Talking Europe

Faced with an ageing population and holes in public finances, many European countries are grappling with reform of their pension systems. In this programme, we compare and contrast the situations in two EU member states, Denmark and Romania, and debate what constitutes a fair system of pension contributions. Ultimately, the discussion revolves around an age-old question: who should pay more, and who should pay less?

Talking Europe interviews Marc Angel, who was elected a vice-president of the European Parliament on January 18 to succeed Eva Kaili, the MEP at the heart of the Qatargate corruption scandal. Angel, a Socialists and Democrats MEP from Luxembourg, has strong words for authorities in both Morocco and Iran, as the EU Parliament ups the ante over freedoms in both countries. He discusses the EU Parliament's vote on January 19 to condemn Morocco – the first such move by the institution in 25 years.

A 14-point plan to improve transparency and close loopholes has been put forward by the head of the European Parliament in the wake of Qatargate, the bribery scandal that continues to rock the institution. Meanwhile, the Parliament's group of Socialists and Democrats, who have been particularly impacted by the scandal, have proposed their own 15-point plan to raise standards of conduct. In this show, we try to pick apart these various plans and ask what is really likely to change.

Talking Europe hosts the Croatian prime minister, who steered his country into the eurozone and the Schengen free travel area at the start of this year. Andrej Plenkovic talks about the symbolic and practical aspects of these two moves, and discusses his government's plans to continue helping Ukraine – despite the Croatian parliament's recent rejection of a proposal to join an EU military mission in support of Kyiv.

"The bird is freed," tech billionaire Elon Musk wrote upon acquiring Twitter in October of last year. EU Commissioner Thierry Breton shot back: "In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules." That early exchange exposed two starkly different views of social media: a haven of free speech, as Musk would have it; or a place where freedom goes hand in hand with protecting users from illegal content – the EU's approach.

Talking Europe speaks to a leading voice on the democratisation of the European Union. Alberto Alemanno is a professor of EU law and a founding member of The Good Lobby, an organisation that aims to boost civil society's ability to carry out advocacy, and to make corporate political influence more accountable. We discuss the implications of the Qatargate scandal that has rocked the European Parliament over the last few weeks. Alemanno also gives us a heads-up on the incoming Swedish presidency of the EU, as well as some of the European trends to look out for in 2023.

As the purported bribery scandal known as "Qatargate" rocks the European Parliament, FRANCE 24 speaks to prominent MEP Daniel Freund, who, until 2019, led Transparency International's work on the integrity of the EU institutions. He then took up his mandate as an EU parliamentarian for the Group of the Greens. Freund argues that the Parliament needs an independent body to provide oversight, because precedent shows that "self-control does not work". His remarks come amid revelations that Qatar allegedly bribed EU lawmakers in a bid to influence policy – something the Emirate, which is currently hosting the FIFA World Cup, strenuously denies.

"Increasing Europe’s strategic autonomy" was one of the key themes at a recent conference in Paris, bringing together the European Space Agency’s 22 member countries. But for all the talk of being a leader in space, is Europe ready to walk the walk? Our guests discuss Europe's options for strengthening its launch capabilities, its plans for a space-based secure communication system and even the possibility of a European space law.

Recent discussions in Europe about a gas price cap are said to have been tough, heated and even ugly. The European Commission has put a proposal on the table, but EU member states are finding it difficult to reach a compromise among themselves – despite giving their political support to a gas price cap in late October. Meanwhile, in what's been described as a modest achievement, the EU has agreed on a price cap on Russian oil imports. But gas has become the bloc's bête noire this winter, as the war in Ukraine and resulting energy crisis grind on, and as the EU tries to avoid a split that would benefit the Kremlin. We discuss what's at stake with two MEPs.

Talking Europe speaks to Eamon Ryan, the leader of the Irish Green Party and minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport in the current coalition government in Dublin. We caught up with him after he attended a signing ceremony for the Celtic Interconnector, a project that will link the electricity grids of Ireland and France for the first time. Due to come into service in late 2026 or early 2027, the cable will provide power in both directions. Ryan says the project is part of a "new industrial revolution" that will connect European countries and ultimately reduce their energy dependence on Russia and the Middle East.