per week. Liberal MEP Cecilia Wikström tells us why this generous asylum policy must be sustained and takes us on a tour of the university town of Uppsala where she served as Lutheran priest prior to embracing a political career. We also find out why Swedes chose to send a feminist MEP to the European Parliament.

With its progressive laws, generous welfare state and green policies, Sweden is often regarded as a social laboratory for the rest of Europe. Our reporters went to Gothenburg where the municipality has decided to cut down its staff's working hours to just six – while keeping them on full pay. And we ask Green MEP Bodil Ceballos why Sweden has sued the European Commission over its failure to ban chemicals believed to cause diseases such as cancer and diabetes: the so-called endocrine disruptors.