It's been a year since Donald Tusk took power, filling liberals and progressives in Poland with hope as eight years of rightwing populist rule came to an end. But how much has Tusk's coalition really improved things? This week Dominika Lasota of Wschód, an increasingly influential force that has been holding Tusk's government to account, joins us to discuss what still needs to change. We're also talking about Ursula von der Leyen's new squad, and why you might no longer need your passport for trips to Romania or Bulgaria. 

'Schengen in Sights, EU and Frontex Overlook Violent Bulgarian Pushbacks' - Balkan Insight, February 26, 2024

Producers Katz and Wojciech join Katy and Dominic for a very special announcement from The Europeans. 

We’re incredibly excited to make this series for you. Please help us turn it into a reality! Sign up to support this project here: https://4fund.com/z/europeanspodcast 

Got ideas for places we need to go or people we need to interview for this series? Email us at [email protected]. 

Thank you, as always, for listening. 

Georgia's pro-Russian ruling party claims to have won last weekend's election — a fraudulent election, according to a mounting pile of evidence. A country that was once on the path to EU membership is now veering much closer to the Kremlin. Is there any hope left? We ring Anna Gvarishvili, Tbilisi-based journalist and head of the Investigative Media Lab, to unpack what just happened and what might happen next. We're also discussing two suitably scary topics in this Halloween episode: France's money problems, and the noxious substances spewing out of your gas cooker. 

Wine fraud, migration policy and climate litigation: there's something for everyone this week. Back in April, Switzerland's government lost a groundbreaking European court case and was ordered to rewrite its climate policy. Has it actually done that? No, no it has not. We speak to Geneva-based climate lawyer Seb Duyck about whether Switzerland can be forced to change its tune. We're also talking about offshore migrant detention centres, a full-bodied fraud case and the latest sign that AI is coming for podcasters' jobs. 

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Producers: Morgan Childs and Wojciech Oleksiak 

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Other resources for this episode

'Finance minister responds to book VAT backlash, cuts the rate on books' - The Slovak Spectator, 26/09/2024 

'«Onion is tasty». Political prisoners work on an onion plantation owned by AfD MP Jörg Dornau' - Reform News, 24/09/2024

'Hanna' - The Europeans, 02/06/2022

'Germany’s far right loves one migrant group: Russian Germans' - Politico Europe, 29/09/24

'Cruinniú na nÓg 2024 - The Spark' - Creative Ireland 

Producers: Morgan Childs and Katz Laszlo

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