Talking Europe

In a much-awaited speech this week, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen focused on the acute problems facing the Union: the war in Ukraine, energy prices and the challenge from autocracies. But some of the MEPs in the audience said the solutions she proposed are vague. We debrief von der Leyen's annual address with two MEPs.

France's Secretary of State for European Affairs Laurence Boone has outlined to FRANCE 24 the sacrifices necessary to continue putting pressure on Moscow, saying "it is a war against Russia for democracy, for freedom and supporting Ukraine. We are not asking horrible things. To put the temperature at 19 degrees, that has always been the unspoken rule."

Inflation is a word that viewers are likely now hearing almost every day. It's the term we use to talk about the cost of things that most of us regularly buy, like food and clothes, electricity bills, and the materials and resources used by businesses. Wherever you're watching, it’s almost certain you've noticed these prices rising – your home and vehicle fuel costs, or certain foodstuffs like wheat, flour and sunflower oil that have been particularly impacted by shortages due to Western sanctions on Russia. In late August, French President Emmanuel Macron said it was time to accept "the end of abundance".

Ireland's foreign minister has told France 24 that Dublin sees the United Kingdom's search for a new prime minister as "an opportunity for a fresh start" in the two countries' relations. This Friday, the European Commission launched new legal action against the government of Boris Johnson — this, as it pushes on with moves to unilaterally breach part of the Brexit treaty relating to Northern Ireland.

The ruling by a majority of judges in the United States’ Supreme Court to overturn the right to a legal abortion across the entire country has also sent shockwaves through Europe.

In our programme we examine abortion rights around the EU and look at how the situation might evolve.

France 24’s Europe team invites you to look back on the most recent parliamentary season (which started in September 2021) and some of the key European decision-makers we’ve been scrutinising, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

In a tumultuous week for British politics, European Union lawmakers are continuing to appeal for Westminster to resume post-Brexit talks. Leading German-British MEP David McAllister is chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, and closely involved in Brexit-related issues on the EU side. He told FRANCE 24 that he “very much regrets” moves by the British government under outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to unilaterally breach parts of the post-Brexit deal relating to Northern Ireland. “This protocol was mutually agreed and painstakingly negotiated over many months, and in the end ratified by both sides."

Across Europe, people are being hit by increased food, fuel and electricity bills. Even before the war in Ukraine started, the price of energy was rising. European leaders insist they will not waver in their support to Ukraine. They admit that helping Kyiv will come at a cost to European consumers. But what sort of cost, and potentially for how long? Arancha Gonzalez Laya has had top jobs in the field of international trade at the European Commission, the World Trade Organization, and at the United Nations. She also served as Spain's foreign minister from 2020 to 2021, a period marked by a diplomatic crisis with Morocco. She is now the Dean of the school of politics and international studies at Sciences Po university in Paris – and the first woman to lead that school. She spoke to FRANCE 24 about the economic challenges facing Europe.

France is handing over the baton of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union to the Czech Republic. It’s a rotating role that every EU member state holds in turn for six months – meaning that with 27 member states, it only comes around once every 13 and a half years.

At the most recent EU leaders’ summit last week, much of the talk was focused on the future of the European Union, particularly its potential enlargement. Varying degrees of assurances on possible membership were given to Ukraine, Moldova and to a different degree, the Western Balkans states. EU leaders gave less attention to the future of the bloc as sketched out by citizens during a year-long process called the Conference on the Future of Europe.