Talk of a "vaccine war" between the European Union and the United Kingdom is totally untrue, says the EU's ambassador to the UK. João Vale de Almeida tells FRANCE 24 "our common enemy is the virus" and that the EU is still the biggest exporter of Covid-19 vaccines in the world, despite agreeing recently on a mechanism to block vaccine exports in some circumstances. That mechanism had prompted British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab to accuse the European Union of "brinkmanship".

As new variants keep Covid-19 infection rates high in EU countries, the European Commission's Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis tells FRANCE 24: "We are now indeed in a crunch time".

Tytti Tuppurainen is Europe minister of Finland, the country that's been officially named as the world's happiest by the United Nations for the fourth year running. Finland currently has one of the lowest rates of Covid-19 infection in the European Union and is above the EU average for delivering first doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Finland is also seen as having particular strategic importance within the EU thanks to its 1,340 kilometre land border with Russia, a nation which is troubling many in Brussels and beyond with its troop build-up along the Ukrainian border.

In this edition we're zoning in on LGBT rights in the EU. Over the last two years, more than 100 local authority areas in Poland have been declared "LGBT-free zones", meaning they're no longer allowed to encourage tolerance towards LGBT people, or give financial assistance to rights groups that do so. In response to that, a majority of European lawmakers recently declared the entire EU to be an "LGBTIQ Freedom Zone". The declaration itself is symbolic. So what might it mean for LGBT people in the 27 member states? We discuss the issue with two MEPs.

The EU's border and coast guard agency, known as Frontex, has a budget of over €540 million for 2021. It's "the most important agency in the European Union", according to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs. But Frontex and its Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri are currently under fire over allegations its officers participated in illegal "pushbacks" of asylum seekers. Speaking to FRANCE 24, Leggeri insists there is "no evidence" of such action.

In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, the European Union's foreign policy chief conceded that his recent trip to Russia "was not a success". But Josep Borrell rejected calls for him to resign over the Moscow visit, during which several EU diplomats were expelled and the Russian foreign minister called the EU an "unreliable partner".

He was the first person to DJ in space, and the youngest Italian ever to perform a spacewalk. Our guest Luca Parmitano tells FRANCE 24 about his job as an astronaut for the European Space Agency, as the ESA starts hiring its next generation of space explorers. With a focus on more diversity in the recruitment process, that means the Agency is actively encouraging applications from women, who have been under-represented on the astronaut roster up to now; and from people with physical impairments who would like to become the first "para-astronaut" in history.

The US and Russia may have launched the space race, but Europe is very much there alongside the two giants. It boasts not just ESA astronauts, but also projects like the European Galileo and Copernicus satellites, plus established successes in navigation and Earth observation. The European space industry employs around a quarter of a million people and the continent manufactures a third of the world's satellites. Just before the pandemic struck, there was a funding boost of over €14 billion – but now concerns are being raised that Europe risks losing ground because of Covid-19.

“To describe the EU as a sort of protectionist or nationalist bloc on vaccines is completely unfair.” Those are the words of EU’s Economy Commissioner and Italy’s former prime minister Paolo Gentiloni after the commission threatened to block Covid-19 vaccine consignments to vaccine-producing countries that are not exporting any vaccines themselves.

If you’re planning a holiday this year, you might need to remember a new holiday essential along with your passport and sunscreen: The European Commission has unveiled plans for a so-called Digital Green Pass. The certificate will come in the form of a QR code, showing either that its carrier has been vaccinated against Covid-19, has tested negative for it, or developed natural immunity after having contracted the deadly disease.