This week the Beyond the Byline podcast is focusing on the spike of energy prices, the Commission’s monitoring of the evolution of the electricity prices, and its attempt to come up with long-term fixes like investments in energy savings and renewables as the main answer at European level. To break down the components of the Commission's plans to combat the spike in energy prices, I’m joined today by EURACTIV’s senior editor for energy and environment, Frederic Simon. We are also talking about the situation on the Polish and Belarusian borders, where migrants and refugees have been trapped. Five people have lost their lives and the EU is accusing Belarus of orchestrating the influx of migrants in retaliation against the sanctions the EU imposed because of the regime’s crackdown on political dissent. To hear more on this story, I spoke with Piotr Macej Kaczyński from EURACTIV Poland.

All eyes are on Berlin this week as Germans vote on a new government on Sunday (26 September). The final result is difficult to predict but the new government will be one without Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been in power for 16 years and will step down from politics altogether.

This week's Beyond the Byline podcast takes us to Germany with a special episode focusing on the possible political changes in the EU’s biggest country and their possible impact on EU affairs. To shed some light on the upcoming elections, the electorate’s behaviour, and the exit polls I was joined by Oliver Noyan from EURACTIV Germany.

You can subscribe to the Beyond the Byline podcast in our new podcast newsletter and you can listen to it on  Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon music and Stitcher.

This week our Beyond the Byline podcast is coming to you with a special episode focusing on the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's annual State of the Union speech.

The president addressed the key issues on the EU agenda, and announced new measures, programmes, and plans. To break down the most important components of the speech I am joined today by no less than six EURACTIV reporters, who will share their expertise on health [Giedre Peseckyte], digital [Luca Bertuzzi], transport [Sean Goulding Carroll], environment/energy [Kira Taylor], rule of law/democracy [Vlad Makszimov], and economy [Jorge Valero].

You can subscribe to the Beyond the Bylines podcast in our new podcast newsletter and you can listen to it on  Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon music and Stitcher.

This week our podcast focuses on the European Commission’s decision to step up its legal feud with Warsaw by asking the top EU court to impose a daily financial penalty on Poland for its’ non-compliance with temporary measures European judges put in place this past July. To hear more on this story, I’m joined today by EURACTIV’s Vlad Maksimov.

We are also talking about a dispute the EU is having with Russia, this time over the EU multinational military training mission in Mali. What is Russia accusing the EU of and what are the Russian interests here? To bring this story closer to you, I spoke with Aneta Zachova from EURACTIV Czech Republic.

You can subscribe to the Beyond the Bylines podcast in our new podcast newsletter and you can listen to it on  Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon music and Stitcher.

This week our podcast focuses on a security conference organised by Austria with the Central Asian states to discuss further strategy regarding Afghanistan. Austria and other EU countries are asking Afghanistan’s neighbours to manage migrations flows and prevent a potential migration crisis like the one Europe faced in 2015.

To connect the dots on this unfolding story, I’m joined today by Oliver Noyan from EURACTIV Germany.

We are also talking about the promise made by the Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo that swimming in the Seine will be possible in the coming years. According to the mayor, the river will even be able to host Olympic events such as the triathlon and the 10km freestyle. To hear more on this story, I spoke with Clara Bauer-Babef from EURACTIV France.

You can subscribe to the Beyond the Bylines podcast in our new podcast newsletter and you can listen to it on  Spotify, Apple podcasts, Amazon music and Stitcher.

In our last episode of the season, the Yellow Room brings you all the reaction to Europe’s “Fit for 55” climate package unveiled this week. To break down the components of this story, we spoke with EURACTIV energy and environment reporter Kira Taylor.

We’re also looking into the latest stand off between Belarus and the EU, after Lithuania accused Minsk of using migrants to put pressure on the EU. How is the bloc reacting? EURACTIV reporter Alexandra Brzozowski sheds some light on the matter.

And finally, we're exploring the latest consumer complaints about Whatsapp's new privacy policy with EURACTIV digital and media editor Luca Bertuzzi.

This week our podcast focuses on the document signed by the leaders of 16 far-right parties across the EU asking for a deep reform of the Union in order to preserve its heritage. To shed some light on what this new “coalition” brings, and whether it could have an impact on the upcoming national elections in several EU countries, I spoke with EURACTIV’s Senior Editor Georgi Gotev.

We’re also talking about the new cool kid on the EU’s block - a new vaccine that comes from France, where the pharma giant Sanofi has started phase 3 clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine and is expected to begin rolling it out in December. To hear more on why this vaccine is different and what we can expect, we were joined by Mathieu Pollet from EURACTIV France.

This week our podcast focuses on the spread of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant and the threat it poses to Europe's long-awaited return to normality after almost 18 months of restrictions and lockdowns.

What is the World Health Organisation so worried about? What are the plans to shield the EU from another wave of infections and what does Delta mean for the bloc's new COVID-19 digital certificate? We spoke with EURACTIV’s health reporter, Giedre Peseckyte, to find out.

We’re also talking climate legislation and the proposal to extend the EU’s carbon market, a plan French MEP Pascal Canfin considers “politically suicidal.” For more on this story, we were joined by Kira Taylor, EURACTIV’s energy and environment reporter, and Clara Bauer Babef from EURACTIV France.

This week our podcast focuses on a milestone move by Ireland: approving medical cannabis prescriptions and giving patients the right to have access to medical cannabis and be reimbursed for it. To hear more on that story, we spoke with EURACTIV’s Agrifood and health reporter, Natasha Foote.

We’re also talking about the EU’s data protection agency's call to ban the use of artificial intelligence to identify people in public spaces, the legislative proposal by the Commission and the company that may own your photos. To find out more on that we were joined by EURACTIV’s Digital Editor, Luca Bertuzzi.