Talking Europe

It’s been an unseasonably wet and chilly month of May for many of us in Europe. That's perhaps something to focus minds on our changing climate, an issue that affects every single one of us. Leaders of EU countries gathered in Brussels a few days ago at a summit where climate was meant to be a major priority. But the hijacking of a civilian Ryanair plane by the Belarusian state overshadowed talk of carbon emissions reductions and the industrial transition.

It's a small nation of just five and a half million people, but Scotland and particularly its independence movement could be on the cusp of changing the map of both the UK and the EU for good. We bring you a special two-part debate on the issue of Scottish independence.

It's a small nation of just five and a half million people, but Scotland and particularly its independence movement could be on the cusp of changing the map of both the UK and the EU for good. We bring you a special two-part debate on the issue of Scottish independence.

This week's Talking Europe show is looking at how the EU hopes to put Social Cohesion – creating jobs, giving workers new skills, cutting poverty – at the heart of its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. That was the goal of the recent Social Summit in Porto, the first European Council dedicated to Social Affairs. Our guest is a key figure in shaping the EU's response: Nicolas Schmit, the EU Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. He tells us how the Porto Social Summit demonstrates the EU's commitment to tying rebuilding the economy to the social dimension.

This week, Talking Europe is taking a closer look at how the EU hopes to bounce back from the pandemic and create jobs, this after a year of economic stasis with businesses closed, workers furloughed and job prospects curtailed. Last weekend's Social Summit in Porto outlined how the EU hopes to increase employment levels to 78 percent, reduce the number of people living in poverty by 15 million and propose training schemes for 60 percent of the European workforce, all by 2030.

Talking Europe speaks to Clément Beaune, a close confidant of French President Emmanuel Macron. The French Secretary of State for European Affairs says the EU-wide recovery plan agreed last year should be implemented faster and he does not rule out that more stimulus might be needed. Beaune also takes stock of the EU vaccine rollout, digital certificates for travel this summer and the meaning of Europe Day on May 9, some 71 years after the Schuman Declaration began the process of European integration.

Relations between Russia and the EU have dropped to their lowest point since the Cold War – that's according to the EU ambassador in Moscow. The Russian foreign ministry agrees, but says it's the EU's fault. Diplomatic expulsions and travel bans imposed since the start of this year have deepened the existing rift over Ukraine. To give their perspectives on the crisis between Brussels and Moscow, two MEPs speak to Armen Georgian.

It’s a Baltic nation well known for being technologically ahead of the curve. And Estonia is living up to that reputation by launching a digital vaccine certificate, easily generated on smartphones. But how will Estonia’s e-document work with certificates in other EU countries? And how many advantages should vaccinated people have in the EU this summer over those who have not received the jab?

In an interview with FRANCE 24, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace condemned the killing of Chadian President Idriss Deby and said Britain would do everything it could to support its friends such as France, as well as countries in the Sahel that are facing instability and radicalisation. Wallace also touted Franco-British defence projects and underlined that such cooperation will be key for both countries in meeting challenges from Russia and China, as well as non-conventional threats.

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".