Letter from Brussels

Why the increasing cost of housing is becoming a European problem; why the people of Saint-Omer in France were grateful to see the flags of the Netherlands, Slovakia and Czechia arriving in their town; how bureaucratic barriers along our Union’s internal borders still make life difficult for 130 million Europeans; the Mayor of Mariupol gives a timely reminder of what might happen elsewhere, if Europe doesn’t continue supporting Ukraine, and what had I done to make an elderly man of Brussels so angry? This Letter also features a special message from European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and the voices of the Vice-President of the Hauts-de-France region François Decoster, the former mayor of the Estonian town of Rakvere Andres Jaadla, and the Deputy Mayor of the French city of Nice Magali Altounian.

In this Letter:

• what the climb up to a medieval tower in the Flemish city of Mechelen reveals;
• what Jacques Delors said when the HQ of the European Committee of the Regions was named after him 17 years before he died;
• the liberal city taking over the European Capital of Culture title in 2024;
• the renovation of the vast site in Brussels that used to house the imperial postal service and Europe's largest railway station for goods;
• the inspiring interpreter at the RenewPAC summit in Dakar, Senegal, and the urgent geopolitical need to develop a partnership between Europe and Africa at all levels of government and society;
• how the Mayor of Mechelen is connecting his citizens with the European dimension of their identity, and how local leaders can help to boost voter turnout at the European elections of June 2024.

The extraordinary scenes of President Zelenskyy's visit to the European Parliament.
How the city of Timisoara is going digital.
How EU regions and cities are helping the victims of the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.
Why wolves are causing a fierce debate about subsidiarity.
The message for Europe from a Ukrainian refugee.
The 80th anniversary of the attack by three young men from Brussels on a convoy taking Jewish deportees to Auschwitz.

A special edition of Letter from Brussels, episode 10 brings you a few predictions for 2023 in key policy areas, including an analysis of the recent scandal which has rocked the EU, and a journey back to the Brussels of 1908 discovering how events in that year still echo in the present day.

The 9th Letter from Brussels takes you west to the middle of the Atlantic with the new President of the European Committee of the Regions; south to one of the EU’s land borders with Africa; and north to the Arctic, which has become of great interest to China. Plus, why the new female vice-presidents of Renew Europe in the CoR are political leaders you need to follow. And the story of the antique car in Brussels which could have helped change the course of climate history.
Pictures of the antique car and Sean's recent visit to the Brussels Autoworld Museum can be found at www.reneweurope-cor.eu/podcast

The 8th Letter from Brussels takes us to Odessa, Ukraine, to hear the story of the Borys Aleksandrov ship and its unusual naming ceremony. This episode also includes President Zelenskyy's inspired plan for reconstruction of Ukrainian cities, news about the city most recently awarded the title of European Capital of Culture, as well as news about the wider Renew Europe political family, and an insight into a EurActiv op-ed article by Renew Europe President François Decoster explaining what would happen if a mayor failed to visit a local school during its refurbishment and how this is relevant to the future of the European Union.

(Opening audio credit: EU Neighbours East, EU4EMBLAS video about the ship name change)

The extraordinary precision of Europe's spaceport launching the James Webb telescope; the Royal Belgian Observatory's connection with Webb and a mission in 2022 to crash into an asteroid; the urban rural divide is a challenge to democracy; what cities can do to help prevent a crash in the number of pollinators; the latest on the Conference on the Future of Europe; and the inspiring and courageous Mayor of Cologne who has won the first Pawel Adamowicz award.

"The hero and the roof" features French President Emmanuel Macron at the plenary of the European Committee of the Regions and his 3 objectives to strengthen the Union, proposals by the European liberal youth LYMEC for the European Year of Youth 2022, new approaches to eradicating homelessness, and the Brussels heroes challenging people to spend a night sleeping outdoors.

"The Crime & the Lone Crusader" carries highlights of a highly tense debate in the October plenary of the CoR, led by Fianna Fáil's Kate Feeney against homophobic amendments by Viktor Orban's Fidesz members, as well as new proposals by MR's Alexia Bertrand to empower consumers to make climate friendly choices when shopping, and the story of the lone crusader who fought against architectural crimes in Brussels in 1950 and 1964, and who was behind one of the most successful museums of the Belgian and EU capital.