As tourism in Europe recovers from the lean years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the continent is once again confronted with what the European Parliament has termed "overtourism"; visitor numbers that can impact landscapes, seascapes, air and water quality, as well as the living conditions of local residents. Overtourism can cause economic inequality and even social exclusion. Our guests hail from two of the EU's most popular tourist destinations: Croatia and Spain. They discuss the economic benefits of tourism, as well as efforts to make it more sustainable.

Political groups in the European Parliament are on manoeuvres ahead of a key vote on the EU’s proposed Nature Restoration Law on July 12. The draft legislation is seen as key to restoring millions of hectares of degraded land across Europe, but it has already been rejected by three parliamentary committees. Our guest, Utrecht University scientist Andre Faaij, argues that the stalling of the law is a "tragedy", as what it "wants to achieve is very important for future food production", as well as for reforestation. Faaij addresses the many potential benefits of restoring damaged habitats, including responsible production of biofuels that could be crucial to Europe's energy transition and its quest for energy independence.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization and the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. Last summer was Europe's hottest on record, with thousands of excess deaths linked to heatwaves. The extremely dry conditions have major implications for agriculture and the supply of water. But authorities across the bloc are learning from the various crises, and they’ve updated their plans to fight one of the most immediate risks this summer: wildfires. In this show we take a look at those plans, and consider what other climate-related disasters EU countries should be anticipating – and in which areas they might work more closely together.

Talking Europe discusses European security with Gitanas Nausėda, the president of Lithuania. Ahead of next month's NATO summit in Vilnius, Nausėda urges a collective response to likely Wagner troop movements in Belarus. He also highlights the deployment of a permanent "full-fledged German brigade" in Lithuania and promotes a gradual approach towards European strategic autonomy.

Talking Europe interviews Jutta Urpilainen, the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, who is in charge of overseeing official development assistance. She announces exclusively on FRANCE 24 a fresh €66 million package for Niger, to be spent on education. Urpilainen stresses that development aid is part of geopolitical competition, and that it would be a "huge mistake" for Europe and the West to turn their back on the Global South. We also discuss climate financing, corruption in recipient countries, conditionality of aid and the post-Cotonou agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific states.

Talking Europe devotes a special programme to levelling up – efforts to reduce inequalities and disparities in the European Union. Featuring extracts from our own reporting from around the continent, we take a comprehensive view of the EU's cohesion policy with Elisa Ferreira, the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms. She insists that levelling up "has really worked", but says that "this does not mean that everything is perfect". She also urges member states to reflect on the political cost of the continuing imbalances between European regions.

Talking Europe devotes a special programme to levelling up – efforts to reduce inequalities and disparities in the European Union. Featuring extracts from our own reporting from around the continent, we take a comprehensive view of the EU's cohesion policy with Elisa Ferreira, the Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms. Join us for this second part of the programme.

Talking Europe interviews the head of the Council of Europe, the continent's human rights watchdog. A former Croatian minister of foreign and European affairs, Marija Pejcinovic Buric was elected to lead the Council of Europe in 2019. The organisation started out with just 10 nations in 1949, and now numbers 46, including the European Union member states and other countries that are outside the EU.

Since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the European Union has been the largest donor of humanitarian, stabilisation and resilience assistance to Syrians, with another conference known as Brussels VII – aimed at supporting Syria and the region – held on June 14 and 15 in the Belgian capital. But the recent rehabilitation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by regional players has arguably complicated the EU's task.

Talking Europe catches up with Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, as Madrid prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union on July 1, 2023. We discuss the poor showing by the ruling Socialist party in May’s regional and municipal elections, in which both the right and the far right made gains. And we get into Spain’s priorities for its EU presidency, including making the EU’s Stability and Growth Pact more flexible, reforming the EU’s electricity market and sending a strong political signal to Latin American countries. On the question of Gibraltar – a British overseas territory that sits on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula –Albares says that Spain is ready for a post-Brexit deal with the UK.