Fact or Fake

Migration was at the heart of Giorgia Meloni's successful 2022 election campaign. Promising a tougher approach to irregular migration helped propel her to power, but what has her government achieved since then? One of its flagship policies was the creation of a controversial migrant processing centre in Albania. Yet the plan has repeatedly run into legal obstacles in Italy, raising questions about whether it can deliver on its promises. At the same time, Meloni has had to balance her hardline rhetoric with economic realities. Faced with labour shortages and pressure from businesses, her government has authorised around half a million additional work visas for the 2026–2029 period. Has Meloni's migration policy proved more pragmatic than her supporters expected? Whatever the answer, it has created political space on her right. One of the most prominent challengers is former army general Roberto Vannacci, who advocates an even tougher approach to immigration and openly calls for the "remigration" of migrants. Luke Brown reports.

Giorgia Meloni made history in 2022 when she became Italy's first female prime minister. She quickly signalled her ideological affinity with Donald Trump and positioned herself as a bridge between the MAGA movement in the United States and Europe's radical right. She was also the only European leader invited to attend Trump's second inauguration in 2025. Renaud Lefort examines how the relationship between Trump and Meloni has evolved since then, alongside Meloni's changing role within the European Union. While she has sought to strengthen Italy's influence in Brussels, critics argue that she has moderated some of her more hardline positions in order to remain politically influential. The report features an interview with Gianfranco Fini, founder of the post-fascist National Alliance, where Meloni began her political career more than two decades ago. Historian and Italian politics specialist Marc Lazar also assesses Meloni's first three years in office, examining what he describes as authoritarian tendencies in her approach to governing.

Moldova’s political future faces the West - but the country has to overcome destabilisation efforts coming from the East.

In Europe, recent farmers’ protests are fertile ground for planting the seeds of disinformation.

Faced with US pressure over Greenland and Russia’s belligerence in the East, Denmark finds itself caught between twin threats - and at the nexus of disinformation campaigns. 
With online campaigns dividing public opinion on crucial issues, the race is on to push back against fake news.

Renaud Lefort highlights small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) striving to grow with the help of European funds. In rural areas, some projects exist solely because of EU support.

Renaud Lefort analyses the impact of European funding on economic growth, and highlights the challenges of using it effectively in Corsica.

In our report on the Azores, we take a look at how EU cohesion projects play a vital role in sustaining life on the Portuguese islands. FRANCE 24's Charlotte Prudhomme and Renaud Lefort show just how important this is – meeting local business owners who rely on the funds to grow, as well as interviewing experts and Portuguese MEP André Rodrigues, who underscores the potential threats that any change to cohesion policy could pose to the status quo in the Azores.

As Ukraine is not a member of the European Union for now, it cannot benefit from its cohesion funds. But Kyiv receives strong support from the EU in the form of financial, humanitarian and military assistance. We take a closer look at what the bloc has done to help its neighbour since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. 

Since February 24, 2022, Russia's full-scale invasion has had a huge impact on Ukraine, but also the European Union. To tackle inflation and other economic consequences, the EU has taken measures to try to shield its inhabitants from the cost-of-living crisis. We take a closer look.